Last updated: September 2026
What is considered landscape construction?
Landscape construction is the physical building of an outdoor space: grading, drainage, retaining walls, patios, pavers, irrigation, lighting, and planting. Design produces the plan. Construction executes it in the ground. In San Diego, that work is done under a C-27 landscape contractor license, which covers this scope.
Most homeowners call a yard project one thing. On our side of the fence it is two jobs that happen to share a site.
Where does design stop and construction start?
Design is the drawing, the plant list, and the material choices. Construction begins the day someone breaks ground with a trencher or a skid steer.
The line matters because the second half is where the money and the risk sit. A patio that looks right on paper still fails if the base is 2 inches thin or the slope runs toward the slab.
| Work | Design | Construction |
|---|---|---|
| Grading and drainage | Slope and drain locations drawn | Soil moved, compacted, drains buried |
| Retaining walls | Height and material chosen | Footing dug, wall built, backfilled |
| Paver patios | Layout and pattern set | 4 to 6 inch base compacted, pavers set |
| Irrigation | Zones planned | Trenching, valves, drip lines, testing |
| Lighting | Fixture locations marked | Wire run, transformer set, fixtures aimed |
What does a construction crew actually deal with on a San Diego lot?
Clay in Bressi Ranch. Cobble and sandy fill near Bird Rock. Bluff-side lots in Cardiff where drainage has to be solved before anything else.
Any wall over 3 feet, measured from the bottom of the footing, needs engineering and a permit in the City of San Diego. We dig footings into undisturbed native soil, not fill. We have rebuilt stacked-block walls that leaned because someone skipped that step.
Drip zones run around 30 PSI with a regulator on every valve. Coastal salt air eats cheap fittings, so hardware choice is part of the build.
What doesn't count?
Weekly mowing, hedge trimming, and seasonal cleanup are maintenance. They are a different trade with different licensing and a different way of pricing. We covered that split in maintenance vs design-build.
Design alone is not construction either. Some homeowners hire a designer and then bid the build out. That works, but someone has to own the gap between drawing and dirt.
Who should you hire for the build?
Check the license first. Arcadian Landscape holds California Contractor License #978145 (C-27 Landscape Contractor) and is bonded and insured. Evan Weisman, who has a landscape design degree from CSU and more than a decade of design and construction work in San Diego County, walks every project himself.
Our landscape construction, hardscape, and irrigation pages show what we build. If we built your yard in La Jolla, Carlsbad, or Encinitas, a Google review that names the service and your neighborhood helps the next homeowner find us.