Landscape & Hardscape

Landscape & Hardscape in Los Angeles

The front lawn is the most expensive thing most Los Angeles households irrigate, and the rebate for removing it is the largest cash incentive currently available to a homeowner in this city. LADWP pays $5.00 per square foot, capped at $25,000 or 5,000 square feet. There is one rule that catches people out and costs them the entire rebate: you must be approved before you remove a single blade of grass. We handle that application, and we do not start work until it is approved.

What this saves you

• Water
• Electricity

Water first, because that is where the money and the rebate are. A cooler yard is the second-order benefit.

• Outdoor use accounts for more than 30% of household water, and up to 60% in arid regions, and as much as half of it is lost to inefficient irrigation. A WaterSense irrigation controller alone can save up to 15,000 gallons a year.

  Source: U.S. EPA WaterSense

• LADWP currently pays $5.00 per square foot for residential turf replacement, capped at $25,000 or 5,000 square feet, with a 250 square foot minimum. Pre-approval is mandatory before any grass is removed.

  Source: LADWP

• A single mature shade tree on the west side of a house cuts cooling energy by roughly 10 to 15%, though the study authors note real-world results run about half the modelled maximum because placement is rarely ideal. West-facing shade is worth about twice east-facing.

  Source: USDA Forest Service

The straight answer

Published water savings from lawn replacement range from 11 to 76 gallons per square foot per year, which is an enormous spread. Where you land depends on how much you were watering before, what you plant, and whether the new controller is set properly. We quote the range rather than a hero number, and the controller matters as much as the plants.

Works best with: Artificial Grass Plumbing

Savings depend on your house, your equipment and how you use it. We will not quote you a guaranteed number, and neither should anyone else. See the rebates currently available

Turf replacement and the rebate rules

The LADWP programme has real requirements and they are worth knowing before you start. A 250 square foot minimum, three plants per 100 square feet, a stormwater retention feature, conversion to drip irrigation, no synthetic turf in the rebated area, a five-year compliance period, and six months to finish once you are approved. We prepare the application, wait for approval, then build to the programme requirements so the inspection passes first time.

Planting and irrigation that keeps the saving

Drought-tolerant and California-appropriate planting, drip irrigation on a smart controller that adjusts to weather rather than running a fixed clock, mulched beds to hold soil moisture, and shade trees placed on the west and south elevations where they do the most for your cooling. A landscape that is over-irrigated after it goes in gives back most of the saving, so we set the controller and walk you through it before we leave.

Hardscape, drainage and fencing

Paver patios, driveways and walkways on compacted base, poured concrete with reinforcement and planned control joints, retaining walls drained behind the face and permitted where height requires it. Most Los Angeles yard problems are water problems, a slope running toward the house, a patio trapping runoff at the foundation, a planter draining into the crawlspace, so we set grades and run drains before anything is poured. Wood, vinyl and ornamental metal fencing and gates as well.

What’s included

• LADWP turf rebate application prepared and approved before work starts
• Drought-tolerant California-appropriate planting and mulched beds
• Drip irrigation on a weather-based smart controller
• Shade trees placed where they cut afternoon heat gain
• Pavers, concrete and retaining walls on a properly compacted base
• Area drains, French drains and grading away from the house

Questions we get about Landscape & Hardscape