Rating the top 15 outdoor home improvements

Warm weather and summer time in Northern California are here, and that means we’re enjoying spending time in our yards again. Whether it be a backyard barbecue on a Sunday afternoon, sitting out at night with a glass of wine to watch the stars or just watching the kids run around on the lawn to their heart’s content, the outdoor areas of our homes enrich our lives at least three seasons a year.

In fact, homeowners invest $6.2 billion yearly in outdoor improvements, but when it comes to adding fun and functional elements to our yards, is it always worth the time, money and aggravation? 

We’ll list the top 15 outdoor renovations or projects for homeowners and give them a rating based on the pros, the cons, practicality, enjoyment of use, costs and return on value.

1. Deck

Decks add huge value to a home with a 77% reported Return On Investment, and that’s probably because they offer a natural transition to a comfortable and functional outdoor living space. But they can also be expensive, as the cost of good wood is usually surprisingly high, and the alternative of Trex or some synthetic decking material can be twice or three times as much as wood (but never will need painting, collect mold, or rot.) Some intrepid homeowners try building decks by themselves, but even if you don’t hire a professional contractor you’ll probably need a building permit. Remember that wood decks also need maintenance of cleaning and re-staining or painting every few years.

Rating: B+

2. Outdoor lighting

One of the most economical ways to highlight and enhance your home and yard, outdoor and landscaping lighting is a great addition for any home. Of course there are plenty of options for landscaping lighting and lights along paths and driveways, but homeowners are getting more creative as lanterns, fixtures, globes, lamps, and even chandeliers are now made for outdoor use.  LED lights even allow you to rotate colors for interesting effects. Outdoor lighting not only adds to your curb appeal but improves safety and security, and therefore increases value with an approximate 50% ROI. But you may have to rework some electrical, trench to lay wires, and maintain landscaping lighting that goes out or needs new bulbs. Your energy bill might take a small hit but there are also more options for solar lighting than ever before.

Rating: A

3. Koi pond

Koi ponds, natural ponds, and fountains are one of the most enjoyable and beautiful enhancements you can make to your yard. Just sitting by a serene koi pond will lower your stress level after work or on weekends, and children love them especially. However, koi ponds should only be considered if you plan on staying in the home long term because they are not a great financial investment. There are basic DIY koi pond kits you can install yourself with a good deal of labor and patience, but custom professionally installed ponds could run $5,000 all the way to $50,000 or more for huge projects. Maintenance is an ongoing task with filter pads that need changing, fish food, chemicals or additives to balance the water, and other items. And of course you’ll need to purchase some koi, but for many homeowners all this will be well worth it as they are some of the most beautiful creatures in nature, growing as big as their environment allows and sometimes living up to 200 years in extreme cases!

Rating: C

4. Gazebo

Well-planned and aesthetically pleasing sitting and communal areas are always a good investment, and gazebos are starting to see resurgence with homeowners who want to spend more family times outdoors. They can be as big as 30 feet diameter or as small as only 6-foot diameter and made from natural weather resistant wood or synthetic Trex material. Depending on if you have a gazebo custom built, built to standard plans, or even buy a DIY kit and try it yourself, gazebos can run $2,000 all the way to $10,000 or more. You might want to add lighting, speakers, mosquito netting etc. to make it a more useful, but gazebos will offer a high ROI if you ever choose to show your home and sell – but many gazebos can be deconstructed and move to your next house!

Rating: B-

5. Putting green

As eccentric as it may seem, adding a putting green to your backyard may be a sound investment in some neighborhoods and for some homes. If you live in a high-end community or area that may have some avid golfers, it could attract potential buyers in the future, whose excitement to buy a 1-hole golf course with a house attached will translate in a solid offer. But putting greens are also efficient to install, as you can either lay out a round green area or contour it to just about any space or corner of your yard that is free. You can easily set up and install a putting green in one weekend yourself or purchase some of the DIY kits that are not available, with synthetic grass you’ll never need to maintain. Fore!

Rating: C+

6. Awning

If you have a house that faces directly west, you probably get blasted with full sun every day and know just how much it can heat up rooms, living areas, and make the outdoor spaces unusable until nightfall. In fact, up to 40% of heat and UV rays that enter your home come through windows. So an awning or shade cover may be a great remedy to that. They range from simple canvas awnings that you can affix yourself to motorized retractable awnings and even ornate wooden trellises with vines. Over time, you’ll recover any cost of installation and maintenance in lower AC bills and being able to use your entire home and yard again.

Rating: A

7. Trampoline

These days, it’s easier than ever to add a trampoline to your backyard, offering countless hours of enjoyment for your kids and their friends (and even bouncy adults when no one else is looking!) The vast majority of homeowners choose to purchase an above ground trampoline for only a few hundred dollars at places like Costco or Sam’s club. They’re not fun to put together but should last a long time – and can be moved when you decide to sell your house and live elsewhere. However, injuries are not uncommon on trampolines so make sure it as safety netting and padding on any exposed metal or hard areas, and check with your insurance agent if it will affect your homeowner’s policy or increase your liability. Trampolines that are set into the ground used to be in vogue but are rare these days, and only recommended if the homeowner knows they will stay there a long time.

Rating: C+

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Here is part two of this blog, with ratings for the next 8 outdoor home improvements.

10 Water-saving ways to replace your lawn (and still have the nicest yard on the block.)

Take a nice Sunday drive in most California neighborhoods and you’ll notice something different. House after house, the front lawns are browning. They are still cut and landscaped neatly, and the homes are impeccably cared for, but the grass is so dry it almost looks scorched. And it’s not just our lawns – you’ll see it on the grassy median of highways, public parks, and even the vast grassy promenade in front of the state capitol in Sacramento.

The browning of California’s grass has become the new reality as we face the most serious draught in our history, with no end in sight. In fact, an alarming 63 trillion gallons of water has been lost in the west over just the last 18 months. Scientists are now alarmed that as the water deficit accelerates, relieving the ground of 240 billion tons of weight in H20, the ground is actually shifting and rising. Conservationists and municipalities have tried to sound the alarm, instituting no-watering days for lawns, washing cars, and trying to educate the public as to how cut back. But so far, our collective water bill hasn’t significantly shrunk – and we still insist on having putting greens in front of our homes.

So what can we do? The EPA estimates that the average American household uses 320 gallons of water a day, with about 30-60% of that in dry climates devoted to outdoor irrigation. Of that, more than half of it is dedicated to watering lawns, but up to 60% is wasted by over-watering, inefficient methods, and waste.

Point blank – we can install low-flow toilets, cut our shower time in half, and stop washing our cars, but the real and immediate impact into water usage will come from irrigation; our lawns. The good news is that many communities in arid climates like Arizona, New Mexico, or abroad, have already been through this and adjusted their landscaping accordingly. 

So here are 10 alternatives to front lawns that will vastly reduce our collective water usage – and save you a big chunk on your next water bill. Hopefully when we take a drive around the same California neighborhoods in a year or two, we’ll see beautiful natural landscaping that conserves water in front of most homes – not lawns.

1. Lay natural rocks and fill in groundcover in between for a “hardscape.” It will require almost no watering and naturally keep weeds out, bust still offer greenery.

2. In areas that remain shady most of the day, plant moss. Since it’s not a deeply rooted plant, it will transplant very easily and within as little as 4-6 weeks it will take hold and spread, but never take over.

3. Plant beds of creeping thyme. It looks delicate but it’s actually a very tough and resilient low-water plant that will remain green all year, while also providing great fragrance. You never got that with your lawn!

4. Construct a brick or flagstone zero-scape, placing potted plants or small “oasis” areas throughout. Fill between them with mortar to eliminate weeds sprouting up.

5. Or, you can lay flagstones or pavers and fill in with your beloved green grass, or natural grasses. You can make great symmetrical patterns with these that make your property look bigger, or mix it up to replicate the beautiful chaos of nature.

6. As a general rule, think about plating flora that occurs naturally in your climate and geography. For most of California, that is not green grass and big oak trees!

7. Speaking of trees, you can take out the grass but plant a host of low-water, hot-weather trees, including almond, olive, avocados, figs, almonds, and pears, among others. Not only will you be able to enjoy the fruits of your labor (and nuts) but these will attract native birds and butterflies and keep your home cooler with their shade.

8. A fantastic alternative to grass is to fill surface area with sand, native crushed pebbles, or and crushed stone. You can still fill in with rocks, flowers, and plant groupings to make your yard the envy of the neighborhood – but with very little watering.

9. Synthetic grass. We hate to mention an artificial alternative when there are so many other great ways to replace your lawn, but if you must have that perfect putting green front yard, they make amazing synthetics these days. They aren’t cheap but you’ll never have to water again.

10. A new trend in landscaping is to replicate the natural ecosystem, planting native species of draught-resistant grasses, flowers, shrubs, and trees but then letting them grow wild. By using native species you’ll ensure these plants require little water and thrive in our climates. After all, there is no better landscaper to emulate than Mother Nature!