What the public sources establish—and do not
Supplier information can establish a product’s listed supply price or its installation and care requirements. It cannot, by itself, establish a representative installed market price. No documented project with a complete cost breakdown is used here, and no supplier estimate is presented as a completed project’s final cost.
| Evidence type and source | Date, market and unit | Supported scope / limits |
|---|---|---|
| Florafelt 12-Pocket Panel · supplier retail listing | Observed November 12, 2026; price effective date not stated. U.S. supplier web shop; USD 180 per panel. Shipping/service geography not established. | 32 × 24 in face = 5⅓ sq ft; USD 33.75/sq ft of nominal panel face. Root Wraps included; plants explicitly excluded. Labor, irrigation, drainage, lighting, controls, building waterproofing and access not priced by this panel line; tax/freight not established. Not an installed rate. |
| LiveWall installation instructions · manufacturer scope guidance | Checked November 12, 2026; document revision date not established. Brand-specific; no price, currency or priced geography. | Shows waterproofing, furring, irrigation feed, drain connections and contractor-sourced facing. Identifies interfaces to cost separately or confirm included; does not price them. |
| LiveWall maintenance instructions · manufacturer care guidance | Checked November 12, 2026; revision date not established. Brand-specific; no annual price or priced geography. | Recommends routine indoor care every 1–2 weeks for its system. This is not a market-wide visit frequency, annual fee or guaranteed replacement rate. |
| Nedlaw FAQ · supplier estimate process | Checked November 12, 2026; revision date not established. Canada-based supplier; no numerical quote or currency used. | States custom wall cost varies with size, finish, location and other project factors. No bid or market price is inferred. |
| Interiorscape worked example · editorial assumptions | USD; 200 sq ft wall face; no project, geography or price date. Reviewed November 12, 2026. | USD 24,000 initial bundle and USD 2,400 annual bundle retained solely for arithmetic. Scope assumptions and unknowns follow below; not a quote or observed project. |
The panel arithmetic is 32 × 24 ÷ 144 = 5⅓ sq ft; USD 180 ÷ 5⅓ = USD 33.75/sq ft. That denominator is nominal panel face—not an approved planted area or order quantity. Layout, cuts, gaps and quantity pricing require a supplier takeoff. Do not multiply this supply-only rate into the installed example or add it to an installed bundle that already includes panels.
The 200-square-foot worked example: scope ledger
Assume 200 sq ft of planted vertical wall face, USD 24,000 of initial work and USD 2,400 per year for operation and routine service. These are deliberately hypothetical teaching inputs. The bundles are not itemized supplier quotes, so no invented allocation between trades is made.
| Scope | Example status | Where counted / what to confirm |
|---|---|---|
| Panels, plants and growing medium | Included — assumed | Part of the USD 24,000 initial bundle; no additional supply-only panel line. |
| Installation labor, delivery and commissioning | Included — assumed | Part of the initial bundle; no separately priced labor allowance. |
| Irrigation and plumbing connections | Included — assumed | Equipment and connections in the initial bundle; recurring operation in the annual bundle. |
| Drainage and waterproofing | Included — assumed | Initial building interfaces included for this teaching scenario; confirm responsible trade in a real bid. |
| Lighting, electrical and controls | Included — assumed | Installation in the initial bundle; normal electricity and water use in the annual bundle. No separate utility calculation is claimed. |
| Access equipment and area protection | Included — assumed | Installation access in the initial bundle; routine service access in the annual bundle. |
| Annual maintenance and routine plant replacements | Included — assumed | USD 2,400 per project per year includes routine care, consumables, utilities and routine plant replacements; no replacement percentage or visit count is assumed. |
| Major component repairs or whole-wall replacement | Unknown — not priced | No timed replacement is scheduled. Failure cost and timing remain unresolved, not zero-priced or evidence of a five-year useful life. |
| Taxes, design/permit fees and existing-wall removal | Excluded | Not in the illustrative subtotal; add applicable project-specific costs once. |
Five-year arithmetic and replacement assumptions
- Initial work: USD 24,000 per project ÷ 200 sq ft = USD 120/sq ft of planted wall face.
- Annual bundle: USD 2,400 per project per year ÷ 200 sq ft = USD 12/sq ft/year.
- Five annual bundles: 5 × USD 2,400 = USD 12,000 per project over five years.
- Illustrative subtotal: USD 24,000 + USD 12,000 = USD 36,000, or USD 180/sq ft over the five-year horizon.
The five annual bundles cover years 1–5; none is embedded in the initial USD 24,000. The example assumes no escalation or discounting. Routine plant replacement materials and labor are assumed covered by annual service, with no replacement percentage, interval or number of visits modeled. No whole-wall replacement is scheduled; major component repairs and renewal remain unpriced. A five-year horizon is not evidence that the plants or assembly last five years.
Complete five-year budget = initial installed bundle + non-overlapping owner work + five annual operation/service costs + uncovered repair or replacement events + applicable taxes and fees. Record each excluded or unknown amount before calling the result complete. An unknown is not zero. Where utility costs are excluded from service, calculate equipment kW × operating hours × tariff, then add water and sewer charges using project-specific consumption and tariffs; add each cost only once.
What to request in a comparable bid
- Basis: measured planted wall face, selected system, plant schedule, site/location, currency, quote date and validity, taxes, freight and access conditions.
- Initial scope: mark each ledger item included, separately priced, excluded or unknown. Name the responsible trade for building waterproofing, drainage, plumbing, electrical work, controls and commissioning.
- Service: annual versus monthly/per-visit fee, visit count and tasks, routine replacement materials and labor, pest response, callouts, irrigation repairs, utilities and lift access.
- Renewal and handover: component and plant warranty terms, replacement exceptions, inspection triggers, escalation, system removal and end-of-contract ownership.
- Comparable totals: reconcile supply-only prices against installed bundles. Add only genuinely incremental owner work; withhold a complete-cost ranking while scope or costs remain unresolved.
Compare two or three proposals for the same planted wall face. If Bid A includes lighting, mark it Included and add nothing. If Bid B excludes lighting, mark it Excluded and enter the separate allowance with its source. Leave an unknown allowance blank: the adjusted total stays incomplete until the amount and source are confirmed. A confirmed zero is entered as 0, not left blank. These project inputs are separate from the $36,000 teaching example above.
Coordinate the budget with the assembly and care team
Compare system types and service access before issuing the brief. Use the vegetated wall specification guide to identify trade interfaces, then confirm the actual manufacturer details rather than importing generic replacement assumptions. Agree recurring responsibility through the maintenance-model guide.
No generic payback, plant-loss percentage or whole-system useful life is established by these cost sources. Workplace research does not turn an assumed cost into payroll savings, rental income or a guaranteed cash return.