What are some ideas for landscaping on a budget? Tips for landscaping your yard on a budget. Budgets are always there, it just depends on how much a person has. I would ask the customer to have a realistic...
Budgets are always there, it just depends on how much a person has. I would ask the customer to have a realistic budget. There are several times when we go to houses to get a little background information on what the customer wants to do the front yard, the backyard or sprinkler system. They may think they can get a sprinkler system a few hundred dollars. It is not going to happen. In the greater Austin area you can get a sprinkler system for a standard interior lot, which is approximately 60' x 100', for $2400 to maybe $3400. This is for a good system. You can always get them cheaper. What happens in the end is you end up paying for the system multiple times over because you are using more water, thus paying more for your water bill over a longer period of time for a system that is inefficient.
As far as the budget, textbook costs say that the landscape should be 10% of the home's value. So if you have $100,000 home, you should estimate spending $10,000 on landscape. This would be an estimate using a professional landscaper. You can either pay someone to work-up a concept for you if you are a do-it-yourself'er or you can get an overall concept with one company like us that does everything.
Landscaping has a greatest return on the dollar invested as far as when you sell the house over swimming pools and remodeling. I think additions come second and pools are third. This was an article that I have read in Smart Monday magazine. What you would want to do is go with the sprinkler system first and trees. A sprinkler system and a good crop of trees will bring your value up tremendously, especially the trees. If you have a limited budget to work with, concentrate on the sprinkler system and add a few trees. The trees you can actually plant yourself as long as you want to get out and do the work. With the sprinkler system, it is better to go ahead and get a professional. Look for someone who is going to give you a good warrantee for generally 2-3 years. Put the sprinkler system in first and then the put the trees in. You can always come back in and incorporate the flower beds and your plantings later. A deck would be nice as well. That is something that is going to be related to the person that is occupying the property at that particular time.
If you want the budget to be realistic, going down to a nursery and purchasing a bunch of plants without a concept in mind sometimes costs you more than it does to do it right the first time. Always seek professional advice and just be informed with the contractor whenever he comes out. If you don't have the money to pay him and you just want to talk, just tell him. Many contractors and designers would do a design for you and charge a few hundred dollars and it will be done properly. If you want to do it yourself, you can work towards it. The professional advice can save you a lot of money in the end.
