Renovating your garden doesn’t have to cost an absolute fortune, so we’re here to show you some different ways to cut costs when renovating your garden without compromising on the quality of the end result! From how and where to buy your materials to finding bargains and thinking how you can save money in your garden longer term, we’ve got you covered.
Start By Clearing Garden Waste and Pressure Washing
The first thing you should do before you start anything else is to clear your garden waste, mow your lawn and pressure wash your fences and patio. The reason for this is because when your garden looks really scruffy, it can be easy to throw money at the issue for a complete transformation. However, more often than not, once your garden looks clearer you’ll likely realise that there are some things that you thought you’d need you might not!
For example, you might think that when you have an overgrown patio that is all stained and mossy, that the best option is to replace it. However, once you’ve cut back the overgrown area and jet washed it, you might realise that it’s fine as it is and with a bit of new garden furniture and some plant pots, it will look great. Or, perhaps there are a couple of broken tiles, so rather than replacing the whole thing, you fix those two and then regrout for a fresh look. This will be different for every garden, but we know you’ll see it in a whole different light once it’s had a good clean so you’re investing your budget into things that really make a difference.
Hire Your Equipment
Buying new or even second hand garden tools can get really expensive when you are unlikely to use a lot of them again, so we’d recommend hiring your equipment if you can’t borrow from family and friends! This way, you access fantastic quality equipment for a fraction of the price, and often it will all be dropped off to you and collected at the end. You also don’t have the stress of needing to store equipment long term then. There are some things that might be worth buying if you’ll use again, for example if you have quite a lot of land with plenty of trees and bushes, then purchasing a chainsaw will likely be worth it. However, for much more niche equipment, it’s always best to hire!
Carefully Select Your Materials (Hardwearing and Less Expensive)
When you’re choosing the materials for your garden renovation, it’s important that you choose hard wearing yet affordable options to not only save money short term, but also long term. For example, whilst composite decking is long lasting, it’s one of the most expensive types. However, when you choose pressure-treated lumber, it’s the most common and therefore least expensive type of decking. It requires slightly more maintenance, such as yearly washing, sanding and sealing, however it can last up to 30 years when done properly.
You should also think about the weather where you are based, to ensure you’re choosing the right option for your home and the weather conditions. For example, you could choose turf for your home in Australia, however without proper maintenance it won’t look very healthy for most of the year! Instead, choosing artificial grass in Melbourne will keep it looking amazing all year and it is also an affordable option.
Have a think about the different options when you’re choosing your materials and do some research to help you find the hardest wearing and least expensive.
Use Price Comparison Websites
Using price comparison websites when purchasing your garden renovation materials is one of the best ways for you to cut costs whilst still buying the same materials! There are quite a few different price comparison sites where you can type in what you’re looking for (this could be something quite generic like “patio tiles” or a really specific brand and exact product), then it will bring up lots of different providers with different prices. For example, you might be looking for a specific paint for your fences, and buying direct could be a lot more expensive than other providers! So, before you buy, take the time to have a look to ensure you’re finding what you’re looking for at the best price.
Don’t Underestimate Local Marketplaces
One of the best ways to save money on your garden renovations is to ensure you don’t underestimate local marketplaces. Before you buy anything, search for it on your local online marketplaces and see if they have what you’re looking for. Even if it’s something really niche, someone might have found it at the back of their garage and want to get rid of it! You can get things much cheaper than you usually would or even free in some cases if it’s an inconvenience for the owner to store. You can literally find anything from natural skincare products to clothing, car parts and luckily in this case, construction materials, so your options are endless. Just make sure that you read up a bit on scams that can occur on these marketplaces, as they do occur sometimes and people do lose money. If you’re not confident using the platforms, or are unsure about what anyone is saying, make sure you ask a family member or friend for advice.
Be Realistic About What You Can and Can’t Do
Another thing that is important when it comes to saving money on your garden renovation is to be realistic about what you can and can’t do. Whilst it can be tempting to think you can renovate a whole garden after watching videos on YouTube (don’t get us wrong, some people definitely can do this), you need to be realistic. The last thing you want is to try and do it yourself, it does not work, then you end up wasting materials and a lot of time! So, at the start of your project, come up with a list of every task you need in your garden, decide what you can do yourself and what you need some professional help with. If any of the jobs you decide you can do yourself are quite large, it would be worth asking friends and family in advance if they can help and then map out your plan so you know what you’ll be doing when! This will help you to get organised and also rope people in with plenty of advance to help you build your dream garden space.