ᐅ Affordable landscaping for a new build – what is the best approach?

Good morning everyone,

As some of you may have heard, we are building a semi-detached house as a prefabricated home. As is common with most suppliers, the exterior landscaping is not included in the price. So, we have to take care of that ourselves.

I have read up extensively on the topic but unfortunately keep finding very conflicting prices and cost estimates.

Just a few days ago, there was a thread where someone wanted to spend six figures on their garden—I nearly fell off my chair.

So, about our garden: The area behind the house is roughly 230 square meters (2,476 square feet), a bit over 10 meters (33 feet) wide and just over 20 meters (66 feet) long. We plan to build a simple paved terrace, which will probably be slightly higher than the rest of the garden later on. The house (being timber frame construction) has to be elevated 30cm (12 inches) above ground level. Since we want level access to the terrace from the house, it will be built flush with the door, and the lawn will then be slightly lower. We will also need to install drainage between the terrace and the house to prevent water from running into the building. That shouldn’t be a problem because the rainwater downpipes’ drainage also runs in that area. According to online sources, paving the terrace costs around 100 euros per square meter (approximately $100 per 10.8 square feet).

Regarding the fence, we will of course coordinate with our future neighbors. We’re considering separating the terrace from the neighbor with gabion walls (about 4 meters / 13 feet long). The rest of the garden will be enclosed with a welded wire fence (please no debate about the fence type—the development plan requires hedges, chain-link fencing, or welded wire fencing). On various websites, I calculated prices for this. About 50 meters (164 feet) of fencing (1.8 meters / 6 feet high and 2 meters / 6.5 feet wide per panel), including posts, costs around 4,000 euros. Privacy screening strips might be added, but they can be easily installed by ourselves, so I am leaving those out for now (around 700 euros).

We also want a lawn. I think rolled turf looks best, though I’ve also read about very different prices here. When searching for prices, about 10 euros per square meter (approximately $10 per 10.8 square feet) is displayed. Alternatively, we could sow grass seed ourselves, but then there is the risk that birds will eat it.

No flowers, trees, or shrubs are initially planned. To the right of the house, we want a garage (we have quotes starting at 15,000 euros for an 8 x 3 meter (26 x 10 feet) prefabricated garage with electricity, foundation, and installation).

The driveway / front garden can only be done once the construction access road is removed.

So what makes the garden so expensive? I’ve estimated my calculated costs:

Terrace: 40 sqm x 100 euros = 4,000 euros (possibly a bit more if more base material is needed)
Rolled turf: 200 sqm x 10 euros = 2,000 euros
Fence: 4,000 euros

That brings the total to about 10,000 euros (with the terrace costs including labor).

Then there is additional labor for the fence and lawn installation (unfortunately, I don’t feel confident doing this myself, and none of my acquaintances can either). Is labor really the main factor driving the cost so high? What labor costs would you estimate for these jobs?

Also, does it make sense to install the garage only after completing the garden work? Otherwise, it would be difficult to bring in excavators and other machinery.

What other tips would you have for keeping the garden as affordable as possible?

By the way, the plot used to be farmland, so it’s flat and the soil should be good for this kind of work.