Garden help

[ImagineRainbows]

Me and my partner are not in any way a fan of gardening and we don’t particularly spend a lot of time in the garden. As such our garden is a neglected boring square of half dead grass.

We are hoping to get a puppy next year and want the garden sorting first, A. The fence does not meet the ground in some areas, B. Limit the amount of mud brought in from the puppy.

Got some quotes to instal a patio over half the garden, budget concrete slabs and new turf on the other half. New build garden so not exactly big garden to work with.

Quotes are coming back between £13 and £15 thousand! Surely this can’t be right. I appreciate I have no clue what this kind of work costs but looking at the prices of patio slabs and turf online doesn’t seem to fit with the prices we are being quoted. I guess most of the cost is labour however.

Is this really what it costs now? What could I do cheaper, max £4k to make the garden as low maintenance as possible and dog friendly?

Could you do something with gravel / rocks sort of Japanese style? Low maintenance but keep it mud free for the puppy. Rocks can often be found free on Facebook marketplace. The gravel would need a proper weed proof barrier down.

Without knowing the size of the garden and not being a landscaper, your quotes don't seem unreasonable. I would just focus on secure fencing. I wouldn't bother with new turf - the puppy will dig it up! If your lawn is a bit sparse it can be over seeded, fed etc which will improve it no end. Get a professional gardener in to do it.

With paving, the cost of the slabs is just a small part of it. They have to be laid on MOT, which costs, and the earth has to be dug up and removed unless it's going somewhere else (like a raised bed). There's quite a lot of labour involved.

I would also reconsider grass, especially if you're getting a female dog. Ours destroyed it pretty quickly with urine burns and it just ended up a mud pit.

Even with costs that seems steep, for a probably fairly small garden - where in the country are you? Turf really isn't that hard to lay- I learnt in a day this summer or as others said, get some seed and spread it.
Priority is the fencing so get that done and leave the rest til pup has calmed down? They bring in mud anyway so you'd be better off training pup to wait for paws to be wiped before they charge in
FWIW, owner of dogs and work in horticulture/ landscaping

Garden is 12m x 10m

We are in Cheshire

Is the garden particularly hard to access, ie could this drive the cost up?
Or sloped?

I'm in Cheshire too- if you want to DM me and I can point you in direction of some reliable and less expensive landscapers - I'm not able to do it myself but can help find a better price

If you're not interested in gardening and just want a usable easy care space for a puppy and cut the cost, you could try doing a simple DIY design yourselves.
Something like the following:

Spend money on making the fencing secure. For minimal maintenance, opt for concrete posts and base boards as they won't rot.

Decide on the shape and size of the lawn you want. Dig up the remaining lawn. Lay an edging such as weather proof wooden planks onto builders sand to define the lawn. These can be improved later, as finances allow. Use wooden pegs stakes to secure them into place.

Lay a series of randomly spaced larger paving slabs on a bed of rubble and builders sand. Put a weed-proof garden membrane on the rest and fill over with pea gravel. Ensure the pea gravel is sufficiently deep to reach the top of the slabs to avoid trip hazards.
The gravel and paving patio doesn't need lots of preparation with levelling and alignment, and can easily be altered if you decide to add some planting at a later stage.

To improve the remaining lawn - if you don't want to spend a lot on new turf, subscribe to a lawn care company for a year or two. They will visit about 4 times a year and apply fertiliser and weed control. Give it about six months and your lawn will transform into a lush green weed-free space. With the size you have listed it should cost about £200 for the year's treatment depending on where you live. Any bare patches add some grass seed in autumn and spring and keep it watered.

To reduce the cost further, look for lawn edging planks/bricks and paving slabs in local reclamation yards.
Even if you don't want to tackle all the work yourselves, getting quotes for each small job will reduce the cost significantly.

(Any spare funds - buy a robo-mower to keep your lawn looking trim).

If you’re in west Cheshire, dm me and I can recommend a landscaper who did paths, patio and returf for 8k. Lovely pale grey sandstone.

To keep costs under £4k, consider:

1. DIY a gravel or budget concrete slab patio (£1,500).
2. Lay new turf yourself or use artificial grass (£1,000–£2,000).
3. Fix fence gaps with gravel boards or mesh (£300).
4. Use bark chippings or pea gravel as an alternative to turf.

Mixing DIY and professional work reduces costs significantly.

Artificial grass is bad for the environment and not maintenance free, especially with a puppy weeing on it. Lawn care companies are enthusiastic with chemicals.