What Your Design Package Includes
For a flat $2,687, you get a builder-grade plan, not a pretty picture, but the real documents it takes to actually build the yard, whether we build it or you hand it to another crew:
A full site layout
The complete plan for how the space works, flows, connects to the house, and drains, sized to your yard.
A materials takeoff
The real list of what the build calls for, so it can be priced and ordered instead of guessed at.
A build timeline & sequencing chart
The order the work happens in, so decks, patios, walls, and plantings get built in the right order.
Drainage & grading built in
The foundation that keeps the whole design from washing out, coordinated with our site work.
The plan is yours to build with anyone; naturally, the same licensed home builder who drew it can build it too. See the full outdoor living contractor hub.
Design to build
Why Design With a Builder, Not Just a Designer
Most landscape designers hand you a beautiful rendering and leave out the part that actually matters: whether it can be built, and whether it will hold up. A drawing that ignores how water moves across your yard looks great on paper and floods your patio in July.
Because we're a licensed home builder, we design from the ground down. Drainage and grading come first (the foundation everything else sits on), then the layout, the hardscape, and the plantings. What you get is a plan that's genuinely buildable, priced from a real materials list, and built to last in Columbia's clay and downpours. That's the difference between a picture of a yard and a plan for one.
A Flat Design Fee, Not a Guessing Game
The design
$2,687, flat
The design is a flat $2,687, the same price whatever your yard's size, and however many revisions it takes to get right (that's the 3-revision guarantee). When it's done, the plan is yours.
The build
Priced after
The build is priced separately, once the design tells us exactly what the yard calls for, and it's set in writing before any work starts, so there are no surprises. Want to see what sits behind the design fee and how to line two design proposals up against each other? Our Midlands landscape design cost guide walks through it.
Built for the climate
Landscape Design in the Midlands
A backyard in the Midlands has to handle clay soil, hard summer sun, and heavy downpours, so we design for our climate, not a catalog. That means grading and drainage that move water away from the house, plant choices that thrive in Columbia's heat and humidity, and hardscape built on a base that won't shift. The result is an outdoor space that still looks designed years after it's planted, because it was built to last here.
Serving Columbia & the Midlands
© OpenStreetMap contributors © CARTO
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between landscape design and landscaping?add
Landscape design is the plan: layout, drainage, hardscape, plantings, and how the whole space works. Landscaping is the planting and upkeep. Chonko Construction does the design: a builder-grade plan you can actually build from, with drainage and grading built in.
Do you build what you design?add
You choose. The finished plan is yours to build with any competent crew, and as a licensed home builder, we're glad to build it ourselves (decks, patios, retaining walls, and more). Either way, it's a plan that's priced and sequenced so it can actually be built.
How much does landscape design cost in Columbia, SC?add
The design is a flat $2,687, the same whatever your yard's size, and it comes with a 3-revision guarantee, with the finished plan yours to keep. The build is quoted separately once the design is set, in writing before any work starts. See our Midlands landscape design cost guide for what the fee covers and how to compare design proposals.
Related Guides
What Does Landscape Design Cost in Columbia, SC?
design and build ranges.
Wood Fence Cost in Columbia, SC (2026)
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Chain-link starts at about $24 a linear foot installed in Columbia, so a typical 150 to 300 foot yard starts around $3,600. Where the money actually goes on the cheapest fence there is.
Aluminum Fence Cost in Columbia, SC (2026)
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Pressure-Treated Deck Cost in Columbia, SC
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Start Your Outdoor Design
Free phone consultation
Talk through your landscape design
A quick, no-pressure call to scope the work and answer your questions. Pick a time on the right and we’ll call you then.
- check_circleA licensed builder on the phone, not a call center
- check_circleWe scope the project and talk through your options
- check_circleIt books straight onto our calendar, no estimate pressure