Response from R & R Landscape Services Inc
Unfortunately a lot of members are misled by the rebate program for removing the sod . I remember having this conversation with this member. Hopefully this will shed some light and help other members understand . In the LA basin area depending on your location you're offered any where between $2. And $3. Per square foot to remove your lawn, in this particular case it was $3. Per square foot. I've met with plenty of members who want to take advantage of this opportunity and I've done plenty of estimates. The reaction by the majority of the members is that they are surprised that the rebate money does not cover the cost to have the property professionally landscaped with the requirements that the city has. The requirements are that you replace the turf with 60% nonplanted permeable surface which usually equates to gravel, pebbles, mulch. 40% California friendly plants which means native plants, drought tolerant or succulents all of which are not cheap. Most of the times there is some kind of hard scape area such as a new path or sitting area incorporated because... What the hell you're redoing the yard might as well go all the way. The other requirement is that you convert to drip irrigation, for this you have two options either Netafim type irrigation which is an underground tubing with emitter that waters directly into the roots or the above ground black tubing with individual drips that we are all familiar with because it clogs, pops the drips out and is very unpredictable. Now if you are a contractor you'd pick the one that has less problems which is why I prefer Netafim, unfortunately it's not the cheapest. Along with this most members also want to add lighting, I prefer the most dependable made in America LED fixtures which translates to Not cheap. Because if you don't select the best quality materials the contractor will get a call before the warranty expires to go back and fix or replace the product of lesser quality. All in all after you add it all up the homeowner should expect to spend at least three times as much more of what it's receiving from the rebate if done right. This does not mean that you can't get it done on the cheap. You can be your own contractor hire laborers or a gardener to remove the sod, spread inexpensive mulch, install the black above ground drip tubing, purchase your own plants and design it yourself with some help of Google search. I just have some advice, you need to spray and kill the turf while its green, if you cut off the watering and it looks brown it's not dead it's dormant and you can't kill it when it's brown, it has to be green. Remove the turf with the roots in case there is still some that did not die completely with weed killer. Do your research with the plant materials some of these plants grow 12-15' high by 10' wide, you want California natives, go to the Angeles forest you'll see how big and invasive some of these plants get. There are some more manageable plant materials for small gardens. Lastly if you do hire day laborers or a gardener without workers comp, I would speak to my homeowners insurance provider first to see if there is any way you're covered on your end because this can result into a law suit to the homeowner if anyone gets hurt on the property. I hope this will help our Angie's list members for any projects related to the rebate. Ray