Man Quoted £2600 For Decking Saves £1600 By Going DIY

• Michael, 33, was quoted over £2600 for decking in his back garden
• He decided to go DIY and spent just £938 on supplies instead
• To save money he bought second hand power tools from Marketplace
• He has turned his plain patio into bright and welcoming decking with seating

It can be easy to get put off installing decking in your garden once you receive a professional quote, but one savvy DIYer has proven you can save a pretty penny by rolling your sleeves up and doing the job yourself.

Michael Hanna, a 33 year old doctor from Worcester, told money-saving community LatestDeals.co.uk: ‘The patio at the back of our garden was looking pretty lifeless. It was functional as a pergola with a roof and we could sit outside, but my wife and I wanted to make it look more polished.

‘We like the natural wood look so we decided to create decking that could have seating on it. As part of our vision we also wanted to add lights so that it would be a welcoming place to sit outside in the evenings.

‘The brick wall at the back had been filled in with more bricks. We wanted to create a mixture of textures by replacing the additional brick work with fencing instead.

‘Before making the decision to go DIY we got a quote from a professional who said it would be more than £2600 for the entire decking area, including materials and labour fees.

‘This job wouldn’t have included the fence, so it could well have cost more than £3000 to get someone in for the complete job.

‘The first step for our DIY project was to plan it and make measurements. I sketched the whole area out and calculated the number of joists I would need.

‘This in turn gave me a rough idea of the amount of timber I would need, along with the decking I should allocate for. I allowed for an additional 10%, to account for waste and miscalculations.

‘Then it was time to pick up supplies. I got most of them online, with my first stop being Savoy Timber. I picked up timber joists and batten timber for the fence, which cost £250 including delivery.

‘I then went to National Timber and picked up 36 decking boards which were £354 including delivery. After that I visited Amazon where I picked up decking lights for £100, decking tape for £26, timber end preservative for £18, brick wall screws for £15 and Ronseal decking oil for £25.

‘Next up was Toolstation, where I got joist hangers for £50. Finally, I was able to save some money by picking up second hand power tools from Marketplace. I got a powerful hammer drill, mitre saw and a jigsaw for a total of £100.

‘All in all the supplies cost us £938, saving us over £1600 compared with a professional job.

‘It was then time to get started. I cut the frame timber to size and dug for the posts before fixing the timber to the brick wall.

‘I applied deck tape, which is supposed to increase the lifetime of the frame, then fixed the decking boards with a 3mm gap and treated it with two coats of preservative oil.

‘I used YouTube for the installation as there are tons of videos with instructions on fitting decking. That being said, there was some trial and error involved as for example I had to try drilling to the brick wall twice before I found the right drill for the job.

‘If I had to do this project again I would also cut and fit the entire area of decking boards before fixing them to the timber frame.

‘The project took a couple of weekends to complete but now we have a much more welcoming space to enjoy. The lighting system makes the space look particularly unique. I’m glad I did this project myself as I learned a lot along the way.’

Tom Church, Co-Founder of LatestDeals.co.uk, said: ‘Michael has saved an impressive sum of money by going DIY with this project. I’m sure he and his wife will enjoy using this decking for many years to come.’