Cutting The Costs Of Creating A Gorgeous Outdoor Hangout Spot

Cutting The Costs Of Creating A Gorgeous Outdoor Hangout Spot

Whether you’re looking to create a cosy outdoor seating area, to make a space where you and your friends can dine, or you just want to make your garden a little more manageable, a patio can be the perfect way to bring some usable space to your exterior. However, many garden renovations can be costly, especially if you’re not careful to manage your costs. Here, we’re going to look at some of the ways that you can make sure things are staying within budget and to plan.

Know what kind of outdoor space you want

There are a lot of options for the kind of outdoor space that you want to build, but most of them tend to fall into the classification of a patio or decking. Patios tend to use pavers, while decking tends to be built out of timber or a similar material. Generally speaking, decking is a good deal cheaper than patios. However, the costs can change a lot for both types depending on things like what materials you use. For instance, you can cut the costs of a patio by using pebbles, gravel, or other aggregate materials for the edging, rather than more paving stones. Alternatively, you might consider adding a summer house to create a cozy, sheltered spot for year-round enjoyment. Either way, do your research and have a good idea of what kind of space you want.

Consider making it a little bit smaller

When you’re first building your patio or decking, you should think about how much space, exactly, you need it to take up. The bigger the space, the more materials you will need to build it, and the higher the price. There are great tools, like the decking sizing calculator from www.omnicalculator.com that can help you get a better idea of how much the project is likely to cost based on the size, and some other factors. You want to make sure that the space provides as much room as you need for your intended use, but even trimming it down a little could mean bigger cost savings than you might think.

Build it on a level location

Depending on the garden you have and the location that your home is built on, finding a level space and following this tip might not be as easy as it is for some. However, you should make an effort to find a flat spot where you can build your decking or patio without as much fuss. Otherwise, you’re going to have to build retaining walls, additional supports, or grade the soil to make it flatter, which can be expensive. There are options like soil-saver cloths like those from www.hy-tex.co.uk/ which can offer a more cost-effective option to do much the same thing but, at the end of the day, having to do no work to make a level is free.

Using the right materials

You might think that choosing the materials that come with the lowest upfront costs might be the most efficient way to build a patio, but you would be dead wrong on that front. In this case, we’re going to recommend looking at the long-term costs. In particular, you can make sure that you don’t have to replace the entire patio’s worth of decking in five years by choosing a material other than timber. Shops like www.clearambershop.com offer both composite and aluminium options. In terms of sheer cost-effectiveness, aluminium has every other material beat, with very low maintenance costs and a much, much longer lifespan. Composite serves as the halfway point between aluminium and timber, costing a little more to install, but lasting usually twice as long.

Use affordable shelter

Being wise about where you build your decking or patio can greatly reduce your need for any overhead sheltering. If you can build it where the shade remains throughout the day, then you don’t need to build it for the sake of avoiding being too exposed to the sunlight. However, some level of shelter is recommended for those rainy days. Rather than opting for a pergola option and building a timber roof, or the like, you can save a lot of money by installing an awning that can attach to the wall of the home or your garden fence. Just make sure that you’re choosing materials suitable for the type of weather you’re likely to face.

Make lighting more affordable

Of course, you want to add the warmth, atmosphere, and visibility that good lighting can offer to your outdoor hangout spot. Lighting can be expensive if you’re not careful, but that doesn’t mean that you should neglect it, especially if there are any steps down from the patio that could be potentially dangerous if not made properly visible. To that end, you might want to look at solar lighting. In particular, solar stakes can do a great job. You don’t need to spend money to landscape around them, nor to hook them up to the mains. They are entirely powered by solar energy, which also means that they’re going to help you save a little when it comes to your energy costs, to boot.

Use the plants you already have on hand

It’s not just the prospect of building a patio or decking that you need to be aware of, but how you’re going to manage the garden around it that can add to your costs. To that end, rather than getting rid of all of the plants that are in the way of your new outdoor chill space, why not dig them up and see if you can replant them, instead? Otherwise, you might be more likely to buy and pot new plants around the edge of the patio or the decking, to make it look a little more like a natural fit for the garden when you could use the plants you already have.

You deserve a beautiful patio hangout spot, and it doesn’t have to cost you an arm and a leg, either. With the tips above, you can make sure everything stays nicely within budget, while still doing the job you need it to.

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