Backyard Remodel Ideas and What They Cost

The average American backyard gets whatever money is left after the kitchen and the bathrooms. Which, usually, isn't much. Then one summer the homeowner notices a neighbor has a pergola and a real patio and a seating area that makes their own backyard look like a parking lot with a grill in it, and the Googling starts. That's when the realization hits: "backyard remodel" covers about ten different projects that cost anywhere from $500 to $150,000, and nobody at the garden center is going to help you figure out which one you actually want.

Here's the useful part. Most backyards don't need the full tear-out. They need two or three well-chosen changes — a real patio instead of a stained concrete pad, somewhere to sit around a fire, a few plantings that weren't grandfathered in by the previous owner — and suddenly the space works. Below are the most common backyard remodel ideas, what each one costs, and which ones are worth the money.

First, Decide Your Scope

Every backyard project falls into one of four buckets. They all get called "backyard remodels" on Pinterest. They cost nothing alike.

A light refresh ($500–$3,000) — plantings, mulch, a gravel path, solar lighting, maybe a few new beds. The yard looks cared for.
A single-feature project ($3,000–$20,000) — one real addition: a paver patio, a small deck, a fire pit lounge, a new fence, or a pergola over an existing slab.
A multi-feature mid-range remodel ($20,000–$60,000) — two or three big pieces working together: patio plus pergola plus landscaping, or a deck with a fire feature and new plantings, or a modest outdoor kitchen on an existing patio.
A full backyard renovation ($60,000–$150,000+) — hardscape, structures, outdoor kitchen, landscape lighting, and often a pool. A construction project with design drawings, permits, and multiple trades.

Nationally, a full backyard renovation averages $15,000 to $50,000, and can easily clear $100,000 once a pool or outdoor kitchen enters the picture. A common rough benchmark for total landscaping on a new build is about 10 percent of the home's value — so a $400,000 house might reasonably absorb $40,000 across front and back, though most existing homes get there in phases.

One thing worth knowing before you read further: the returns on backyard work are all over the map. Remodeling Magazine's Cost vs. Value Report has consistently ranked wood decks among the higher-returning outdoor additions, often recouping 70 to 85 percent at resale, while composite decks typically return 60 to 70 percent. Outdoor kitchens recover somewhere in the 60 to 70 percent range. Pools rarely pay for themselves on paper and should be treated as lifestyle decisions, not investments. The National Association of Realtors' Remodeling Impact Report has given decks a "joy score" of 9.8 out of 10, which is closer to the point for most people building one.

Idea 1: The Yard Refresh

Budget: $500–$3,000 · Timeline: 1–3 weekends

The cheapest honest upgrade you can make to a tired backyard. Most yards don't look bad because they need a $40,000 makeover — they look bad because nobody's touched them in five years. A weekend of clean-up, a load of mulch, some new plantings, and basic lighting will buy you two or three seasons of actually liking your yard. That's a legitimate outcome.

What goes into it:

Mulch refresh across all beds — $0.20–$0.60 per square foot for materials; a typical residential yard is $200–$600 in mulch
New perennials, shrubs, and a small tree or two — $150–$800, depending on size and quantity
Edging around beds — $400–$2,200 installed, or $50–$150 in materials for DIY
Solar path lights or string lights — $50–$300 for a real lighting moment
Pressure-washing the patio, fence, and siding — $150–$400 to hire out, or a rental day at $80–$100
A few quality planters and outdoor furniture pieces, bought secondhand or from end-of-season sales

The single highest-leverage move at this tier is replacing dying plants with natives from a local nursery. Native plants survive your climate without drip irrigation, fertilizer, or a prayer, and they look right because they grew up there. A trip to a big-box garden center will cost you twice as much for plants that won't make it through August.

Idea 2: The Paver or Concrete Patio

Budget: $2,500–$12,000 · Timeline: 3–10 days

If your backyard doesn't have a real patio — or what it has is a cracked concrete slab the builder poured three decades ago — this is the single highest-impact change you can make. A patio defines the usable part of the yard and turns furniture arrangement from an act of balance into a normal decision.

Costs depend almost entirely on material and size. Installed prices per square foot:

Poured concrete — $4–$12 basic, $8–$19 stamped or colored. Cheapest option, works well for clean modern aesthetics.
Concrete or brick pavers — $10–$17. The volume workhorse of backyard patios. Individual pavers can be replaced if one cracks.
Natural stone pavers — $16–$35. Travertine, bluestone, limestone. Higher end, significantly more character.
Flagstone — $15–$32 dry-laid, up to $45 wet-laid in mortar. The most expensive common option and the one that ages the best.
Pea gravel — $1–$3. Honest budget pick, works well in a cottage or courtyard context, but furniture legs sink and it tracks into the house.

A typical 300-square-foot paver patio runs $3,000 to $5,100 installed. A flagstone patio the same size can easily hit $6,000 to $10,000. Before the material discussion, though, the one decision that drives cost the most is whether the ground is ready: grading, base prep, and drainage can add $1,000–$5,000 on a site that slopes or holds water. Skipping base prep to save money is how patios heave, crack, and pool water against the foundation two winters later.

Idea 3: The Deck Build

Budget: $6,000–$30,000+ · Timeline: 2–4 weeks

A deck is the answer when the grade of your backyard makes a patio impractical, when you want to get off the ground for a view, or when you want an outdoor space that connects directly to the back door without a step-down. It's also the outdoor project that most reliably returns money at resale.

The big decision at this tier is wood versus composite:

Pressure-treated pine deck — $15–$35 per square foot installed. Cheapest entry point. Requires staining or sealing every 1–2 years and typically needs replacement at the 15-year mark.
Cedar or redwood deck — $25–$45 per square foot. Naturally rot-resistant, beautiful, still requires annual maintenance.
Composite deck (Trex, TimberTech, and similar) — $30–$60 per square foot. Higher upfront cost, minimal maintenance, 25–50 year lifespan. Dominates new builds for a reason.
PVC or capped composite premium tier — $50–$100+ per square foot. Fade-resistant, fully waterproof, installs identically to standard composite.

A typical 300-square-foot deck runs $10,000 to $18,000 in pressure-treated wood, $18,000 to $30,000 in composite. The framing cost is the same regardless of the decking material — you're paying premium for the top layer, not the whole structure, which is why upgrading to composite looks expensive but isn't as lopsided as it first appears.

One trap to avoid: resurfacing an old deck with new boards is only worth it if the underlying joists, posts, and footings are sound. If the frame is aged or undersized for modern composite loads, you're better off rebuilding. Paying for a composite top layer on rotted framing is money that disappears.

Idea 4: The Fire Pit and Seating Area

Budget: $500–$8,000 · Timeline: 1 day to 1 week

For sheer hours-of-enjoyment per dollar spent, a fire pit with a real seating area is hard to beat. It's the project that extends a usable backyard into spring and fall evenings, and it's one of the few outdoor features that genuinely works year-round in most of the country.

There's a wide cost spread depending on what you build:

Portable steel fire pit on an existing surface — $100–$500. Buy it, set it down, you're done.
Prefab paver fire pit kit — $300–$900 in materials, DIY-friendly weekend project on a prepared base.
Built-in gas fire pit with seat wall — $2,500–$6,000. Flip a switch, no wood, no smoke, no neighbors calling to ask what's burning.
Custom stone fire pit with surrounding patio — $4,000–$10,000, depending on patio size and stone choice.
Full outdoor fireplace (masonry, with chimney) — $6,000–$20,000+. A different animal — more of a focal point than a fire pit.

Two practical notes. Check your local fire code and any HOA restrictions before committing to wood-burning; some municipalities require a minimum clearance from structures (often 10 feet) and some ban open flames outright in fire-prone areas. Gas fire pits need a gas line run, which adds $15–$25 per linear foot of trenching and is one of the few jobs where cheaping out creates a genuine safety problem. Hire a licensed plumber.

Idea 5: The Pergola or Shade Structure

Budget: $2,000–$18,000 · Timeline: 2 days to 2 weeks

Patios without shade don't get used in July. That's the whole argument for a pergola. Whether you treat it as a design element or as pure utility, adding overhead structure to an existing patio is one of the cheapest ways to double the hours you'll actually spend outside.

The options cluster into three tiers:

Prefab wood or vinyl pergola kit — $1,500–$6,000 installed. Comes in a box, goes together in a weekend if you're handy and the patio is level.
Custom-built wood pergola — $4,000–$10,000. Sized to your patio, attached to the house if you want it attached, stained or painted to match.
Louvered aluminum pergola (adjustable slats) — $6,500–$18,000+. Opens, closes, handles rain. The premium option, and genuinely useful if you want a dry space on a rainy afternoon.
Solid-roof covered patio — $70–$155 per square foot. A proper roof with shingles, usually framed to match the house. Closer to an addition than a pergola.

Lower-cost alternatives are worth knowing about. A quality cantilever umbrella ($300–$1,200) covers a 10-foot dining area and stores for winter. A sail shade ($150–$600 plus mounting hardware) adds modern-looking shade to a patio or over a sandbox. Neither is permanent, which is either a feature or a bug depending on how you see it.

Idea 6: The Outdoor Kitchen

Budget: $5,000–$35,000+ · Timeline: 1–6 weeks

Outdoor kitchens come in two categories with almost no middle ground: a grill-plus-counter setup that extends your cooking outside, or a full built-in installation with its own plumbing, gas, and electrical. The budget gap between them is enormous, and the decision mostly comes down to how often you'll actually use it.

At the lower end:

Quality freestanding grill on an existing patio — $500–$3,000. Technically not an outdoor kitchen, but most of what people want one for.
Prefab outdoor kitchen island kit — $1,500–$5,000. Drops onto an existing slab with minimal utility hookups.
Modular built-in kit (grill, side burner, storage, counter) — $7,000–$16,000 installed. The sweet spot for most homeowners who entertain regularly.

At the higher end:

Custom masonry kitchen (stone framework, built-in grill, sink, fridge, cabinets) — $15,000–$35,000.
Luxury outdoor kitchen — $40,000–$100,000+. Pizza oven, professional-grade grill, warming drawers, beverage fridge, ice maker, TV, heaters, the full program.

The line items that drive cost aren't the grill — it's the utilities. Running a gas line, a dedicated 240V circuit, a water supply, and a drain to an outdoor kitchen can add $3,000–$8,000 before any appliances show up. Placing the kitchen against the house where those utilities already exist on the other side of the wall is one of the easiest ways to cut the total cost in half.

Idea 7: The Pool Project

Budget: $2,000–$100,000+ · Timeline: 1 day to 6 months

Pools are their own category, and most of the advice that applies to other backyard projects doesn't translate. They rarely recoup their cost at resale. They permanently change maintenance obligations. They usually require fencing by code. And they range from "delivered on a truck Tuesday, swimming Friday" to "six months of construction and a second mortgage."

Three buckets:

Above-ground pool — $1,600–$7,500 installed for most kits. Materials are steel, aluminum, or resin. Lifespan 7–15 years. The most accessible entry point for a backyard with kids.
Semi-inground pool — $10,000–$30,000. Installed partly below grade, usually backed against a sloped yard, bridges the gap between above and in-ground.
In-ground pool — $45,000–$85,000 average, $14,000 at the low end for a small vinyl liner, $120,000+ for concrete with custom features. Lifespan 25–50 years.

Beyond the pool itself, budget for the surroundings: a deck or concrete pad ($3,000–$20,000), required safety fencing ($2,000–$6,000), a pump and filter system on in-grounds ($1,500–$5,000), and the landscaping to make the yard around it look intentional rather than excavated ($3,000–$15,000). In-ground pool owners typically spend $3,000–$6,000 per year on chemicals, electricity, and seasonal service. None of that is optional.

The honest financial take: an in-ground pool might add 5 to 7 percent to your home's value in a warm climate and less in a cold one, which never comes close to covering the installation cost. Build a pool because you want to swim in it for a decade, not because you want to make money when you sell.

Idea 8: Small-Yard and Courtyard Ideas

Budget: $2,000–$15,000 · Timeline: 1–4 weeks

Small backyards get treated like problems. They're not — they're just yards with different rules. A 400-square-foot urban backyard, a townhouse courtyard, or a narrow side-yard patio can be the most-used part of a property if the design respects the scale. The remodel math is friendlier too, because less square footage means less of every material.

Where money goes well in small yards:

One big surface, not a mosaic of zones. A single paver patio that fills most of the footprint reads as intentional. Three competing mini-areas (little lawn, little deck, little gravel path) read as cluttered.
Vertical plantings instead of sprawling beds. A climbing vine on a trellis, a row of arborvitae for privacy, or a living wall occupies zero square feet of floor.
A pergola with perimeter drapery. A pergola with curtains or drop-down shades creates the feeling of a separate room without adding a single wall or permit.
Built-in bench seating along a fence or wall. Takes up 18–24 inches of depth instead of the 36+ inches freestanding chairs demand, and doubles as storage underneath.
A single focal feature — fire pit, water bowl, or specimen tree. Small yards support one focal point, not three. Pick one.
Serious, not decorative, lighting. String lights overhead, uplighting on the back of the house, a wall sconce or two. Small yards used at night feel twice as big as the same yard under a single porch bulb.

What to avoid in small yards: oversized furniture pushed against every wall, a full-size fire pit that eats the walkway, and any full lawn under about 150 square feet — at that size, maintenance costs more per square foot than the grass delivers in use. Artificial turf ($8–$18 per square foot installed) or decomposed granite ($1–$3 per square foot) usually works better than trying to maintain a real lawn. A courtyard of 200 to 400 square feet typically runs $3,000 to $12,000 all-in for hardscape, plantings, and lighting.

Idea 9: The Full Backyard Renovation

Budget: $40,000–$150,000+ · Timeline: 2–6 months

The full program: design drawings, permits, multiple trades, and a backyard that comes out the other side coordinated rather than assembled over fifteen years. This is the tier where a landscape designer or architect earns their fee — not because you can't coordinate it yourself, but because the cost of getting the layout wrong is now large enough that paying 5 to 15 percent for design services is insurance.

What a full renovation typically includes:

Design and engineering drawings ($2,000–$15,000, or 5–15 percent of the total)
Grading, drainage, and hardscape demo ($3,000–$15,000)
A primary patio and secondary walkway hardscape ($10,000–$30,000)
A structure — pergola, covered patio, or gazebo ($4,000–$25,000)
An outdoor kitchen, fire feature, or both ($5,000–$40,000)
Full landscape — beds, trees, lawn replacement, irrigation ($8,000–$30,000)
Landscape lighting ($2,000–$8,000)
Fencing refresh or replacement ($3,000–$15,000)
Optional pool package ($45,000–$100,000+)

The hardest part of a full renovation isn't the cost — it's the sequencing. Plantings should go in after hardscape is done but before lighting is trenched. Irrigation goes in before plantings, which go in before the final lawn, which goes in before furniture. Reversing any of those steps typically means redoing something. A designer earns their fee in that sequencing alone.

Where the Money Actually Goes

Every backyard project above is built from the same handful of components. Here's the deeper breakdown for the decisions you'll make with a contractor, a landscaper, or at the paver supplier.

Hardscape

The single biggest line item in most backyard renovations, and the one that defines the shape of everything else.

Patio — $5–$35 per square foot installed, depending on material (see Idea 2).
Walkway — $15 per square foot installed for pavers or stone; $8 per square foot for poured concrete. Pea gravel walkways run as low as $1–$3 per square foot for materials.
Retaining wall — $35–$65 per square foot of wall face for segmental block; $60–$150 per square foot for stone veneer or full masonry. Walls over 3 or 4 feet typically require engineering and a permit.
Stone steps — $300–$900 per step, more for custom fabrication.
Driveway extensions or aprons — $4–$20 per square foot, matching the patio material.

The hidden cost in hardscape is what's underneath it. A properly built patio sits on 4–10 inches of compacted gravel base with a fabric separator, pitched slightly away from the house, with edge restraints to keep the paver field tight. Shortchange any of that and the patio will telegraph within three winters.

Softscape

Plants, sod, trees, soil, mulch. Less expensive per square foot than hardscape, but quietly adds up.

New sod installation — $1–$2 per square foot installed, or $1,000–$3,000 for a typical backyard lawn replacement.
Grass seed and topsoil — $0.15–$0.40 per square foot, a fraction of sod cost but takes 6–12 weeks to establish.
Shrubs — $25–$150 each planted, $25–$85 per shrub in pro labor.
Trees — $150–$300 for a 6–8 foot sapling; $400–$1,500 for a larger, faster-impact specimen; $2,000+ for mature trees craned in.
Perennials and annuals — $8–$30 per plant at a nursery; a fully planted 300-square-foot bed runs $500–$1,500 in plants alone.
Mulch — $35–$75 per cubic yard delivered; $2–$5 per square foot installed.
Raised garden bed — $100–$400 DIY in lumber and soil for a 4x8; $1,200–$4,000 for a custom 5x12 built and filled.

Structures

The overhead and architectural pieces — decks, pergolas, gazebos, covered patios — run on framing-and-materials pricing rather than landscape pricing.

Deck — $15–$60 per square foot installed depending on material (see Idea 3).
Pergola — $2,000–$18,000 depending on material and whether it's prefab or custom.
Gazebo — $4,000–$12,000 for prefab; $12,000–$30,000 for a site-built structure.
Covered patio with solid roof — $70–$155 per square foot, closer to an addition than a pergola in cost.
Storage shed — $1,500–$5,000 for a prefab kit; $5,000–$15,000 built on-site.

Features

The focal points — fire, water, outdoor cooking, pools — that drive how the yard gets used.

Fire pit — $300 to $8,000 across all tiers (see Idea 4).
Outdoor fireplace — $1,500–$9,000 prefab; $6,000–$20,000+ custom masonry with chimney.
Water feature — small bubbler or urn fountain, $300–$1,500; garden pond, $1,800–$6,900; koi pond, $3,500–$17,000+.
Outdoor kitchen — $5,000–$100,000+ (see Idea 6).
Pool — $1,600 for an entry-level above-ground to $100,000+ for a custom concrete in-ground (see Idea 7).
Hot tub — $3,000–$10,000 for the tub itself, plus $500–$2,500 for electrical and a prepared concrete or gravel pad.

Drainage, Grading, and Irrigation

The invisible infrastructure that determines whether everything else lasts. Underfunded more often than any other category.

Yard grading and leveling — $0.40–$2.00 per square foot. Regrading a whole backyard runs $1,000–$5,000.
French drain — $10–$35 per linear foot, typically $1,500–$4,000 for an effective run on a problem yard.
Drainage system (downspout extensions, catch basins, pop-ups) — $1,000–$4,000 installed.
In-ground sprinkler system — $600–$2,000 per zone installed, with most yards needing 3–5 zones for $2,500–$8,000 total.
Drip irrigation for beds — $300–$1,200 per zone, dramatically cheaper and more water-efficient for bed plantings.

If water pools anywhere in your yard after a rain, fix that before you spend a dollar on hardscape. No paver patio survives a subgrade that doesn't drain.

Lighting and Electrical

The most underspent category in most backyard budgets and the one that does the most to extend how many hours the yard is usable. A real landscape lighting plan has three layers: path or step lighting, uplighting on trees or architecture, and ambient overhead (string lights, pergola lights, lanterns).

Low-voltage landscape lighting system — $2,000–$6,000 for a typical backyard, including transformer, fixtures, and installation.
Solar path lights — $50–$300 DIY. Works, but not as bright or as reliable as wired.
String lights — $100–$400 for commercial-grade outdoor string lighting with proper mounting.
New outdoor outlets — $200–$500 each installed, GFCI-protected and weatherproof.
Panel upgrade for pool, hot tub, or outdoor kitchen — $1,500–$4,000 if your current panel is tapped out.

Fencing

Often the single best privacy purchase in a backyard budget, and the one that visually frames everything else.

Chain link — $12–$33 per linear foot installed. Functional, not decorative.
Wood privacy (6 ft) — $15–$35 per linear foot. The volume pick for residential backyards.
Vinyl privacy — $17–$38 per linear foot. Higher upfront, no maintenance, 25+ year lifespan.
Composite privacy — $28–$58 per linear foot. Premium option, matches well with composite decking.
Wrought iron or aluminum — $28–$56 per linear foot. Decorative, not private, often the right answer for a front yard or pool perimeter.

A typical backyard perimeter is 150 to 170 linear feet, so most residential privacy fences land between $3,000 and $6,000 installed, with premium materials or sloped sites pushing into the $8,000–$12,000 range.

What's Worth Doing Yourself

Backyards have a wider DIY lane than most interior projects. No gas, no structural walls, no cabinets that have to be shimmed to a sixteenth of an inch. What matters more than technical skill is knowing where the lines are — the work that looks DIY-friendly but isn't, and the work that looks hard but mostly just takes a weekend.

Fair game to tackle yourself:

Mulching, planting beds, seeding or sodding a small lawn area
Raised garden beds from lumber and topsoil
Gravel or pea-gravel paths and small seating areas
A DIY paver patio under about 150 square feet on flat ground
Building a prefab fire pit ring on a prepared base
Staining, sealing, or painting an existing deck or fence
Solar lighting, string lights, and plug-in path lights
Assembling a prefab pergola kit on an existing concrete slab
Planting shrubs and trees up to about 8 feet tall
Container gardens, window boxes, and potted arrangements
Pressure-washing hardscape, siding, and fencing
Assembling and leveling an above-ground pool on a prepared pad

Worth hiring out:

Grading and drainage work — getting the slopes right is what makes everything else last
Retaining walls over about 3 feet, which typically require engineering and permits
In-ground pool installation of any type
Gas line runs for outdoor kitchens, fire features, or heaters
Any line-voltage outdoor electrical, panel work, or new outlet circuits
Concrete pours larger than a small pad
Deck framing, especially anything attached to the house (ledger flashing is where bad decks fail)
Irrigation systems with more than one or two zones
Large tree planting, removal, or stump grinding
Paver patios larger than about 200 square feet (the physical work and the grading margin-for-error both scale fast)
Custom pergolas, gazebos, or covered patios
Fencing on sloped, rocky, or hardpan terrain

The honest mixed path for most homeowners: do the plantings, the mulching, the finish work, the lighting, and the small hardscape pieces yourself. Hire pros for the drainage, the concrete, the structures, and anything involving gas, electrical, or a pool. A weekend on mulch and plantings saves $500–$1,500; a weekend on drainage will cost you three patios.

Where Your Stuff Goes While the Yard Is a Construction Site

Backyard projects don't displace a lifetime of indoor possessions the way a kitchen or basement remodel does. But they do displace more than most people plan for, especially if the project touches hardscape or runs into shoulder season.

A hardscape demo and patio pour typically means moving everything off the existing slab for two to four weeks: patio furniture, the grill, planters, the umbrella, a hot tub if there is one, whatever's in the shed if the shed's coming down. For shorter projects and smaller yards, a tarp in the driveway is fine. For longer projects, a full yard renovation, or anyone doing the work through winter, a short-term storage unit keeps the good furniture and the grill out of the weather and out of the contractor's way.

The steadier backyard storage problem is seasonal. Patio cushions, outdoor umbrellas, pool floats, gas-powered yard tools, holiday lighting, and the grill cover that never quite protects the grill all need somewhere to go from October to April in most of the country. Garages fill up fast. Sheds help, but they also age, leak, and get torn down in full renovations. 10 Federal Storage runs 130+ fully automated facilities across 16 states, and seasonal outdoor storage is a common reason customers rent a small unit year-round. Because every location is contactless and online — reserve, sign, and access without an office visit — the logistics match the rhythm of a yard rather than the rhythm of a moving truck:

Reserve a unit online before the project starts, or before the first frost
Move furniture, the grill, and anything weather-sensitive in one weekend
Access the unit whenever you need the leaf blower or the pool cover — 24/7, no appointment
Cancel any time when the yard is back in service and the patio furniture comes home

For homeowners renovating a yard before selling, a small unit also solves the staging problem cleanly: kid toys, the extra grill, the miscellaneous pots that have nowhere to go during showings, all out of the listing photos and all recoverable in an afternoon when the closing paperwork is done.

Start Smart: Your Next Steps

A backyard remodel is the rare home project where $2,000 and $100,000 can both be defensible answers to the same question. The deciding factor isn't how much you spend — it's deciding, before you start, what you actually want to be doing in the yard that you can't do now. Eating dinner outside, sitting around a fire, swimming, shading the kids, hosting fifteen people for a graduation — each of those answers points to a different project.

If you're ready to move forward, this is the order that saves the most money and stress:

Name the project honestly. Refresh, single feature, multi-feature, or full renovation. Write it down. Every downstream decision comes from that one.
Walk your yard after a heavy rain before you design anything. Where water pools is where hardscape fails. Drainage is item one, not item twelve.
Pick one focal element and build around it — the patio, the fire feature, the pool, the pergola. Yards with one clear centerpiece read better than yards with four competing ones.
Get at least three itemized quotes for anything involving a contractor, a landscape designer, or a pool builder. Bids on identical scopes routinely vary 25 to 40 percent.
Reserve a storage unit before demo or a long project begins. Find your nearest 10 Federal Storage facility and book online in minutes — automated access, no long-term commitment, and the patio furniture stays out of the rain while the contractor works.
Do the plantings, lighting, and finish work yourself. Hire pros for the hardscape, drainage, structures, and anything involving gas, electrical, or a pool. The mixed approach beats full-DIY or full-contractor on both cost and quality.
Hold 15 to 20 percent of your budget in reserve. Something below ground will surprise you — a buried tree stump, a utility line nobody marked, a drainage problem the previous owner covered with sod. The only question is what.

Whatever version of a new backyard you're building, the best time to start is before the first contractor walks the yard. Measure the space, pick the one idea that would change how you use it, and work backward from there.

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