07-08-2008, 08:24 AM
We're finally getting serious about getting some landscaping in on our untamed (never cleared, never ripped) HPP 1 acre lot on 3rd Avenue. Retirement is still a few years off, but the thinking is that if we put our foundation plants in now, we can build later on a tropical paradise.
Any advice on the process would be appreciated. We are thinking that we should put a well in now and hire a neighborhood kid to water as needed (we'll be on the mainland). That means that we would somehow have to have housing (right term?) for a pump, as well as an electric source to run it. Any advice?
Also, should we rip? We have a few ohias on the front of the lot we would like to keep, but everything else is junk and weeds, according to our real estate agent. (Lots of those ferms that are all over hpp.)
If we go ahead, is this the correct order:
(1) Staking and pinning
(2) Clearing
(3) ripping
(4) drill well
(5) build some sort of housing for the pump.
(6) Electrify pump (how?)
Is there anyone there, a landscape person perhaps, who might be a good project manager for this task?
Also, if we rip, do we have them put in the drive way path and house pad at the same time? We do not have a house design yet, but I suspect the house would go next to our neighbor's house. Everyone seems to put their homes the same distance from the road in HPP.
Once we plant the trees and hedges, do we let things go wild again and clear the lot again when we build? Or do we pay someone to come in every month to keep things cleared? Maybe the kid we hire to water could do that, too?
If we plant, will our landscaping get stolen?
Finally, what might the total costs be, minus the cost of the plants?
Thanks for your guidance!