Savvy Woman Saves Over £450 On Patio Makeover With £1.50 Floor Cleaner
- Viv, 50, wanted to upgrade her patio but the decking quote was £500
- She decided to do it herself using floor cleaner and a stencil from Amazon
- The project cost £38 and only took her three hours to complete
After being given a quote of £500 to do the decking on her back garden, one savvy woman decided to save over £450 by giving her patio tiles a budget friendly makeover.
Viv Wilks, 50, from Derby, wanted to give her patio an upgrade. ‘Our old grubby concrete patio tiles needed changing,’ she told money-saving community LatestDeals.co.uk. ‘We considered decking, but the quote wasn’t what we wanted.
‘My partner said that he would have a go himself and we were going to price up the materials when I was inspired by a painted patio on Pinterest so I said I would have a go at that first!’
While working from home, Viv spent the next few days completing the project. ‘First I gave the patio a good cleaning with water, giving it a good scrub with my yard brush. I demossed and pulled up the grass from in between the tiles.’
‘I only used water and floor cleaner to scrub the tiles with my outside brush - Cif floor cleaner only cost me £1.50’.
Where there were gaps between the tiles, Viv used ready mixed cement from B&Q to fill them. Then it was time for painting. ‘Once everything was clean and dry, I used B&Q Masonry paint in the colour Hudson on the tiles. I ensured each coat was dry before applying another one.
‘I used a paint roller for the painting and would advise using a roller with an extension lead if you have a bad back.’
The next step involved Viv getting more creative. ‘Once the coats of paint were dry, I used a 30x30cm stencil from Amazon that cost £8.50 to create patterns on the tiles with a small tin of Cuprinol fence paint in the shade Dark Slate’.
‘You could get away with using a tester pot of Cuprinol or other waterproof paint to save even more money, depending on the size of your patio.’
‘After leaving the paint to dry for about an hour, I then sealed the patio with No Nonsense sealant from Screwfix, which cost £12.99. I did this to preserve it from spills and dirt. It provides a light glaze which you can clean easily.’
‘The total cost for my patio was £38, which is definitely budget friendly! What’s more, the entire process only took about three hours in total.
‘I found the project easy to do - I don’t feel there were any tricky bits! I love DIY so I thoroughly enjoyed the experience.’
Tom Church, co-founder of LatestDeals.co.uk, said: ‘Viv’s patio makeover is stunning and proof that you don’t need to get a professional in every time you want to upgrade.
‘Using everyday floor cleaner and some tester paint pots from B&Q can save you hundreds when you’re giving your garden an upgrade, as we can so clearly see here.
‘Amazon is a great place for finding all kinds of stencils - I also go to my local Hobbycraft when I’m seeking inspiration for my next project as there are plenty of options to choose from!’
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Excellent article, I'm going to share this with my sister who's looking at ways to cheer her patio slabs up. Well done, Viv!