Cost idea for garden make over

8 years ago

Hello,

We want to revamp our garden so it's a much more contemporary and fun space for our family.

We have a large shed that must go, an awkward side passage that needs thinking about, a concrete path that we hate and a lawn that is heavily neglected.

We are not gardeners and have toyed with the idea of artificial grass.

I've got no idea where to start to finding companies/people and feel like the advice from Houzz members on price will really help me be realistic when I invite someone to come and quote.

Thanks everyone

Featured Answer

Johannes Hearn

8 years ago

Hi there,

Apologies for the delay - we spent the last few days on farms in essex where we are completing a landscaping project.

We have had a quick look at our costing data to try and figure out what we think costs would look like.

Please note that the costs given below are very rough guides to help you make a decision. They are in no way quotes from local contractors and you can therefore expect variance between figures you receive during quotation and those given here as a guide.

Removing the Concrete Path.

For your sort of area we would expect a tradesman to be charging between £20 - £25 an hour for this sort of work.

To remove that concrete path (as longs it is not deep or other nasty's hidden underneath), would probably take 1 day at 8 hours a day. so the labour element of removing the path is probably going to be between £160 - £200.

You would still need to dispose of the rubble so i would suggest you allow up to £500 for disposal (it may be less but this is a pure guess, you would need to get quotes to see what costs you can get this for).

I would envisage that the contractor will hire a hydraulic breaker for the day so you should probably allow £80 - £100 for the hire costs.

Now add 15% margin onto the disposal and hire costs and you should have your final range:

Disposal + 15% = £575

Hire + 15% = £92 - £115

Labour = £160 - £200

Total: £827 - £890

Placing a shingle path.

Working off the same hourly rate - you should expect charges between £20 - £25 per hour.

You should allow £85 for weed matting.

You should allow £25 per metre for path edging

You should allow £8.50 per metre for shingle

You should work off 1.5 hours per metre for installation time (assuming no serious preparation works.

Now you need to put in the figure for how many metres your path is:

Total cost low end: (£63.5 per metre x number of metres) + £85

Total cost upper end: (£71 per metre x number of metres) + £85

Artificial Grass.

Right now we are going into completely unknown territory as we have never been involved in the installation of artificial grass and will therefore be making some assumptions.

the basic process for installing artificial grass is as follows:

Remove current turf
Rake to achieve a roughly level surface or at least one with no bumps/mounds.
Create chamfered edges in the existing soil.
Install edging
Place down a mix of fine stone and post-crete along the perimeter to support edges and deter weed growth.
Lay down Granite stone and compact
Lay down weed matting
Lay down grass and cut to suit
Use kiln dry sand to weigh down and finish off the artificial grass installation.

Assumptions:

It will take 1 day and three workers to complete steps 1, 2, 3, 4 & 5.
It will take 1 day and three workers to complete steps 6, 7, 8 & 9.
Your grass area is approx. 11 metres x 3 metres.
Labour rate will be around £20 per hour per person

Based on assumptions:

Labour costs: £960

Stone and postcrete mix: £150

Edging: £300

Granite: £500

Weed Matting: £60

Artificial Grass (Mid Quality): £800

Artificial Grass (Low Quality): £400

Kiln Dry Sand: £120

Total Cost Low Quality Grass: £2,490 or £75.45 per square metre

Total Cost Mid Quality Grass: £2,890 or £87.57 per square metre

Hope this helps in your understanding of potential costs.

all of these costs are based on numerous assumptions and average cost data so they are representative of what we would expect to see for your area. Best course of action from here is to get formal quotations.

let us know how you get on.

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Comments (22)

raebow
Original Author
8 years ago
Bump
Johannes Hearn
8 years ago
Where in the country are you based?

Until you decide what to do with the passage - a cost would be difficult to determine for that aspect. Any figures given on here will be rough back of a fag packet type costs but could, as you said, at least give you an idea of what to expect.
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raebow
Original Author
8 years ago
Hi, thanks for replying.

We're in Manchester.

The side passage connects to the path down in the lawn.

We really like the idea of strip of artificial grass down the path and into the garden but we've no idea if the costs of this. We're also unsure if artificial grass can be laid onto concrete.

We have around £4k to play with. We want to create a new, modern and clean space but we've no idea what's possible with our budget
Jonathan
8 years ago
I think you should be able to get rid of the concrete and have an artificial lawn and a shale path and some plants within your budget.
A modest patio starts at £1500 but increases in cost with size and more expensive flags so may not be in budget.
Given your budget I would consider a large deck, abandon the grass idea and add paths of shale and large borders to soften the edges
emmauk
8 years ago
You should definitely have enough with 4k, we have a similar size garden and have hard wood decking from the doorway and artificial grass with sleepers (with small spotlights in) all in all I think we spent £3000 but did the work ourselves (well I made the Brews whilst my husband did it!)
raebow
Original Author
8 years ago
Thanks for the comments folks.

We'll need to hire a professional so the £4k will have to include their fee.

We want some sort of lawn as we want the garden to have a soft play area for our toddler.

Really appreciate all your suggestions and ideas on costs!

Keep them coming!
raebow
Original Author
8 years ago
Can artificial grass go over concrete or will we have to pull up the path?
Sven
8 years ago
I would replace the shed with a nice summer house in the style that you like (£1-2000) and some decking around that (£5-700). The summer house would be the focus of the garden. A decked areas in front of the house would bring the garden into the house and vice versa (£1000). 2 tons of a nice shingle (£150) would cover the concrete path and make it look more appealing. Lots of nice evergreen plants (Cordylines, Phormiums) and shrubs to blur the edges. I would stain the fence a much darker color to make it more lux. So it can be transformed within budget, look contemporary and be a family space.
raebow
Original Author
8 years ago
Thanks for your comment Sven. We definitely aren't looking at a summerhouse as we'd have a lack of storage then and our garden isn't that big.

Didn't realise how cheap shingle might be if we could afford to take ip the path then this might be an option.
raebow
Original Author
8 years ago
Thank you so much for such a comprehensive reply HBO projects. Your cost breakdown is very useful.

The good news for me is that getting rid of the path might be achievable within our budget. The bad news is that the cost of installing a strip of artificial grass that flows into a small lawn is probably not going to happen within our budget - so we'll need to get our thinking caps on for how we can incorporate the side path into the garden and soften it up a bit but do it cheaper than fake grass!

Thanks again for replying and breaking this down for us.
emmauk
8 years ago
Hi, I'm not sure if it would reduce the cost but a way of introducing the path and softening he garden could be a circular design
emmauk
8 years ago
Circular designs
Johannes Hearn
8 years ago
Definitely possible to reduce overall cost by toying with different materials, shapes and designs. The circular design is really nice, but you do end up with increased wastage of your grass.

Like the idea though.
raebow
Original Author
8 years ago
Thanks Emma.

The path i was referring to was the one down the side of our house so the circular solution won't help.

We'll definitely need to continue to research shapes and materials.

On the look out for a garden design app now!
Jonathan
8 years ago
The main cost with the artificial grass is the preparation- consider real grass instead
PRO
Alexandra Froggatt Design
8 years ago
I am a garden designer based in Cheshire and am currently pricing up artificial turf for a project in Sandbach. It is looking to be about £55 per square metre including all installation materials and labour. I have had the estimate from a company in Cheshire called Cheshire Artificial Grass. I looked at samples on Thursday- they have one good quality products. They might be worth contacting if you would like firmer prices
raebow
Original Author
8 years ago
That's very interesting. Thank you.

It looks like artificial grass is still worth exploring as we'd need to do significant preparation to the land including bringing up a concrete path and levelling the ground.

It's all about working back from our budget of £4k I suppose.
PRO
Alexandra Froggatt Design
8 years ago
Your very welcome. I am sure you can turn your garden around with that sort of budget. Simple things like painting the existing fence will have a great effect with little outlay. Also, I think someone else has suggested combining gravel with artificial turf- this is a great idea. Perhaps you could run a path of artificial turf along the side passage then a narrow section in the garden with gravelled and planted areas. Reclaimed scaffold boards make nice decking if you can get hold of any. Salvage yards often have them ~£15 for a 3m length, I think it normally works out at about £15 per sqm for the planks. You could leave them bare for a quirky rustic look or stain them grey for a modern feel.

Good luck with the garden!
raebow
Original Author
8 years ago
Thanks for your encouraging words. We Really like the idea of running a strip of artificial grass down the side of the house that leads into the main garden.

We're not decking type people but love the idea of incorporating wood into the space. Getting hood of reclaimed materials is a marvellous one.

We're thinking that we need some kind of masterplan for the garden which we can split doing into phases when we can afford it - like replacing the fences.

We're
gilliifer
8 years ago
Love the circular designs!
Lyn Hickson
7 years ago
Circle designs are perfect for this size n shape of garden

Cost idea for garden make over

Johannes Hearn

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