Building a beautiful patio at their home is a dream for many. This outdoor living space not only enhances the look of the property but also provides a place to relax and refresh after a long tiring day. However, because of the decrease of income [by 2.9%] during the pandemic, people got cold feet to build outdoor spaces in their homes thinking about the huge expenses associated with them. But are patios really such expensive to install?
No. you can also do it on a limited budget. Let’s find out how to build an inexpensive patio so that you can also enjoy this outdoor living space without spending a fortune.
7 Ways to Build An Inexpensive Patio
Even though it might seem unbelievable at first but you can actually build a patio on a budget if you know how and where to minimize cost. Below, we have discussed the ways to build an inexpensive patio so that you too can have this outdoor living space without any splurge.
Pick A Leveled Spot For The Patio
When it comes to building a patio on a budget, try to pick an already leveled spot to install the structure. It will cut down your total cost by several degrees. If you want to make it on a slope, the cost of the base and retaining wall will surely increase your budget largely.
Avoid Hiring A Professional
A professional builder or contractor will charge a handsome amount of money for the quality of work they will provide. However, if you want to keep the cost of building a patio within budget, try doing it yourself rather than hiring a professional.
Even though the professional construction will make your patio look polished and professional, the DIY project will surely save your cost.
Try A Simple Profile
Generally, patios are made from varieties of materials and feature versatile designs. However, whenever you decide to build an inexpensive one on your property, try to keep the design simple and effortless. A simple patio not only requires limited materials to make [and cuts cost by several notches] but also looks sophisticated and clean.
Let’s see the cost of different materials per square foot of space to understand how much it would cost you to make your patio.
But then again, remember that it’s just estimation. The final cost may go up or down depending on the quality of the materials you choose.
| Material | Cost/square foot |
|---|---|
| Tile | $4.75 – $6.75 |
| Gravel | $0.50- $0.75 |
| Pavers | $2.40- $4 |
| Poured or stamped concrete | $6–$13 |
| Stone | $14–$28 |
| Brick | $14–$20 |
| Wood | $3- $10 |
Keep the Size Small And Precise
It’s common knowledge that the bigger the structure, the more expensive it would be. This theory is also true for your outdoor living space. The larger patio you plan to make, the greater amount of money you need to allocate.
If you don’t have a flexible budget, try to keep the size of your space small and precise so that you don’t have to spend a fortune when building your patio.
Buy In Wholesale
To build a patio perfectly, you need a whole lot of essential items including gravel, pavers, sand, as well as edging materials. However, when buying these elements, you must be very calculative. As you would need them in bulk to fully finish the structure, buying in wholesale would cut down the cost greatly and help you to be within your budget.
Also, when buying the tools and materials for your DIY patio, try to avoid big home improvement stores and get used to the surplus centers- it will be much more cost-effective.
Try To Purchase Materials In Off-Season
In addition to buying necessary materials in bulk, you can also try collecting them in the off-seasons to cut back on the final cost. During off-seasons, like winter, the demand for building materials is lower than ever. If you buy all the required constructions materials during this time, the prices will be lower and therefore, you can save more money on the building.
Moreover, you can also cut down the building cost by buying scrap from your local contractors. More often than not, contractors dump the extra materials after building a structure. You can buy them at a cheaper rate.
Cut Off the Unnecessary Items
When you are building an inexpensive patio in your outdoors, you don’t need to stack it up with items that you actually don’t need. Before getting into work, you must decide the kind of things you can live without on your patio. Cut them off immediately to keep the final cost in the budget.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the disadvantages of building a patio on a budget?
There are actually no disadvantages of building an inexpensive patio. However, as you are cutting the budget severely, you might have to sacrifice features and quality a bit. Also, you would have to let go of extensive decorations if you want to keep the total cost within budget.
How much a 12×12 patio would cost?
The cost of a patio largely depends on the type and quality of the materials you use to construct it. It doesn’t matter if you are building a 12×12 or 10×10 patio, as the final cost depends on the other factors, we just cannot give an accurate estimation here.
But then again, let’s roughly calculate the cost of making a 12×12 patio so that you get an initial idea.
| Material | Avg Price per sqft | Avg Price for a 12’ x 12’ Patio |
|---|---|---|
| Tile | $5 | $720 |
| Gravel | $0.75 | $108 |
| Pavers | $4 | $576 |
Final Words
Now that you know a whole lot of ways to cut costs, we can hope that you can build an inexpensive patio in your outdoors efficiently. Even though these ideas help you to minimize the budget of your outdoor living area, there is no way that they influence you to cut back quality or outlook- they teach you how to build the best patio even being within a tight budget.
Henry Jurk is an experienced architect with over 20 years of expertise in paving. He shares his knowledge and provides solutions through his blog posts at OkPatio.com. If you have any questions about patios, gardens, and outdoor spaces, you can find the correct answers from Henry. You can contact him via email at ar.henryjurk@gmail.com or through the website’s contact page.
