I don't think you will find that information here.

One other thing should be noted about having a set of plans. It shows the contractor that you are quite serious, know exactly what you want, and all they need to do is build it. When you don't have a solid plan, you are essentially telling the contractor that (s)he has to invest in an effort at designing the pool which you unwilling to do. That is not a strong pre-qualifier for a viable client (this is confirmed by the fact that 6 contractors have been interviewed and none have been hired). That does not make you a bad person, just naive. Instead of an all out effort to land your job, you get what is essentially an equal effort back from the contractor - a quickie design to see if you bite or a recycled plan from someone elses back yard. It is very rare that a contractor, or a designer for that matter, will be comfortable making a bigger effort, prior to getting paid, at getting the priveledge to work on your project than you will make to have the priveledge of them working for you. I don't charge for initial consultations, but I will not work for people who say "go by the house, look at it, and give me a proposal". If I have to show up, you have to show up. It is not a matter of respect, it is a matter of showing that you are committed. Without that, those contractors know from experience that it is more likely a waste of time - that you might be doing the same with 5 other contractors and no one gets the job ...... and the proof is in the pudding because that is exactly what happened. Take control. Hire a designer, whether it is a landscape architect, a very experienced designer, or a design/build contractor and pay for just the design. Everyone else will take you very seriously and put a lot more effort in landing your job because they know you are committed. No slam on you here. You just did not know what the people you are trying to work with go through, what they learned from experience, and how they protect themselves from wasted effort. Now you know and can take control.

Call Barry at Blooming Colors! Highly recommend. You may have to be on a wait list, but he's worth waiting for. I interviewed a lot of different people to re grade our back yard. We insisted on natural drainage. Everyone wanted to put in area drains. :( We did not want area drains. Barry was the only one who listened to what we wanted and understood what we were asking for. He didn't try to sell us on something else. His crew re graded, removed (most) of the bermuda, installed St Augustine, and layed out and put in rock edging for the new beds, added good soil to them, and even hauled in and spread horse manure that I found a few miles away from here. We got exactly what we wanted from Barry, and more. We're having them back out this week to put in a retaining wall & expand a flower bed for us. Hubby and I are very happy with his work, & crew. A gardening friend recommended him to us. She had used a company I was going to use and talked me out of them. Thank goodness she did! We love the work Barry did, and the other guy has gone out of business now. Here is a link that might be useful: Blooming Colors

@kharvel: If you choose Route #1/#2, I think it is imperative that you select landscape architects and/or design firms whose work you are familiar with. Not only should you be familiar with their work, but also be impressed by it. Shot-gunning requests to a handful of architects from an internet search may take more of your time on the back end, wading through a lot of nonsense. I know landscape architects and designers whom I have immense respect for and some who I would not let design a small bed around my mailbox. Pick a couple of landscape architects or experienced designers and interview them. You will get a feel for them and vice versa. Normally, you would share with them what your anticipated budget for the project is, what you hope to accomplish and a timeline for design services. Once you agree on fees, you should plan on seeing a conceptual plan for discussion and then a final plan with revisions (if any). All design firms work it a bit differently, but they can give you a design budget with hourly fees. The scope of work will drive the cost of the design. A design including water features, masonry walls, pergolas and significant grade change is going to take more time than a planting plan for a small boulevard. Once you have a final design, then you can bid it out to a couple of landscape contractors, whose work you should also be familiar with. The landscape architect or designer might also do the work, but since you have paid for the design you own it and can choose to get an RFP from whomever. Or perhaps they can refer you to a contractor they feel would be a good match for you. But like choosing the l.a. or designer, it is important that the contractor have a firm grasp on how to implement the plan. And you should also be comfortable with each other. That being said, Route #1/#2 is probably the more time consuming avenue, but by separating design and contracting you avoid a mess, trying to sort out who is giving you what. It allows you to focus on design and them move on to focusing on the implementation of the plan. This will probably be the route with the fewest headaches and the route I would recommend. _____ ______ ______ However, if you choose to send out an RFP for design and installation to multiple design/build firms to do both functions it will be a dizzying amount of information to sort through and assess. You will also be reviewing a difference in design philosophy on paper from different perspectives. The municipality will be reviewing concepts that might be complex in scope and difficult to assess as non-professionals. You avoid that scenario when you hire someone simply for the purpose of design because you are discussing it during the process and they are informed on the front end so they can solve for your needs, wants and circumstances. _____ ________ _______ Regardless of which method you select, I might leave you with a few tidbits for thought: 1. The least expensive contractor is rarely the one you want working at your home or in your municipality. Awarding the project to "low bidder" is almost always a recipe for disappointment, especially when implementing a sophisticated plan. They are the contractor who is 'slamming it in at breakneck speed' to get paid. You may think you had bad design because you received sloppy installation. If the project is driven by budget and not excellence you will not attract the best designers/landscape architects, unless you get a young, hungry one. All projects have budgets, but it's better to achieve excellence over time than be underwhelmed by staying within a budget that's not realistic. Front-end discussion of budget is part of the process. 3. Hire the most qualified people you can afford. Being cheap and being great are almost always mutually exclusive. 4. See #3 above. I hope the above helps you along with your thought process. Best of luck to you on your project!!