ᐅ Affordable landscaping for a new build – what is the best approach?
Created on: 9 Apr 2022 11:16
M
MarkoW.
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.
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.
ypg schrieb:
Hmm, Katja has already revealed so much about herself here in the forum that you could visit her with just a little bit of detective work.
But please don’t be pushy. 😀 😎;)chand1986 schrieb:
You see it differently—that single-family houses are not a sensible use of space per se when it comes to creating living space? What is there to see differently? That’s a no-brainer.
But the topic here is not the creation of living space. I am talking about existing buildings, and specifically in this thread about the obligation to green the garden. Further sealing of surfaces is primarily bad for the environment and cities. The idea that stacking people is the best way to give the environment a chance is, in my opinion, a pseudo-solution. You still know my opinion on this, right? The solution is not high-rise buildings, but condominiums.
C
chand198610 Apr 2022 15:14K a t j a schrieb:
The solution is not high-rise buildings but condominiums. Mandated or voluntary?
What you want already exists in the world: prosperity. Societies at our level of prosperity generally have a slightly negative reproduction rate—completely voluntarily.
How do we raise the rest of the world to such a level without overusing the planet’s resources? No idea! But I do know it won’t happen in a single-family home garden.
The main argument for a natural garden is not morality, but rather that there is no reason against it. Fear of gardening stems from a lack of gardening education. That can be addressed, but the moralizing finger needs to stay in its sleeve, or the target audience will immediately tune out.
And yet, in the end, living is all about how we use space for life. It’s that simple.
W
WilderSueden10 Apr 2022 15:21haydee schrieb:
240 sqm (2583 sq ft) is not much. A fixed tall privacy screen (check how tall it is allowed to be) can quickly create a feeling of confinement, like a backyard. We considered this years ago as well. However, more natural vertical gardening is preferable.Good point about the feeling of confinement. But if a privacy screen is really desired, it can be softened with plants. Recently, I borrowed "Gardening Around the House" by Noel Kingsbury from the library (@MarkoW. , the library tip is useful; there is an incredible amount of literature on the subject). It includes many smaller urban gardens that successfully hide their walls behind plants and don’t appear that small at all.G
Georgian201910 Apr 2022 15:21haydee schrieb:
You wouldn’t be the first to catch the gardening bug. I have a brown thumb indoors—I can’t even keep artificial plants alive. Outside, almost everything grows well.
240 sqm (2583 sq ft) isn’t a lot. A fixed, tall privacy screen (check how high it’s allowed to be) can quickly create a feeling of confinement, like a backyard. We considered this years ago too. But we leaned more towards natural vertical gardening.
If you want to include a play area next to the terrace and the usual three strawberry plants, there won’t be much space left.
Also check whether there are really no restrictions on planting. Many development plans (building permits / planning permissions) nowadays feel like they only allow you to choose the color of the tulips.
By the way, bulb flowers are a good example of how little effort plants require: you plant them once and the rest takes care of itself.My father owns a semi-detached house in Hamburg with a 235 sqm (2530 sq ft) plot. A small but well-kept front garden with plenty of greenery and shapes, a terrace at the back, a small lawn, flower beds, hedges, solitary shrubs to break the view, columnar trees for fruit, raised beds along the house wall for tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, strawberries, etc. There is also a garden shed with a summer kitchen and a carport with a garden shed. It really feels like being on a 500 sqm (5382 sq ft) property....around the corner on the left is the strip with raised beds and columnar trees.
Georgian2019 schrieb:
My father owns a semi-detached house in Hamburg with a 235 sqm (2,530 sq ft) plot. A small but nicely landscaped front garden with lots of greenery and shapes, a terrace in the back, a little lawn, flower beds, hedges, solitary shrubs to break up the view, columnar fruit trees, raised beds along the house wall for tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, strawberries, etc. There is also a tool shed with a summer kitchen and a carport with a tool shed. It almost feels like being on a 500 sqm (5,380 sq ft) plot.
...just around the corner on the left is the strip with raised beds and columnar trees. I assume the bushes at the very back belong to the neighbors and are simply “shared” to make the garden feel bigger? 😉
And even if it’s not the case here: in our 150 sqm (1,615 sq ft) terraced house garden, I had a (wide) view of the neighbor’s planting, which visually made the garden seem much larger… but that doesn’t work well with privacy fences. Everyone had privacy thanks to bushes of appropriate size or where privacy was needed, which was _at_ the terrace, not 10 meters (33 feet) away from it. Then privacy also doubles as wind protection.
G
Georgian201910 Apr 2022 20:40ypg schrieb:
I assume the shrubs at the very back belong to the neighbors and are just being “shared” to make the garden appear larger? 😉
Even if not the case here: in our 150sqm (1,615 sq ft) terraced house garden, I had an extended view of the neighbors’ planting, which made the garden look visually huge… but that doesn’t work well with privacy fences. Everyone had privacy through appropriately sized bushes or plants where privacy was needed, that is, right by the terrace, not 10 meters (33 feet) away. Privacy there then also acts as wind protection. The very tall arborvitae belongs to the neighboring property. The two trimmed thujas (green + yellow) belong to my father.
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