Create A Stunning Patio For Under $800 With TikTok's DIY

Are you looking to transform your backyard into an outdoor oasis? Adding a patio to your backyard is the perfect way to upgrade your space. You can use your new patio to host barbecues, expand your outdoor living space, and enjoy sunset dinners. However, it can be very expensive to hire someone to build a patio. The average patio costs more than $3,900 for a professional to build, and that number can easily get close to $6,000. 

The good news is that you can build your own patio for much cheaper. TikTok user @serenaajoyce managed to build a cute patio in her backyard for less than $800. She demonstrated the steps, and according to her video, they took her six days to complete in total. To say she literally did it herself might be a stretch — the video shows a few helpers and a truck full of rocks helping the process along — but her patio certainly looks like it was created with the DIY spirit.

The first step in building this DIY patio is to determine if you need a permit. Check with your local city to see if one is required. Next, you'll need to determine where you want to place your patio. Think about how you want to use your patio. If you plan to use it for outdoor dining, then you might want to place it right beside your back door. That way, you won't have to carry plates of food across your lawn. If you plan to use your patio mainly for relaxing, then you might place it underneath a shade tree. Choose a higher spot in your lawn if possible so that water will easily run off the patio.

Once you chose your site, use stakes and string to mark it off. Then, assuming you're in the U.S., call 811 so a utility expert can mark buried gas, plumbing, sewer, and electrical lines. It's important to check for buried lines even though you won't be digging very deep. Next, choose your pavers. You can use concrete, brick, or natural stone. Concrete, which is what @serenaajoyce used for her patio, is the most affordable.

Use hand shovels to remove soil and sod from your site. Dig about 8 inches deep. Slope the site away from your home if you are building the patio near your house. You can do this by creating a 1-inch drop about every 4 feet. Next, level the site. Simply, rake the soil to be level. After you have removed all the grass and dirt, lay down landscape fabric on the site. Landscape fabric will keep weeds at bay. You can get 100 feet of landscape fabric at Home Depot for $37. 

Next, fill the patio space with gravel. You can have gravel delivered to your house for about $65 per yard, which is what @serenaajoyce did. Cover the gravel with a 1-inch-deep layer of patio or paver sand. After the sand is down, it's time to lay the pavers. Begin on one side of the patio and evenly lay the pavers, making sure they are flush and fit tightly together. Once you have all of the pavers down, cover them with sand. This time, you will want to use jointing sand, which is $20 at True Value. This helps lock the pavers together. Use a broom to push the sand down between the pavers. After you have finished, spray the patio down with a garden hose. Then, you can add cute patio furniture or even create your own DIY patio couch. You might also consider acid-staining your concrete patio.