Helping Hand Landscape Design

He has a strong vision and his designs are great!

I had originally worked with Bob Luehrs about 10 years ago and he did a good job designing our front and back yard. However the experience then was less than pleasant.
I had contacted Bob Luehrs again 6 weeks ago to discuss a redesign of a portion of our backyard. I found him frankly rude and sarcastic in his comments about the ideas I wanted for our backyard However because I had worked with him before, I set up an appointment 2 weeks ago with him to meet with me at my home in Dublin today. He insisted that the meeting had to be first thing in the morning at 9:00 AM. I rearranged my schedule in order to meet with him – I worked last night into the early morning hours but still managed to get home in time to meet with him.
Not only did he not show up, there was no phone call explaining what happened. I called his office and spoke to his receptionist at 9:30 this morning asking where he was and what happened. She stated that she checked his appointment book and the appointment was there. I asked if she could reach him by cell phone. She said she would «get back to me». Here it is nearly 12 noon and there is no return phone call apologizing for his no show for this appointment in which he specified the time.
He is rude, unreliable and totally unpleasant to work with.

Bob Luehrs is the BEST landscape designer in the area, and I don’t say this lightly. He’s incredibly professional in demeanor, absolutely amazing at his work, and such an overall pleasant person to work with. His services may be a bit more expensive than some other designers, but it is worth every penny, and honestly, for all the work he does and extra help he’s willing to lend, I think he undercharges.
When my family was first attempting to find a landscape architect to design our backyard and touch up our frontyard for our new house, we contacted seven or eight designers that friends had recommended, neighbors had used, or that were highly rated online. After meeting with all of them and going around to see some of their completed projects, it was obvious that no one measured up to Bob whether it came to artistry or practical design.
Bob has such experience in the field that he draws up the most beautiful designs, but he’s also incredibly honest about the price points and realistic about his customers’ wishes. He is familiar with a lot of the rules and regulations that the community or city or county has for landscape design, which comes in handy since no one wants to complete their design and have to rework everything because there aren’t enough native plants or drought-​tolerant plants. Through the whole design process, Bob could not have been more patient and helpful. He’s incredibly approachable via email or a simple phone call, and he’s so easy to talk to. If you want to just call him up to discuss a new idea or a new design that popped into your head, he’s more than happy to do that (and he has the best stories).
Another plus is that after he draws up the professional sketches, which includes copies of water flow, drainage, and anything else that the community requires, he has references to contractors that he’s worked with before and he knows does good work. This is incredibly important because Bob used to work in that field as well, so he knows what kinds of materials hold up well where and how to tell if workmanship is good or not. He’s also very honest about the contractors he knows, and he’ll lay out the cost versus quality for you and let you decide. He will take the time to go through each contractor’s quote and let you know where he thinks you can cut down on costs, not to mention that he’ll look through the contract before you sign and advise you on how to better protect yourself as a homeowner so that you’re not liable if something goes astray. As someone who had no idea that there were so many rules and regulations involved with jobs such as these, I can’t begin to say how amazingly helpful Bob was.
While the construction goes on, he’ll drop by and oversee the work to make sure that everything is going according to the agreed upon design. After the job is complete, Bob will also come by and help discuss and advise with any concerns you have and check that everything is completed the way he thinks is best for you. For example, one of our big planter pots was a little discolored and he immediately told us that it was because the contractors had not put a sealant on the inside of the pot so that water would not leak through and discolor the stone. He told us to let the contractor know and the soil should be scooped out, a sealant put in on the inside of the pot, and the soil put back in. If he wasn’t so responsible and kind, how would we have ever known something like that? And even after everything is set and done, you can ask him any questions having to do with pruning, weed removal, or any sort of plant care.
I’ve spoken to quite a few other families who have worked with Bob, and I have yet to find someone who doesn’t think he’s the best. I can’t say enough about how fantastic Bob’s services are, and I really can’t say enough about what a positive experience it’s been to work with him (and I’ve said a lot already).

We had a very positive experience with Helping Hand. Bob designed a great plan for our front and back yard. The plan and associated specification guide dictated every aspect of the plan for various contractors to then bid upon. Because Bob doesn’t do the work, his designs fit your budget and desires, within reason. In addition to providing the plan, and multiple copies of the blue prints and spec sheet; Bob also reviews the bids received and helps evaluate them, then inspects the job as it is being performed at two or three specific points. He provides you with questions to ask and things to watch out for, and cost saving measures for do-​it-​yourselfers. While his service is not cheap, ultimately we saved far more than we spent, and felt comfortable with the process and work done. With the blue prints and spec sheet, we were able to get a wide range of bids from over 10 contractors, without having to re-​explain what we wanted each time. It was also apples to apples, since the blue prints and spec sheet defined the work exactly. Much better than paying $ 750 — $ 1,000 for a contractor to do a plan that suits them (usually way above budget).

Helping Hand is a great concept; they create beautiful landscape plans for your home regardless the size of your lot. We have a huge yard and spent a reasonable amount of money on the plans and have had a very difficult time getting a callback from the owner, even when we offer to pay extra for the items we want (a materials list, copy of back yard plan).