When we have busy lives, it can be so easy to let junk pile up in the garden. until it becomes unrecognisable. But if you clear the space and apply a simple makeover, the improvements can be striking.
YouTuber Nick Richards, 24, and his mum recently transformed his outdoor space on a tight £500 budget with impressive results. Now, they spend hours relaxing in their beautiful garden.
He told money-saving community LatestDeals.co.uk: "This was the biggest DIY project we’ve ever done. Our garden looked more like a junk yard than a family home. There was rubbish everywhere, dead plants and scrap wood. We decided to transform it into the perfect family garden for us and our three dogs.
"The first step was to clear out the garden and divide everything into sections. This gave us a nice blank canvas to work on ahead of the actual makeover process. We put all the plants we wanted to keep in one place and got rid of all the scrap wood we weren’t going to use."
Pressure washer
Nick added: "To get the garden completely clear, we made four trips to the dump. The car was filled to the brim with bin bags of rubbish each time! Finally we were done and we were ready for step two – cleaning. We were lucky enough to pick up a pressure washer from B&Q for just £20 on clearance two years ago so we got it out to clean up the patio, walls, some of the fencing and the shed.
"I also picked up a path, patio and decking cleaner from Spear & Jackson on eBay which was £13.99. It was really nice and simple to clean up the patio using this formula, and we also wanted to create two new patio areas so it will come in very handy in the future too. Then we had a nice clean garden, ready to start all the painting.
"The painting was a big undertaking – we wanted to paint the shed, the fencing and the back of the house as well. Before we got started, there were certain sections we needed to sand down. For example, at the back of the house we’ve got wood panelling which was chipping away with the paint peeling off. The same was the case for some wood panelling along the top of the shed which was looking rather sorry for itself, and the wood frame on the shed was starting to rot. Fortunately, I already had some sandpaper from a previous DIY project.
"We got all the paint from B&Q. To paint the shed, we used GoodHome Classic Masonry Paint in the shade Pure Brilliant White, which we got for £19. We painted the back gate and shed door black using Cuprinol Ducksback Shed and Fence Paint, priced at £15. For the fences we used the Cuprinol brand again, this time in the shade Silver Copse – we got two tubs for £36. We reused some paint brushes to avoid spending more money."
Pain sprayer
Nick described what happened next: "The first problem we encountered was when we tried to paint the shed. Because it’s pebbledash, it was really difficult to get good coverage. I tried to paint it with a paintbrush for a few hours and it just wasn’t working. I’d be painting that area for weeks if I kept going as I was! I realised I’d have to get a paint sprayer in order to get a nice even coverage on the pebbledash.
"The paint sprayer ended up being £54, which is quite pricey and put us slightly over budget, but our thinking was it was a good investment and would come in handy not just for this makeover but for future projects, too. I also realised this tool would make upcycling furniture a lot easier too, so I’ll definitely be getting my money’s worth from it!
"Once I had finished spray painting the pebbledash, I moved on to spray the fences black. The only awkward part about using the paint sprayer was transferring the paint from the big tub to the small container. I ended up having to scoop paint into a pot then transfer it into the container of the paint sprayer."
Space for the dogs
Nick said: "It was then time to move on to the middle section of the garden. This is where our three dogs do their business, so we wanted a space which was less high-maintenance, easy to clean and would act as a multi-functional space so that both us and the dogs could use it.
"We picked up 90 charcoal bricks from Wickes, which were £40.50 in total, and 20 bags of Tarmac sharp sand for £50.40. In B&Q, we got 18 600 x 600 grey paving slabs for £136.80 and weed control fabric for £6. I also dropped into Poundland, where I got two packs of 10 tent pegs for £1 each. We reused the stones from the back and front gardens, but we also picked up four bags of white stones which were on clearance from B&Q for £20.
"We laid out the fabric and secured it with the tent pegs as one of the sections has a load of mud underneath it. We put weed control down to protect the sand and paving slabs when it rains and the mud gets a little bit sloshy! We then laid down the sharp sand on top.
"We went for sharp sand to lay the paving stones instead of cement because we wanted to create a stepping-stone paving area with stones in between. Because we had quite a flat garden anyway, the sand would be safe enough to put the stepping stones in place. As there wasn’t going to be much weight or pressure on the slabs and sand, the sand would do a good job at holding the slabs in place and making it all nice and safe. Plus, if we want to replace the slabs in the future, it will be an easy job. I raked the sand out to distribute it evenly, then flattened it with a piece of wood.
"We then laid down the paving slabs and placed the bricks around the outside as a trim. I removed the sand from in between the slabs and put the stones in the gaps. By removing the sand afterwards, I ended up saving myself £27.72 because there were 11 bags of sand I didn’t end up using. I used the leftover sand from the first section in the second section."
Finishing touches
Nick concluded: ‘The final stage was picking up some new flowers from Homebase to brighten up the area, and we spent £66 in total on a lovely selection. That seems like a lot of money, but a lot of them were on clearance for half price! We also picked up some compost from there – the bags were 3 for £10 which is a great deal, as each bag is pretty big.
"While we were out, we picked up a trellis gate from Argos for £25, so that the dogs don’t go up behind the flower bed and ruin all the flowers. We also got some Hammerite Black Metal Spray Paint for £12.39 from eBay. I love a good black accessory so we decided to upcycle our metal table and it was so simple ≠ it just took a good spray and now it looks brand new.
"We had to get some fairy lights to go all around the fences in our garden, so that in the evenings we’ve still got a bit of light and they make the space look nice and cosy. We got a 50m set of mains-powered fairy lights from eBay for £19.99. The last item we got from this site was a greyhound garden weather vane for £19.95. This is one of our favourite pieces because we love dogs and we can look at the little greyhound every time we leave the house.
"We’re so pleased with this makeover – the garden is unrecognisable now and we can spend time in there without being surrounded by rubbish!"
