Boosting your garden-improvement fund

Now's the perfect time to get a loan for those much-needed home improvements to your garden.

With spring just around the corner, many people start to think about doing up their garden in time for the warmer months ahead. However, the winter season can really take its toll on the garden. Stormy weather or freezing conditions can lead to damaged fences, sheds and garden furniture – which may be quite expensive to fix or replace. If the costs of preparing your garden for the summer are more than you were expecting, it might be worth looking into getting a loan.

Whether you’re planning to put up a new fence, lay a patio or even build a summerhouse at the bottom of your garden, check out available loans to make sure the outlay is manageable and affordable. Existing Halifax customers, who are 18 years or over, can borrow anything from £1,000 up to £25,000, over a one to seven-year period.

Success in the planning

Before you take out a loan, try to calculate how much you’ll need to spend to get the work done. Include everything you can think of, including materials, equipment and labour. At this stage, you may like to use Halifax’s loans calculator to work out how much you can afford to repay each month, in case you need to borrow some money.

You may be able to do most of the work yourself, but if it involves installing electrics, or some heavy-duty landscaping, you’re best off getting in an experienced and trusted tradesman. Make sure you phone around to get a variety of quotes – again, check that the estimate is for the specific job and will not change if it ends up taking them longer than expected. 

When it comes to materials, it’s worth looking into the options available – as it may help reduce your costs. For example, when it comes to laying pathways, wood or bark chippings can often be better value for money than stone. However, in either case, you’ll need to put down weed suppressing membrane to stop weeds from taking over.

Once you’ve worked out and totalled up what you think you’ll need to spend, you may want to add on a little bit more to be on the safe side. This extra will account for the things that you may not have included.

Managing the project costs

Now that you have your expected spend – including a kitty for unplanned costs – you can assess whether you need to take out a loan to help boost your garden fund. And once the work is complete and summer arrives, you and your friends and family can sit back, relax and make the most of your outdoor space.