How to Afford the Patio of Your Dreams

So you want an amazing outdoor living space but it seems you can’t afford one. Not to worry, in this article, we discuss the two options available to you that will help make this dream of yours a reality.

Having a patio designed and installed can be a very exciting endeavor. With so many add-on options available, such as outdoor kitchens and pergolas, the price can easily go through the roof. Sometimes our budget limits those options to just having the flatwork installed and saying “no” to all the fancy upgrades.

Nowadays, you have a few options that you can take that will have you enjoying an outdoor living space you never know you could have.

Financing

This option is not for everyone. If this is not an option for you, scroll down to the next option, a patio master plan. But for those of you still reading, you will be pleased to know that there are a great number of patio contractors offering various financing plans suited. The 3 plans I typically see are 12-18 months same as cash, zero-interest loans, and reduced interest loans. You will need to seek out a contractor that offers financing plans and ask for the details of their financing in order to get a true measurement of the value they provide.

I have seen people install full-fledged outdoor living spaces for a $400/month payment. In my opinion that is a no-brainer. The fact that you get a very good return on your investment, according to the National Association of Realtors, should also make this an easier choice.

Patio Master Plan

Don’t let a limited budget get you down. There is always tomorrow. Let me explain. I always tell my clients to design with no limitations. Design a space that has the features that you dream of and slowly go about having everything built out. We, in the design industry, call it the Master Plan.

A Master Plan allows you to create a patio design that has all the bells and whistles you dream of. It allows you to build a basic structure that looks good as a stand-alone project. Once the time comes to add extra features you can seamlessly do that by following along with the master plan previously created.

Sure, it’s a slower process and it will take you a few years to make this dream come to fruition. However, it is a great solution as it allows you to spread the costs out as much as needed. Let me be the one to tell you that even the very wealthy do this!

With A Master Plan, you are able to see a rendering of your grand plan. You can then break it down into more affordable chunks. As you can see in this design, this client was eager to incorporate a pizza oven, stone sitting walls, natural gas fire pit, a brick stoop, a garden wall, a walkway to the fence door, and an outdoor kitchen…whow. Wait, we still need the main part, the patio itself.

Phase One of Paver Patio Installation

Would you believe his budget could only afford just over 25% of the cost of the entire project? The solution was to break it down into affordable chunks that he can have installed over the course of the next couple of years. So for phase one, he could only afford to have his existing patio removed and a new patio and stoop installed.

We removed most of the bells and whistles and left just the patio and stoop in the design.

This allowed him to be able to have a patio right away and allow him to stay within his budget. He decided he would hold off just over a year before he decided he was ready to take on the next phase of the project. He had enjoyed his patio so much he was eager to get to the next phase.

Phase Two Patio Installation

During this phase, the homeowner wanted to focus on the sitting wall, gas fire pit, garden wall, and walkway. He was most interested in the fire pit because that would give him a place to gather with friends and family. The walkway was there more for practical reasons.

Phase Three Patio Installation

In the homeowner’s words, “this was the icing on the cake”. Initially, he thought this was just a pipe dream. He never thought he would be going to this extent in his backyard. Well, here we are in the final phase, almost 4 years later. All that was left was the outdoor kitchen and pizza oven.

It may have taken this homeowner almost 4 years to get his dream outdoor living space, but it was eventually worth it. Sometimes your budget may be limiting you to get what you want now, but never let this be the reason you don’t have an outdoor space that you can personally enjoy or show off to your guests.

Will you go the financing route and have your outdoor living space installed all at once or you phase out the project with a Master Plan? Either way, I hope that having these two options will help you take the plunge into outdoor living. Best of luck with your project.

Source:

https://www.remodeling.hw.net/cost-vs-value/2019/

https://www.nar.realtor/sites/default/files/documents/2018-05-remodeling-impact-outdoor-features-05-23-2018.pdf

BIO:

David Arroyo of Strictly Stone started laying brick patios as a summer job in high school with his father. He went on to study design at Art Institutes which allowed him to further develop his expertise and enhance his artistic eye. To date, David has well over 1,000 brick paving projects under his belt.