How to use these guides
Start with the topic closest to your project. None of them give fixed prices, because every garden is different, but they explain what changes the work involved so you can ask sharper questions and compare quotes fairly. When you are ready, the contact page is the quickest route to a quote.
Costs and budgeting
What makes one job bigger than another, and where the money actually goes.
- Patio cost guide: size, access, levels and edging, and why two similar-looking patios can be priced very differently.
- Artificial grass cost guide: the base, the product and the preparation that sit behind a synthetic lawn quote.
- Fence installation cost guide: run length, fence style, posts and removal of the old boundary.
- Turfing cost guide: clearing, cultivating and levelling before any rolls arrive.
- Pergola cost guide: timber, size, fixings and whether a roof or covering is involved.
- House extension cost guide: the stages and decisions that shape a building budget.
- Garden renovation cost guide: how a whole-garden project is broken down and phased.
- Fence repair cost guide: what makes one fence repair a quick job and another a bigger fix.
Materials and comparisons
Help choosing between options before anything is ordered.
- Porcelain vs sandstone patio: looks, cleaning, grip underfoot and how each is laid.
- Artificial grass vs real turf: upkeep, shade, pets and wildlife weighed side by side.
- Artificial grass for dogs: drainage, rinsing and wear where pets use the lawn every day.
- Artificial grass on concrete: laying a synthetic lawn over hard standing without trapping water.
- Patio aftercare and sealing: cleaning porcelain and sandstone, and whether sealing is worth it.
- Patio bases explained: what sits under a well-laid patio and how deep the dig goes.
Planning, timings and problems
Rules to check, how long work takes and what to do when something goes wrong.
- Do you need planning permission for a pergola?: the usual permitted development points and when to ask your council.
- How long does artificial grass last?: what wears a synthetic lawn out and how to slow it down.
- How long does it take to lay a patio?: each stage of the job and what can stretch the timescale.
- Fence blown down?: making it safe, checking ownership and deciding between repair and replacement.
- Patio drainage: falls, jointing, channel drains and what to do about standing water.
- Best time to lay turf: the seasons that suit a new lawn and how to help it root.
- Do you need planning permission for a fence?: the usual height rules and when to ask your council.
- Garden privacy ideas: screens, fences and structures that make a garden feel more secluded.
- Permitted development for extensions: the size and height limits that usually apply, and when to ask the council.
- Back garden ideas: patios, lawns, paths and lighting pulled together into a plan.
Ask about your own garden
A guide can only go so far. Daniel is based in Sholing and covers Southampton, Eastleigh, Romsey, Winchester, Portsmouth and the New Forest, travelling up to 30 miles. Browse our services or call 07841 510110 to talk through your plans.