Quality over Quantity for your home
The importance of Quality over Quantity
We feel the benefits of quality over quantity are on two sides when it comes to our installations around Nanaimo, BC. Firstly, giving you the best quality installation we possibly can (I know, that’s what every company says!), as well as a concept that will stay together for a lot of years to come (we’ll get more into that shortly)
Secondly, working with us, isn’t just about getting a contractor in to build or design for you. We have no trouble doing that, but we also like to help you understand or educate you, on how and what steps we take to get you this beautiful result, as well as what the pro’s are to our installation.
We came to this decision when we noticed that a lot of homeowners are ‘scared’ of their yards, for fear of wrecking the great look they had when we left. Some are afraid to touch the irrigation, in case it stops working, or not wanting to touch the shrubs because they may prune it wrong. This is what we want to prevent, or at least reduce….and if needed, you can always call us and we would be happy to come out and look at whatever the problem is.
So let’s start at the beginning…..
I’m Phil, and I’ve been in the construction industry for just over 15 years. In that time I’ve been fortunate enough to work with some great homeowners and see what is most important to them. I’ve also gained some experience in residential maintenance and lawn work and had the opportunity to see what makes for a user-friendly garden. With this knowledge, I’ve decided to add these qualities to enhance our results.
One of the biggest gains to one of our designs is that it’s built on the preventative. That preventative is using our knowledge and experience to help lessen your cost of adjustments in the future.
Why would you need adjustments?
As your outdoors grows, things need to be adjusted. I.e shrubs grow, so irrigation has to be adjusted accordingly in order to accomplish its task effectively. As things grow, plants need to be moved, as does lighting etc.
How can we foresee this? Truth is, we cant. But what we can do is build your projects to try and reduce your cost during renovations in the future.
Here are some areas we save you money.
Quality in building our Hardscapes.
- Installing conduits under all hardscapes.
When you pay for a hardscape, you want it to stay looking great, for many years to come. If you decide to install or change your irrigation/lighting in the years ahead, the last thing you want to do is rip up a section of walkway or driveway to get lighting or irrigation to the front yard (for example). By having conduits, you are able to get access to your driveway/walkway without having to touch it. With this done during the installation process, your saving money on repairs in the future.
- Quantity of sand.
Most contractors build their hardscaping on crush (hopefully), and then 1” of sand. In our experience, this quantity causes a hardscape to fail over time. The reason for this, is because we all know it isn’t a structural material.
So why use so much?
Because its quicker and cheaper.
Whilst on the topic of sand, we also use less polymeric sand in the finishing stages. A lot of companies will fill in gaps on curves with this, because its quicker than having someone cut the ‘ brick wedges’ to fill them.
A large quantity of sand will never be as strong as stone or concrete, no matter what you put in it!
Quality over quantity in our hard surfaces?
Well we have a paving stones process that only uses ¼”- ½” of sand. We have found that with less quantity and by using our installation method, your hardscaping lasts a lot longer. And we will cut those wedges no matter how many there are.
Quality lasting benefits?
To Be Honest….. We have patios and driveways that we installed with this process over 10 years ago and they are still holding together as strong and looking as good as they did, the day we finished them.
With this method, we have also never had to go back to fix or repair one due to failing. The process really does work that well.
Plastic free edging
Any hardscape built with plastic-edging is unfortunately built to fail. Why? Because it’s held into the ground with nails. Imagine sticking your finger into wet crushed gravel or clay and slowly moving it in a circle…the hole gets bigger?! Same goes for the nails holding the edging in place, which means it will move, then the sand moves, which in turn means, the pavers shift. This is not the level of quality we are looking for!!
So why do contractors use this plastic edging?
Because its cheaper and quicker to install and by the time it fails, the warranty has ended meaning the homeowner will have to pay to fix it.
How do we complete them?
We finish the edges with a bead of concrete, finished so you can barely notice it once everything is complete. We’ve found this makes for a longer lasting result.
Quality service at every corner of your home
When it comes to watering your outdoors, we want you to have a thriving backyard forever. Unfortunately, the upside is that everything will grow well and you’ll have to prune it etc. But that’s what you’re paying for, a yard that is healthy and looks great for a long time to come.
We have been on several Irrigation courses to make sure you get the best sprinkler system we can possibly offer. To do that, we consider many different aspects. For instance, that area either side of the front door… would you like to have pots there? and how do they get watered when you go on holiday for two weeks. We take areas like these and add it to your system, because if its green then it’s our job to make sure it gets water.
How do we build our Systems
We take pride in getting water to every area of your yard, whilst also taking into account not to waste your water bill, by factoring in g.p.m, sunlight, slope, soil, turf, beds, pots, veggies …I think you can see the benefit in that.
When we install a system, we take into account several factors.
In time, you will need to add heads, for the system to keep everything alive.
For this reason, we ‘under-capacitate’ our zones by a small amount.
We also leave an additional wire in the Valve box and space for extra zones on the clock.
What are the benefits of a quality over quantity to you?
Because your plants and trees will grow, and you will need to add a small quantity of extra heads. By not ‘maxing’ out your zones, you can add these without compromising zone efficiency. If the zones were at Maximum capacity you would have no choice but to either water by hand or add an additional zone.
Having an extra wire and clock space means, if you do decide to revamp a section of the yard in years to come, you have the maneuverability to add a zone for that project if needed.
By having this flexibility, you won’t have to tear your entire garden up to do it, which will cost you less in the future. It also means that you won’t be held hostage to having to water that new project with a hose either.
Using Custom blend soil for plant quality
All soil may seem the same when you look at it, however, the soil is comprised of many different makeups. When it comes to quality over quantity, what you put your turf on, or your plants in, has a huge difference in terms of results depending on what soil you used. This can also be said for watering those items.
If you install anything on Vancouver Island with cheap soil, then it will be mostly Clay, and that means its poor draining, with high compaction. This translates to plants growing slower, water takes longer to drain through it, as well as longer to dry out. This isn’t necessarily a benefit.
A lot of people talk about deep-watering, well that only works if you have done the forethought of making sure you have good soil that allows for it, ie low clay and good drainage.
We install with only high nutrients, well-draining soil so that you get the best possible materials for the best results.
That is only three key areas of benefits our Clients receive.
Why have quality soil?
We want you to have a yard that not only looks good but functions to peak performance. Our Nanaimo staff also have a passion for installation longevity, we feel it’s what our clients deserve. We are supposed to be professionals, which means our knowledge and services should benefit you with results for current and future situations.
Quality over quantity always comes out on top!
…check out our reviews to see what our clients have to say.
Contact our Nanaimo office today if you have any questions.