Affordable providers for building a move-in ready house

Especially when it comes to materials for the outdoor areas, you can save a lot by buying second hand. Patio stones, edging stones, plants, lawnmowers, other garden tools, patio furniture.

I had a terrace laid for about 300 euros including materials, bought 85 plants for 100 euros, built a trellis from old boards. My patio furniture cost 80 euros, plus 20 euros for a coat of glaze. For well under 1000 euros I will have set up my garden.

Admittedly, the garden is really very small. But even there I could easily have spent eight times that amount.

And did you? I assume only after 5 years or later, because it was so great?

Now seriously. We've played the small stuff for a few days now... I always find it fascinating how people with finished gardens try to convince others what they supposedly don’t need or can do later. I would rather guide people to plan honestly instead of bending over backwards for a house at any cost and then regretting it because they sit in the dirt for years and don’t have the money to make a proper garden out of it. For my part, looking back, I wish I had budgeted more for the outdoor facilities instead of dipping into the reserves now. We do almost everything ourselves, but "just the materials" also add up quite quickly.

Yes, we did it that way. We bought our old house 26 years ago. There was a garden, but it didn’t deserve the name. There was a driveway with strips made of old concrete slabs. At first, we laid grass pavers that I had received as a gift. Many years later we paved. There was a terrace and a path made of simply laid old concrete stones, which we gradually renewed. There were many large conifers in the garden that we removed step by step and turned it into a usable garden with plants from classified ads and plant markets.

And no, we didn’t do it because we thought it was so great. We did it because there was no other way. I simply didn’t have the money to take on a bigger loan. But it was more important to me to live in a house with a garden than to have perfect outdoor facilities. Of course, it’s nicer to have everything finished from the start. But not everyone can do that. And I would advise everyone to do it themselves and/or later if otherwise the whole project is not possible. If you had the opportunity to take on more capital, then that’s great for you. Not everyone has that opportunity. And constantly standing there and saying you should just plan a few ten thousand euros more is simply arrogant.

Although I would never have a garden professionally laid out (except for paving work and slope stabilization). I have the garden to be active in it. I enjoy that. From many people’s point of view, it won’t be perfect, but we like it because it’s our personal touch. We also laid out the path and steps at the entrances, the fence, and the piece of garden that served as a construction site ourselves again at the new house. By now not because we had to, but because we wanted to.

I had a terrace laid for about 300 euros including material,

I always enjoy reading how quickly one gets used to the BE/NL writing style :-)

Yes, we did it that way.

No, you didn’t! There is a galactic difference between having absolutely nothing and having something that just isn’t pretty yet.

I always enjoy reading how quickly people get used to the BE/NL writing style :)

aargh, sorry. It reads a bit harsh to German grammarians. :D

aargh, sorry. It reads a bit harsh for German grammarians.

No, I meant that absolutely positively. That in Germany every garden gnome is a volunteer first lieutenant in the spelling assistance police is basically a quirk (even if it is suitable for earning sympathy points for Piefkes in Austria). I always like working with dyslexics because they are not distracted by such nonsense at all. My own spelling strength results entirely neutrally from hereditary predisposition. Occasionally, I even enjoy it when, after the editing period has expired, one of my own spelling mistakes "survives." By the way, I can unfortunately only write this here today because I couldn't get in here for almost a week due to "too many redirects" (with all browsers and cleared cookies, mind you).