We had a new patio poured earlier this summer and added new landscape around it to make everything look more finished. We are so happy with our new patio! My plan for finalizing the furnishing the patio is still in process and likely won’t be finished until spring because I need to redo a few pieces of furniture, but for today’s post I am breaking down exactly what we had done to our patio and landscaping – and how much it all cost! Outdoor projects can be intimidating, and I wanted to give you some real-life insight on what we hired out versus what we did.
THE BEFORE
This is what our patio looked like before. It was a decent size, but over the years (we think it was original to when our house was built 40 years ago) it sank about 4 inches. Every time it rained our patio became a lake. We would have worked with our existing patio for longer had it not been for the water issues we were having. We knew we needed it to be addressed to save our foundation from further damage and to keep us sane by reducing the amount of mud in our backyard (less mud = less mud to be tracked inside by the dogs).
Another large issue that was causing some of the water/mud problems were two downspouts that needed to be buried and extended into the yard to keep the water away from the foundation. You can see one on the left behind the tree and one of the far right side of the house. When it rained water would pour out of these and end up pooling on the patio. Not good.
We knew the scope of this project was outside of our abilities so we decided all of the patio work out, knowing we would complete the landscape around it after it was installed. We interviewed a few contractors and once we landed on one we liked we got down to the itemized estimate, which included:
- A new patio that was raised and larger (if we were going to do it, we wanted to make it bigger)
- Burying two downspout drainpipes and installing pop-up drains further into the yard
- Removal of 3 large yew bushes that were in the way of the new, larger patio size
- Plain concrete / stamped concrete / stained concrete / stamped and stained concrete
We considered a deck in lieu of a patio for a few weeks before we learned that a deck would be upwards of $20,000! Double of the amount we hoped to spend so that was nixed pretty quickly and made the decision of just replacing the patio pretty easy.
THE FINISHED PATIO
We ended up deciding on extending our patio to 16’x24’ (original size was 10’x16’) and chose a basket weave stamped concrete patio with a medium gray stain color. We also had the two drainpipes buries underneath the patio and extended further into the yard and the 3 large yew bushes removed.
We were very disappointed because the crew ended up stamping the basket weave pattern incorrectly. All the lines are supposed to line up vertically and horizontally and it’s apparent when looking at our patio they got off on nearly the first line, so the pattern is completely off for the whole patio. To say we were bummed is an understatement! That is precisely the reason we hired a professional – to get it right. We know mistakes happen though, unfortunately. We discussed this with our sales rep, and the company offered to either rip up and replace the patio or give us a discount. We chose the discount because we felt other than the pattern the patio was in great shape and was exactly what we wanted. Plus we don’t like to waste materials or create excess waste in general and ripping up our brand-new patio felt very wasteful. The off pattern still bothers me, but it bothers me less and less as time goes on. Plus, we are just so happy to have the project completed. It didn’t hurt that our cost ended up much less than we were anticipating because of the discount – we were happy to put those funds to other upcoming house projects!
THE LANDSCAPING
After the patio was installed, we got to working on the landscaping. We chose to install a 2.5’ border of white river rock (Arkansas White from Suburban Lawn and Garden for KC locals) all around the patio. This was to cover up the rough edges at the base of the concrete and to provide an extra barrier to protect our patio from water and mud. Now that we had a new patio, we wanted to do everything we could to keep it in good condition!
To install the rock barrier we first eyeballed how far out we wanted it to come (about 3 feet – plus a wider walkway to the right of the patio by our gate) and then we sprayed the line using spray paint for a guide. The we dug up a small “trench” along the line to act as a natural barrier to help keep grass from growing into the rocks. We laid black landscape barrier down under where all the rocks would grow (to prevent weeds) and then laid the rocks evenly. I don’t have too many process pictures because this was a very muddy job!
In addition to the rock we added mulch in the bed to the right side of the patio, transplanted a few Hosta plants, and added a few new plants in the bed to the right of the patio. The Hosta plants are sturdy and though they looked sad after we transplanted them, but I know they will bounce back next year.
We once left two Hosta plants that we dug up on the side of our house not planted, root balls completely exposed with no water during the summer (we forgot about them!). We found them 3 months later and they still looked okay-ish so I tried replanting them out front. 3 years later they are thriving in our front yard! I was amazed and forever became a fan of Hosta plants.
The entire landscaping portion of the project we got done in one weekend. It was definitely hard work, but very worth it in the end.
THE AFTER
THE COST
So how much did this entire project cost us? I’m breaking it down for you below:
Demo & haul off existing patio and shrub bushes – $350
New patio install, stamp, and stain (384 square feet) – $5,600
Discount for improper stamp – $(1,800)
2 downspouts buried with pop-ups – $550
River rock (2 cubic yards) – $575
Mulch & new plants – $170
Total Cost – $5445
Before After
We are so happy we saved up for this project and everything is now done. I would do it all over again!! It’s already helped our yard become less muddy and the grass is actually growing in areas it previously hadn’t. In the future we hope to continue the river rock in more flower beds in our back yard, but it is a lot more expensive than mulch (makes sense because you don’t have to replace it every year!) so we plan to add a little bit more around the yard each year.
I can’t wait until spring when all the plants begin to grow and bloom! The patio is still pretty in the fall, but I just know it’s going to shine come spring.
