Landscaping on a budget

Landscaping

Landscaping is one of those things everyone loves to look at but few actually want to do. The fact is, that improving your home’s curb appeal can greatly increase the value of your house. It doesn’t take much: a few evergreen plants, some pinestraw or mulch, and maybe some stonework. Back at our first flip, Uriah had his first taste of DIY landscaping as he installed about 20 feet of this walkway…
 

… which resulted in a call that involved several other men with logo’d shirts in our yard completing it.

Landscaping is one of those things everyone loves to look at but few actually want to do.

Working on a Budget

How did we landscape on the cheap? We sourced local, inexpensive materials, used a little creativity, and a lot of sweat.

• The stone – We found at a rock quarry that was only a few miles from our house and they were able to deliver. We purchased a stone called called rip rap. It is generally not used for walkways because it is so heavy and difficult to install, but was inexpensive.
• Gravel – The rock quary also supplied the gravel for our driveway. We used pressure treated wood to line our driveway and contain the gravel. We also made a turn around area since the house was right off of a country road. (Experience has shown us that chosing a material such as rail road ties would be a better option for lining a driveway.)
• Mulch – We found a guy on craigslist who would deliver.
• Plants – There is a wholesale nursery out of Angier where we picked up all of our plants… in fact, we still use them today for our flips. Its called Tarheel Nursery.
• Paid labor vs. Sweat Equity – Uriah did try his best to install this walkway himself – but when it came down to it, he just did not have the time. So we had to find someone to install it within our budget. We found a guy on craigslist that owned a start-up landscaping company. He agreed to install it for what we could pay. (he ended up being incredibly professional – its no wonder his business, Stone Valley Landscapes has become so successful…. and they are local, based out of Apex, NC)

Thats all for now 🙂
Until Next Time…