Garden / Driveway Redesign - should we go ahead?

[Sussex34]

Would love some advice. Meant to be having our garden and driveway done next month - we have one garden which is a mix between back and front and the plan is to move the driveway to be further away from the house and create patios and grass where there is sun. However our landscaper has been a bit rubbish and has taken ages to send us and update the quote each time, so it’s gone from £35k when we first engaged him to now £47k due to increase in raw materials. Given everything that’s going on right now we just don’t know whether we should go ahead. It will take a fair chunk out of our savings plus it’s not exactly a value adder for our house - it’s going to make it look great and more secure but for example you won’t be able to drive up to the garage which some people might not like. Would you be making such changes to your house right now?

Diagram?

Good grief. How much???

Tell them to stuff it. They are taking the piss.

I personally would not make that scale of investment at this stage given you says it will take a 'fair chunk of our savings'. Could you do the security aspects without any of the other bits?

You can always do it next year if your finances feel better. £47k is a LOT of money.

Also I would not make any expensive changes that would not be factored into the sale price if I decide to move - it has to be recoupable for me to do the work.

They are beyond taking the piss, that’s absolutely ridiculous.

No way would I spend 47k or actually 35k on landscaping.

How much will it improve your enjoyment of the house.
Are you planning on keeping the garage as a garage, but you won't be able to drive up to it?
Sounds expensive to me, but everything is relative.

That could be a reasonable price, you’d need to consider the size of rhe drive and [patios to be created and also the area to be turfed etc.

im not sure of a garage you can’t drive up to though,

I wouldn't block vehicle access to the garage.
It is a LOT of money. But I'm not sure what you are planning. Can you sketch out the current garden (how do you have one garden that is both back and front?) and what you are planning.

I wouldn't be spending £50k on anything that wouldn't add value.

Even if you don't care about that, it doesn't seem like a sensible time to blow such a chunk of your savings.

Wait a year and they'll be pricing more sensibly.

It’s a big investment, especially if your landscaper is being a bit rubbish. I can well imagine it cost that much - for our drive to be put to paving and all attendant works cost us £20k and that was a few years ago when materials cost less.

personally unless the situation was dire (our drive was mud every time it rained with furrows developing) I’d hang fire.

That sounds a ridiculous sum of money, and to decommission a garage by removing access seems an odd thing to do.

We do of course need a rough diagram so we can suggest a cheaper way.

I would at least get a couple more quotes before deciding, as you've described your landscaper as being rubbish.

Why would you appoint a contractor at a cost of £50k when the work adds no real value and the contractor by your own admission is a bit rubbish 🤔

Is this a joke 🍪

We did a similar job last year though we took away some front garden and got an extra parking space which was much needed on a single track lane with no parking. We managed to do it for about 30 thousand though and it has made the front of the house so much better and parking so much easier. Not sure I would go for nearly 50 thousand and a rubbish landscaper though!