Welcome to Hertzler & George

We’re glad you’re interested in working with us and we’d love to help you bring your ideas to life! How do we do that? Well, every landscape is unique and the amount of time it takes to design, price, and construct a project will vary depending on what you want to do. Small projects like the addition of a few trees or shrubs might be designed on the spot; a more complete landscape design might take several weeks to finalize.

Please take some time to read through this page. It will provide you with an overview of our design process and what you can expect if you decide to work with us. We certainly hope you will!

Our Design Team:

Joe Hertzler Owner	Phillip Merritt Landscape Architect
Andy Flint Sales Manager	Barbara Mosby Designer

First contact begins with Cal Glaspie. Cal will be happy to arrange an on-site meeting to look at your project and evaluate how much work might be involved. If all you need is some pruning or a simple planting installation, the project might be handled start to finish by Cal, and he may be able to quote a price on the spot.

Larger projects, like a full yard planting plan, paving design, or the design of a deck or retaining walls may require bringing in Phillip Merritt, our Landscape Architect. On bigger projects like these, it can also be helpful for clients to stop by our office for a more thorough discussion of the project with Joe Hertzler, the company owner.

Design Agreement: First Things First

After Cal has discussed your project with you, he’ll prepare a Design Agreement detailing the scope of the project so you know exactly what to expect and how much the project will cost to design.

Base Map: The Starting Point

Once a Design Agreement has been signed and the necessary deposit has been submitted, clients will need to provide a survey or plat of the house. We’ll also need to stop by the property to gather supplemental measurements so that we have an accurate record of the existing conditions before we start designing.

Conceptual Sketches: Brainstorming Ideas

H&G’s first design meeting consists of walking the property with clients and discussing in detail what they’d like to accomplish. It’s especially important that all decision makers be present for this meeting…couples don’t always agree on what needs to be done in a yard. Imagine that!

We’ll have lots of questions: Do you entertain often? Like to work in the garden? Do you need more privacy or want more light? After this first meeting, we’ll create some rough Concept Sketches to help focus the goals of the project. Here are some sample Concept Sketches:

Schematic Design: Refining a Plan

The purpose of a Schematic Design is to combine the best ideas of the concept sketches into a rough design for the project. The Schematic Design emerges after the client has had time to review the concept sketches and decide which elements they like the best. Clients may like the paving layout in one sketch and the deck design in another. The Schematic Design combines the best ideas from all the Concept Sketches and points the way to the end design. However, it’s not yet detailed enough to provide construction estimates—there’s still a lot of decision making that needs to happen. Here’s a sample Schematic Design:

The final phase of the design process is the Developed Drawing. In the Developed Drawing, all materials will be called out and basic dimensions will be provided. To get to this point, the client will need to make a lot of decisions about materials: will decking be treated pine or composite? Will the paving be bluestone or limestone? Will the fence be 36″ or 42″ high? Pickets or rails? Only when these details are pinned down will H&G be able to provide accurate construction cost estimates.

Developed Drawing: The End Product

Construction Documents: Bringing Your Project to Life

What do you do after the design is completed? Your Developed Drawing should be detailed enough for Hertzler & George, or even another company to give you an estimate of construction costs. But if you wish to have Hertzler & George give you a hard and fast price to actually build your project, it is likely that additional construction drawings (blueprints) will need to be created. Because projects vary widely in complexity, Construction Documents are billed on a time and material basis. Here’s a sample of one of our construction drawings.

We hope this page explains our process. Please feel free to contact anyone on our design team to answer any additional questions you may have.