Cortland is where our shop is. Seasonal work, hardscapes and water features for the village we actually live and work in.
Custom Scapes & Designs is based in Cortland. Every other page on this site talks about how far we travel to get somewhere. This one does not, because the answer is that we are already here.
In practice that means short-notice visits are actually short notice, a forgotten pallet is a ten minute problem rather than a lost afternoon, and anything we build here we can come back and look at whenever we want. It also means our own work is the most visible advertising we have, which is a decent incentive to get it right. For everything we do, see our services, or the other towns we serve.
Being based in a village changes what is practical there. Not the rules, which are much like the rest of DeKalb County, but the logistics.
When the shop is in the village, looking at a problem the same week is normal rather than a favour. Storm damage, a failed section of edging or a drainage issue after heavy rain get seen quickly here.
Anything with moving parts benefits from somebody checking on it. Water features, irrigation and lighting all age better when the people who installed them pass the house regularly, and in Cortland we do.
Cortland's permit checklist asks for a plat of survey with the proposed placement marked, a copy of the signed sales contract when a professional is doing the work, and a material list or manufacturer brochure. Easement provisions for your subdivision are available on request.
Cortland is where our season starts. Being in the village means early spring work happens in early spring rather than whenever the route reaches you.
Patios and walks built five minutes from the yard the materials are stored in, which removes most of the reasons a hardscape build stalls partway through.
A water feature is the one thing we would only recommend if somebody local can look after it. In Cortland that is not a problem, which is why there are more of them here.
Minutes up the road. Overgrown planting out, grade corrected, trench edging, new beds and irrigation, all drawn as a 3D plan before anything was dug.
The south end of our home county. A full property redesign built off a 3D plan, with the front walk lit so it works after dark.
What homeowners here ask us most, answered straight.
Yes. The shop is here, which is why Cortland gets the shortest response times of anywhere we work and why we are comfortable taking on things we would think twice about further out. If you want to see work we have done, there is a fair amount of it within a few minutes of the village.
For fences, walls and most structural work, yes. The town's residential fence and wall checklist asks for the permit application, a copy of the plat of survey with the proposed placement marked on it, a copy of the signed sales contract if a professional is doing the work, and a material list or manufacturer brochure. The packet also includes easement provisions for your subdivision on request, plus JULIE dig and utility information.
It is part of Cortland's residential checklist when a professional is doing the work, and it is not unreasonable: it establishes who is responsible for what is being built. From our side it is simply another document we hand over with the application, and it is worth knowing about in advance so it does not come as a surprise at the counter.
On some things, considerably. Anything that needs looking at after a storm, anything with pumps or valves, and anything where a small problem becomes expensive if it waits. On a one-off patio build it matters less, though it still means fewer stalled days when something needs collecting. We would rather be honest about which is which than claim proximity fixes everything.
Permit and code requirements described on this page reflect Town of Cortland guidance published as of September 2026. Fees and codes change. Confirm current requirements with the town before starting work.
Cortland sits between DeKalb and Maple Park, with Sycamore just to the north.
We are already in the village. Tell us what the yard needs and we will come and look. Free on-site estimate, no pressure.
