If decking is out, what is the alternative?

[user1471462428]

Read the decking thread and was thinking of re-doing the garden before selling. What would be a cheap patio other than tarmac or decking?

Well, not tarmac! Decking isn't that cheap anyway if it's properly done.
You can't go wrong with well laid slabs. They don't have to be expensive York stone, just plain slabs correctly laid on the right under layer (unlike some of ours, which have been laid on earth by a previous householder and consequently are a bit rocky).

Have you struggled for buyers without a patio because if not I wouldn't bother - you don't want people knocking the price down to take into account removing or redoing it. If you are sure you need a patio or decking, I would go for slabs too.

Two viewers have commented that the garden looks shabby, the fence is falling down and the crazy paving is cracked (beyond what it is meant to be!!). Our area tend to have designed gardens but we really don’t have the money for that.

We paid about £3k for a landscaper to rip up the old garden (junk yard really) lay sandstone patio, lay grass, put in sleeper beds and a trellis, and made some repairs to the fence.

It’s a fairly basic job and no flowers have been planted (yet!) but it has absolutely transformed the garden, it’s unrecognisable. Took just over a week. You could do something like this with a landscaper and probably not bother planting anything because the new people might want to choose their own plants, but the garden will still look great.

This is South London in terms of costs.