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“The danger in what you are doing is that when you start your own business you will never get the internship done in order to get registered (if that is your goal). Most also tend to stay close to the level that they went into business at in terms of type of work and clientele. It is much faster to climb to a higher market by working for someone…[Read more]

Are you sure that is correct? I always assumed “ASLA” simply meant you were a member of ASLA. It does not refer to licensure.

No, you can’t use ASLA until you are licensed. If you use the term ‘landscape architect’ in any of your work you could have a complaint lodged against you and lose the ability to become licensed. Careful!

I use a friendly letter-form contract that acts as contract and proposal – the goal is to let the client know that you are on the same page, this is the work you are going to do and it will cost that much.
In it I outline what the goals of the project are as we discussed at our initial meeting, my scope of work, the product they will get in the…[Read more]

Thank you for posting this article. I will soak it up just like hay does with oil (Sorry could not resist).

Here is my contribution. Timothy Egan is an amazing writer of landscapes and lifestyles, not quite on the masterful scale of JB Jackson, or Barry Lopez, but still a heavyweight in my humble opinion.

He penned this column for the New York…[Read more]

All makes sense. Ill just do an “interpretive” type section of what we are looking for, concentrating my details only on the paving and railings etc. Then send it on to a structural eng to get things right. Appreciate the advice – Eric

You’ll need to at least go to your town hall and fill out a d/b/a (doing business as) in order to legally use a company name.

You’ll probably be fine operating as a sole proprietorship since it is unlikely that you have a ton of assetts to protect and the grand it costs to register an LLC in MA is probably not in your curent budget.

Liability…[Read more]

write up contracts or agreements even if its a $600 job. Many people have learned that lesson for us and its not worth it. Best of luck at getting your name out there. Another thing to do is develop a plant list and a set of CAD standards and blocks that you will plan to use and a nice title block.

My advice would be to not even attempt it without the direct input of a structural engineer who has worked with piers before. They would know best the types of soils under the lake as to what kind of piers you can use, as well , the spacing. The depth of the slab is directly related to the distance between piers. Also, keep in mind a budget, as…[Read more]

I would love to have a copy, if you can direct me to a link or send me a copy. Laying hands on some of this information is difficult. It seems to be produced in the branches of science, but little consolidation work has been done that relates the research to practical application.

Good Topic, I featured this for more traffic, hopefully.

hee! thanks Roland!

Here’s a good summary of BP’s approach to the spill.
http://www.treehugger.com/files/2010/06/what-happens-when-bp-spills-coffee-video-funny-ucbcomedy.php

I don’t think anyone is arguing that dense urban development should go every where. I honestly think if some critics looked at the concepts of the new urbanist transect and form based codes they would realize they that they are mischaracterizing smart growth and new urbanism. I’d say it allows for a greater variety of lifestyles than our current…[Read more]

No, I do need to change those to designer. You are correct. That is why I named my business “landscape design” and not “landscape Architects” or something of the sort.

We don’t need to open that can of worms. I have read most of that thread a while back, and I know there is technically not much of a difference in ability; yet LA is what I strive…[Read more]

“The important lesson is not that city planning is unimportant but, rather, that urban development should not be implemented by the public sector alone and that in a democracy, a vision of the future city will best emerge from the marketplace.”
So, in a democracy, powerful businessmen should be the main people who shape our cities? I see his point…[Read more]

I was just wondering what happened to investigative journalism. Thanks for the post.

A permit to drill and pump oil to supply the worlds demand should be given to responsible safe companies. They supply us with a good we need and should be rewarded for it. The reward for providing us with this product is they make enormous sums of money. With this screw up in place they are still making enormous sums of money. Sure I think we all…[Read more]

Good advice, Glenn. For most, the hard part is getting the project, not doing the work. Barbara Faga always says “you get work from your friends.” I think that is very true. Word of mouth is essential, especially with residential work. One of the best things you can do is be involved with neighborhood groups, “beautification” groups, and the like.…[Read more]