Outdoor Renovation: Turning Dreams into Reality

What’s outdoor renovation?

The word renovation  means to make something over. When you renovate your home, you are making new improvements to the existing structure. When you renovate your property’s outdoor areas, you are making improvements – and additions – to existing features on the grounds around your home.

Here are some examples of outdoor renovation projects: pool remodeling, renovating, and restructuring; building hot tubs; putting up fences; free-standing decks, decks attached to the home, and decks that surround, or support, hot tubs or pools.

Other times you may elect to begin a whole new project. Even though this is not part of remodeling existing features on your property, you can call this outdoor renovation because you are improving on the existing status of your property.

Many of these projects are difficult to execute with tools you’d have around the home. They are also difficult for one person, or for a small group of people to execute, even with borrowed or rented equipment. That’s not to say that you and the friends, or family that would help you, are incompetent or unprofessional. Simply, some jobs are so big and complicated that they would more likely cause the amateur home-repairman headache than extreme satisfaction. At times like this you might consider hiring outside professionals to carry out your home-improvement dreams.


For example, think about some of the outdoor renovation projects that almost certainly require (possibly licensed) professionals: asphalt driveways, deck construction, paint stripping, re-siding the house with vinyl and aluminum. These projects can be dangerous if you tried to do them yourself without any training or expertise.

So where do you go from here? You think about hiring an outdoor renovation contractor.

What can outdoor renovators do?

Landscaping design installation; outdoor renovations of decks, fencing, retaining walls, storage structures like sheds; irrigation systems; foundation and basement repair; decorative walls made of wood, concrete, and brick; gazebos and storage sheds; yard lighting; aqua garden and other water features like coy fish ponds and waterfalls; and landscape drainage systems.

Outdoor renovators can do small projects like gazebo or fence construction, or large projects like stone retaining walls.

The best part is that these professionals do the planning, building, and inspecting – the dirty work – based on your initial preferences, plans, and desires. You’ve got a sketch of a deck extension you’d like to add onto the back of your existing deck. This sketch, scribbled on a fast-food restaurant napkin a year ago, is still in your wallet. Every time you pull it out you think, if only I found the time to get around to doing this. But an outdoor renovation contractor can listen to your ideas about the project. Based on your concerns and plans for the renovation, the contractor can draw up a plan for your review.

As a matter of fact, many outdoor renovation specialists have entire design staffs on hand for cases like the one above.

How to hire outdoor renovators:

Here are some pointers to lead you to a responsible choice of an outdoor renovation contractor.

Know what you want, how you want it to look, and what materials you have in mind.
Know your budget.
Ask friends, family, and neighbors for any recommendations of outdoor renovators. Some questions to consider: Did the contractor finish on time? Did the contractor exceed the agreed-upon budget? How did the contractor handle any setbacks? How was the behavior of the crew? Were workers professional, arriving on time?
Next, call the contractor or contractors you’ve narrowed the search to. Tell them about your plans. Ask them questions like these: How many similar projects have you done? Who handles the permits? Who contacts public utilities agents while work is underway? What kind of payment schedule can you offer? What kind of insurance do you have?
Now you’re ready to get an estimate. It will be based on the amount of work involved and what materials the contractor will need to purchase.
Things to watch out for: Cash-only policies (very suspicious); the contractor pressures you to commit to a contract immediately; the contractor cannot offer proof of insurance; the contractor claims that you are responsible for getting the permits (this is the contractor’s responsibility!).

Who should hire an outdoor renovation contractor?

Maybe you’ve got an empty yard, or a yard with a decrepit deck. An improvement could boost your love of the property, and it could boost the property’s value.

In other cases, aesthetic concerns dictate what should be renovated and how.

Then there are the practical concerns: you have a pool but only the grass to sit on next to it. A pool deck – concrete or wood – would allow easier pool access, and would be more conducive to social gatherings by the pool on hot summer days.

The pros and cons:

A renovation to your outdoor spaces could connect your home to amenities that are stranded in the yard, like a pool or a gazebo. A deck could extend the living space from the home out to the pool; a handsome brick pathway could connect the back door to the peaceful gazebo.

A word of caution: Make sure you have a very solid understanding of your contractor’s background. Calling up those references and asking about permits and insurance can prove whether the contractor is trustworthy.

The bottom line:

You may be dreaming about home-improvement projects for your outdoor spaces. An outdoor renovation contractor can take your plans and make them reality.