Adding a patio front and back

houseimprover

Hi

I bought a house earlier in the year for 99k and have decided to spend approx 6.5k on blockpaving the entire front (40sqm) and half of the back (Indian stone) (50sqm) and then turfing the second half of the area.

At the moment its just overgrown shrubbery with very little use to anyone left from the previous owners love of gardening. I also cannot get my car on the drive as it was designed back when cars were smaller so this will mean I can get my car off road (kerb dropped).

So my question is, am I adding any value to my house and if so what would be your rough % guess.

I'm not looking to sell for the next 10 yearsish, I was just wondering for interests sake.

thanks

lessonlearned

I wouldn't advise paving over the entire front garden - simply widen the area to suit your needs and leave some greenery and planting to soften the look, otherwise your "garden" ends up looking like a glorified car park. Not a good look and definitely off putting to potential buyers.

And no it definitely does not add value to your property, it decreases it.

Low maintenance gardening does not have to mean paving the whole lot......

G_M

Very environmentally unfriendly too.

Part of the reason for increased flooding in recent years is the ever-increasing % of land being tarmacked, block-paved, built on etc.

More & more rain water is diverted into drains, and then into rivers, instead of soaking into the ground.

In fact I vaguely recall some regulation about needing Planning Permission for precisely this reason....? Maybe a local bylaw? Can't remember...

and/or consent being granted if you use porous paving....?

lessonlearned

I agree - far too much hard landscaping.

Yes, planning permission is now required. By law you now have to make provision for rain water run off etc by using permeable materials. This can add to costs.

observations_from_a_hill

Check with your local Council - I think you now need planning permission or building regulations approval for this type of hard landscaping (for the reasons G_M mentioned).

Fraise

lessonlearned wrote: »

I wouldn't advise paving over the entire front garden - simply widen the area to suit your needs and leave some greenery and planting to soften the look, otherwise your "garden" ends up looking like a glorified car park. Not a good look and definitely off putting to potential buyers.

And no it definitely does not add value to your property, it decreases it.

Low maintenance gardening does not have to mean paving the whole lot......

I thought off-street parking increased the value of a property?

giraffe69

Rainwater falling on to the front area isn't allowed to drain on to the road/pavement so it means a soakaway being dug and drainage channels being added.

We had our drive redone because it was falling apart and as well as this added a flowerbed area which we thought made it look better.

lessonlearned

Fraise wrote: »

I thought off-street parking increased the value of a property?

Yes it does, but you have to use your head about this.

Rather than a whole slabbed, tarmacced or paved area which can look bleak and depressing and will definitely put off some buyers you need a well planned scheme of landscaping.

It is better to add a drive large enough for parking but then leave some areas for soft planting.

This could just be some hedging, some borders with shrubs and flowers, or a nicely placed flower bed. You need to add colour and interest to the scheme. Climbing plants up the wall, window baskets, planters flanking the door can also help.

Good landscaping will add value, a miserable patch of tarmac or slabbing detracts from the property's appearance and devalues it.

And - as an aside - my pet hate - make sure you have a nice discreet hidey place for the bins. Nothing looks worse than wheelie bins littering up front gardens......That really devalues an area.

Councils have really tightened up the rules now. You will need planning permission to add off street parking or even just to widen any driveways already in existence. You will have to use permeable materials so that excess water can seep into the earth, rather than simply being allowed to run off into the drains. This is a major cause of urban flooding.

houseimprover

lessonlearned wrote: »

I wouldn't advise paving over the entire front garden - simply widen the area to suit your needs and leave some greenery and planting to soften the look, otherwise your "garden" ends up looking like a glorified car park. Not a good look and definitely off putting to potential buyers.

And no it definitely does not add value to your property, it decreases it.

Low maintenance gardening does not have to mean paving the whole lot......

Many thanks for the reply, the issue I have is that its an L shape around the house the total area so really I can only either go in and left tot he front of the house with the car or slightly forward.

At the moment its an unused mass of shrubbery but there is a fantastic buxus hedge which provides me with the privacy so I wouldn't get rid of this but would shape it so it took less space than it does.

houseimprover

Many thanks for the replies, I never thought planning permission would be required! Something to look into and I will heed the advice of putting an area of planting (though it would be small given the area)

houseimprover

I have just checked on my local councils website and as long as I use Porous products on the front planning permission is not required and there are no restrictions on the back of the house.