Do Hardscapes Increase the Value of My Home?

Clay Creek has some of the best tips for the communities of Owings Mills, New Market, and Westminster, Maryland, when choosing hardscapes.

What is your vision for the perfect yard? Is it flowerbeds overflowing with colorful blossoms, trees, and shrubs trimmed to perfection, is the grass lush green, or are there areas where people can gather to celebrate life’s accomplishments on a deck, patio, or by a fire pit? Our guess is all of the above, and believe it or not; it can happen. It just takes knowing what will give you the best results, which is why we want to help get you started on planning that dream yard. Some of the top hardscapes homeowners add to their yard are a deck, patio, firepit, or paver driveways and walkways. Our design team knows which hardscapes will give you the best results without breaking the bank. We are committed to working with every customer to find the perfect hardscape that will increase the value of their home and add to additional outdoor living space. The key to enhancing your home is a combination of a patio, deck, fire pit, or pavers with well-maintained landscaping as a backdrop.  When you have stately trees, blooming flowerbeds, and well-trimmed shrubs, it softens the hardscape and adds another dimension to your home’s exterior. Your goal for the perfect yard should be to create a balance of landscaping, hardscaping, and outdoor lighting. Not to mention landscaping can also increase the value of your home by approximately 12 percent.Like most homeowners, you probably want to have a great area for entertaining, like a patio or deck. Did you know that this is where most people invest first when planning their yard since you usually can recoup almost 100% of your investment? Can’t you just picture those family times when everyone has gathered around the table, waiting for that perfectly grilled dinner followed by an evening of sitting around the fire pit? It’s the perfect way to make memories, increase the value of your home and add to your overall living space. With all the numerous options to choose from when installing a deck, we suggest you weigh out the cost of maintenance-free material against a wood deck. Something to consider is that the upkeep on a wood deck each year will probably cost you more than initially installing maintenance-free decking. It also is a great selling point as potential buyers will see one less thing they have to think about when trying to maintain their new home. If you are thinking of installing a patio, you have several options that will increase the value of your home and add to your outdoor space. The first is what most people are familiar with, and that’s a concrete patio. Depending on the size, it can be the least expensive when adding to your outdoor living space.  If you want to add style and texture to your yard, you may want to try stamped concrete, as it comes in all different colors and designs, making it a great way to accent the exterior of your home. The disadvantage of concrete patios is that sometimes they can get damaged from freezing weather and develop cracks. Now you have both a cost and safety issue, so depending on your budget, you may want to install pavers as they will give you a better return on your investment than concrete and add to that spectacular curb appeal. An area that immediately brings family and friends together is a fire pit. How nice would it be to gather around your fire pit sharing stories and making smores; at the same time, you are getting a 70% return on your investment.  Not to mention how it keeps those mosquitoes away so you can enjoy those summer nights too! Why wouldn’t anyone love this in their yard?One of the biggest advantages of a fire pit is that you can choose wood-burning or gas. As much as we all love the crackling and smell of the wood-burning, it can become a safety issue if you have pets and small children. Another thing to consider when adding a fire pit to your yard is that you need to make sure you are not installing it too close to any landscaping. Be sure to think for the future as trees and shrubs grow over the years, and the last thing you want to do is having to move any hardscapes, which may be another reason to install gas rather than wood.  If you want to give your home that star quality, adding pavers to your driveway and walkways is the perfect way to enhance your home. Did you know adding brick pavers can increase the value of your home by 20%? Because there are all different textures and colors to choose from, it allows a homeowner to accent the home’s exterior while adding to that perfect curb appeal. The best advantage of having pavers is that they handle all different weather conditions and are great for heavy traffic areas like your driveway. Another advantage is that pavers create an even surface so family and friends can move safely around your property without the worry of tripping or falling.  They are also practically maintenance-free other than needing to clean them periodically, giving a potential buyer even more incentive to put your home at the top of their list. With all the choices a homeowner has to make when deciding on the right hardscape to add to their home, it’s no wonder most turn to professionals to help them enhance their home and stay within budget. Our outstanding design team is ready to provide you with a design that will strategically place your hardscape to improve your outdoor space and accent your landscaping. Once you are happy with your new hardscape, we can provide quality lawn maintenance services to keep your home looking its best.