Approach
The yard is the easy part. Earning your trust is the work.
A design-build practice runs on three things: a clear-eyed plan, a team that can actually build it, and an owner who answers the phone after the job is done. We hold ourselves to all three.
What we believe
Five principles. Every project.
These are the rules we work by — the kind we'd want on the wall of any company we hired.
Design first, sell second.
Every project starts with a written direction and a real plan, not a discount. The proposal you sign is built around your site, your light, and how you actually live.
One team, start to finish.
Our masons, carpenters, and horticulturists are in-house. The crew on day one is the crew on the punch list. Subs are reserved for licensed trades — electrical, gas, structural — and only those we vouch for.
Build for the next homeowner.
Walls plumb, drains pitched, footings deep. We design materials and systems to outlast their warranty so the next owner inherits a yard they'll keep, not redo.
Plant for Wake County.
Clay soil, summer storms, sudden freezes. Our plant palettes are chosen for the climate we have, not the one a catalog photographs in.
Tell the truth about water.
The most expensive landscape problems are drainage problems. We solve them up front — even when it means recommending less hardscape, not more.
Pick up the phone.
Two years from now, if a paver lifts or a fixture flickers, you'll hear back from the same person who designed the project. That's the deal.
The Process
From hello to handover.
Most projects move through four phases over four to twelve weeks of construction. Larger outdoor-living builds run longer; we always tell you the truth about timing before you sign.
Listen & Walk
A 60-minute on-site consultation. We walk the property, learn how you want to live outside, and identify the constraints — grades, drainage, light, access, budget.
Design & Plan
A written direction with materials, layout, plant palette, and a transparent budget range. Revisions until it's right. You own the plan whether or not we build it.
Build
One project lead. A crew that doesn't change. Daily site clean-up. Weekly check-ins. We invite you to the site as often as you want — most clients stop by every few days.
Walk & Warrant
A final walkthrough with Chad. A care guide for plantings. A 30-day, 1-year, and structural warranty in writing — and a phone number that works for all of them.
“We'd rather build one project people will talk about for ten years than ten projects nobody remembers.” — Chad Whittaker, Owner
Materials & Standards
What we put in the ground.
Bluestone and granite from regional quarries. Western red cedar for visible carpentry. Belgard, Techo-Bloc, and Unilock pavers on properly compacted base. Kichler and FX Luminaire low-voltage lighting. Native and adapted plants from Wake County growers we've used for a decade.
No mystery materials. No rushed bases. No "we'll see how it holds up."