How to fix courtyard garden on a budget?

sidedish

Hi all, hoping for some cheap advice.

We've got a small courtyard backyard that's basically bare compacted dirt and weeds right now (photos attached). We know we want proper decking eventually, but that's a year or two off, so we're after the cheapest possible stopgap that gives us:

• A flat area for a small outdoor dining setting

• Somewhere to put a cluster of potted plants

• Not an eyesore in the meantime

Budget is tight since we don't want to spend much on something we'll rip up later. Current thinking is weed mat plus crushed rock or sand, buying some pavers off Marketplace.

Has anyone done a similar "renter friendly" or "just make it liveable for now" yard fix? Keen to hear.

Thanks in advance!

MitchellMc

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community @sidedish. It’s great to have you join us and many thanks for sharing your project with us.

Your idea of using some second-hand pavers is probably one of the cheapest ways to make the area more usable without investing too much in something that will eventually be removed.

I’d concentrate on creating a small paved area just large enough for the table and chairs rather than trying to improve the entire courtyard. Scrape the area reasonably level, compact it, add a thin layer of sand and lay your pavers over the top. Since this is only temporary, you don't necessarily need to go to the expense of constructing a full permanent paving base. If you'll need a significant quantity of sand to level the area, you might like to consider a bulk delivery through your nearest store's Special Orders team, which can be considerably more budget-friendly than purchasing individual bags.

For the remaining area, weed mat covered with an inexpensive gravel or crushed rock would tidy things up considerably and give you somewhere for your pots. Just make sure you maintain the existing fall away from the house and don't build the ground level up against the brickwork or around the air-conditioning unit.

I've added an AI rendering below for inspiration.

The nice thing about this approach is that the pavers could potentially be sold or reused when you're ready to build the deck, while the gravel can be relatively easily removed or used under the deck for drainage purposes.

Let me tag @livwood, @jonathon.tupper, @TrentCurzi, @KoalaRetreat_21 and @tonywill1957, who have all recently contributed their own amazing deck projects, to see if they have any thoughts.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Mitchell