Patios are wonderful gathering places where friends and family can spend hours together. Here in St. George, unlike many other climates, your patio can be used more months out of the year than other places due to our warm climate.
As a prime gathering spot or just a quiet getaway, you may want to update your patio with some masonry to add interest and value to your home. So if you want to set your patio style “in stone” we have some ideas for you to consider before the first stone is laid.
Budgeting For Your Patio Design
Setting down a firm budget should happen before you start any other aspect of your planning. It can be hard if you fall in love with a stonework patio design only to find it is far beyond the budget.
Some features can inflate the overall cost of a project. Things that will cause the price of your stone patio remodel to rise are:
- Stone selection – Depending on the stone you want, it can significantly raise the price of your project. Marble and granite are the most expensive stones to use for a project, where limestone, slate, and brick are considerably less expensive.
- Size of project – While you may have plenty of yard space you would like renovated, the square footage of the project is a strong consideration when the cost of a project is calculated.
- Custom work – Every stone work project is customized to a point for every client. But if you would like something like a custom mosaic built into your patio design, that will add to the cost of the project.
So avoid Pinterest and all other inspiration until you have a solid idea of how much you want to spend on your yard renovation.
Patio DIY Or Professional?
Between blogs, YouTube, and Pinterest, it can seem like remodeling your patio with stone is just a matter of hard work. While that is true, it is not the full story. Some of the issues that can come up during a DIY patio project are:
- Run out of materials – This is a fairly common problem we’ve encountered when people come to us to help them finish their project. It can be hard to accurately calculate your yard’s needs when you aren’t used to doing this kind of project.
- Injure yourself or others – Working with stone can be dangerous. Without knowing the correct precautions to take, working on your patio project can easily end in injury. Even if nothing catastrophic occurs, your body won’t be used to lifting and moving the heavy stones. Injury from incorrect lifting can be just as dangerous as an accident.
- Lack the proper tools – Laying a new stone patio isn’t just a matter of arranging stone into the pattern you want. Sometimes the stone needs to be cut to fit the design correctly. There are mortar spreading tools which are better for some projects but less effective in other cases. You may need specialized drill bits to cut into the stone, should it need to be mounted or piped through. Buying these tools for a one-time project is not cost effective.
Lastly, there is the possibility that you make it through the whole project with none of these issues cropping up. Except what DIY tutorials don’t show is how long the project lasts after the finished product is shown off. You wanted a patio set in stone because it will last. But if the stonework wasn’t set correctly, not only could your hard work fall apart, it can become a significant yard hazard.
When you choose professionals to give your yard the beautiful stonework style you want, you can rest knowing you can avoid these potential problems. Our professionals at STONETREE are ready and waiting to help you budget, find your style, and remodel your patio into your dream spot.
