Outdoor Living Prices (Austin: sales, home builder, contractor)

[srodrigu100]

I'm thinking of adding an outdoor living package to my new home, is it best to use a 3'rd party or a home builder? The outdoor living package would include a fireplace and about 10 by 10 concrete. Has anyone done the outdoor living and if so what was included for the price they paid?

Thanks!

[austin-steve]

Theoretically, the builder could complete an upgrade like that at far less than a 3rd party would charge, especially if contemplated from the start. The builder is already there working on the home, had the materials available, matching stone, labor, and can work it into the project.

In reality, builders make more profit from upgrades and add-ons such as "outdoor kitchen" than they do on the sale of the home itself.

Get a bid from the builder and one or two from the BBQ equipment sales places and see if a big pricing gap exists. Make sure you compare apples to apples on the equipment used.

Finally, before spending $20K on an "outdoor kitchen" or "living area" with extended patio, grill, water feature, etc., I would ask myself if I'm really going to realize that amount of enjoyment from the amenity. We had over 50 days of 100+ temperature this summer. Are you really going to spend enough time out there, and do enough entertaining and parties to fully benefit from having all that? I'd dare to say, for 97% of us, the answer will be "no". You won't get any measurable portion of that extra building cost back on resale either. The exception would be if you back to a greenbelt, golf course, or plan to also build a pool.

Steve

Steve

[TexasHorseLady]

On the other hand, this was an exceptional summer - the hottest in 83 years, hardly typical and certainly not anything to base such a decision on. Last year, we had 3 days where the temperature hit 100. According to the National Weather Service, Austin usually has an average of 11 triple digit days. Plus, we have very mild winters, generally, and spring and fall are wonderful times to be outside.

So that's something to take into account.

[jenkirk]

We just had our outdoor patio put on. No outdoor kitchen yet, but our 14'X30' patio ended up costing a little over $10K. This includes concrete and a very nice cover (with partially bricked columns and soffets). My contractor was Bernie Walker. PM me if you want his information. If you are an Angie's list member, all of his information is on there. It also includes pictures of our patio.