We were quoted £5.4k to transform our garden but did it ourselves on a budget – levelling the lawn set us back just £75
A COUPLE have revealed that they were quoted £5,400 to transform their garden, but did it themselves on a budget.
Sophie Higgs explained that not only did she and her partner create their own DIY slatted fences and slatted screening, but they also designed the garden themselves too.
As well as this, the content creator shared that instead of forking out over £1,000 to get a professional to level out the garden, they did it themselves for just £75.
Not only this, but rather than splashing the cash on a pro to tidy up the garden’s borders, the couple took the plunge and attempted it themselves, costing only £30.
Sophie proudly took to social media to share the five ways that they saved cash on their garden transformation, leaving many totally stunned.
Posting on Instagram, Sophie shared that in total, the couple were quoted around £5,400 to transform their garden, but instead, they did it themselves for just £575, saving a whopping £4,825.
As the DIY lover showed off a look at her stunning outside space, she said: “GARDEN MAKEOVER SAVINGS. Five ways we saved thousands on the cost of our garden transformation. This is what we spent versus the quotes that we had…”
First of all, when it came to the couple’s slatted fence, they did it themselves using roofing battens.
Sophie explained: “We used roofing battens from a local timber merchant to build our slatted fences.
“[It] cost £250 instead of the £2,000 we were quoted.”
Where designing the garden was concerned, Sophie added: “I know this isn’t very professional as I literally used scraps of paper to plan our garden design.
“But it cost us nothing versus £400 we were quoted for a design.”
Not only did they save on designing the space, but they also pocketed cash by making their own DIY slatted screening too.
Sophie continued: “We added this to the top of our existing fences using roofing battens for the slats.
“[It] cost £220 versus £1,500 we were quoted.”
Well done you. It looks beautiful
Instagram user
Whilst their garden was initially uneven, Sophie shared that the couple saved money by levelling out the space themselves.
She claimed: “We hired a digger for £75 for the day. We were quoted over £1000 for someone to come and do this for us.”
And finally, to add some colour to the garden, Sophie and her partner created their own cobbled stone borders.
How high can a garden fence be?
Despite what many people think a garden fence can be as high as 100m but you need to get planning permission for any fence taller than 2m.
Any fence under 2m does not need planning permission.
However, there are some complications to this.
If you are thinking about front garden fences, restrictions state that fences alongside a driveway can be a maximum of 1m or 3ft.
You would need to get planning permission for putting a trellis on a fence of 2m.
But, if any plant that you grow on that trellis exceeds 2m, you do not need to obtain a permit for the growing plant.
To do this, they “reused stones” from their garden and laid them themselves.
Sophie beamed: “Laying these ourselves cost us £30 for some materials versus £500 it would have cost for someone to do it for us.”
‘IT LOOKS BEAUTIFUL’
The Instagram clip, which was posted under the username @home_by_the_cloud, has clearly left many open-mouthed, as it has quickly amassed 12,100 likes and 573 comments in just two days.
Social media users were stunned at the impressive garden overhaul and many took to the comments to express this.
One person said: “Love this, looks amazing.”
You’ve literally made me want to jump out of bed and run into the garden and start!
Instagram user
Another added: “Wow what a transformation. So impressed.”
A third commented: “Brilliant. Love seeing accounts making something amazing out of almost nothing.
“Well done you. It looks beautiful.”
At the same time, someone else wrote: “STUNNING! You’ve literally made me want to jump out of bed and run into the garden and start!”
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