How to Stay on Budget with your Landscaping Budget

When planning your upcoming landscaping project, it’s easy to get swept up in the glamour of your Pinterest board without fully comprehending the costs involved. A small landscaping budget can quickly be blown out without a clear understanding how particular design decisions will impact on cost breakdowns. 

It is important to establish a budget you feel comfortable spending on your project in the early stages of planning your project. A budget range may be more useful than a strict limit, as it allows for greater flexibility. 

When engaging with contractors it can be helpful to ask for good, better, and best options that include a breakdown of cost based on various materials and features. This will allow you to make more informed comparisons and determine which estimate is best suited to your budget. When hiring contractors you may want to consider that the lowest price is not necessarily the best option as installation method, materials and quality of service should also factor into your decision. 

It may also be possible to complete your project in stages, allowing you to save and potentially invest into better quality materials and finishes. Paving for example may be broken into phases such as installing a paved driveway first, and then adding a complementary walkway in a secondary stage of the project. 

An understanding of the cost of different material options will allow you to make more educated decisions on the balance of quality and cost. An expert from Brickworks Design and Trade Centre or your local landscaper can provide exact pricings on pavers of your choice. If you can find the space in your budget, investing in better quality materials can often save you money over time, as they are less likely to require regular maintenance. 

If you are working with a smaller budget, there are several ways to reduce costs. For instance, simplifying your designs and avoiding intricacy can reduce labour and material costs. Extra tiers of retaining walls or creating curves and complex laying paving patterns are likely to require a larger budget. 

Further to this, expenses can be lowered by working with the existing features in your backyard. For sloping blocks, instead of hiring earthmoving equipment to level your land, perhaps consider building down into the slope to create stepped areas using Austral Masonry’s Heron or Hayman Retaining Wall blocks. 

Another impactful way to reduce costs is through completing simple elements of your landscaping project yourself. While a qualified contractor generally equates to a better finish and less effort required from you, paving small areas, or building sections of a retaining wall can translate to significant savings.

Keeping these tips in mind will enable you to better manage your expectations and remain on budget for your next landscaping project. 

“When engaging with contractors it can be helpful to ask for good, better, and best options that include a breakdown of cost based on various materials and features.”

“When engaging with contractors it can be helpful to ask for good, better, and best options that include a breakdown of cost based on various materials and features.”