Outdoor DIY Checklist Generator
Pick the project and get the whole thing in order: what to plan, what to gather, what to buy and what to do in what sequence. Tick it off as you go, or print it and take it out with you.
· · thebackyardvault.com
Pick your project
Nine projects, each with a full phase by phase list.
Tune the list
Each switch adds the tasks that situation brings with it.
Quantities
Every material line links to the calculator that works out how much you need. All of them are free and none of them ask for an email.
Choose a project above and the checklist appears here.
Your ticks are kept in this browser only, on this device.
Common questions
Do I need a permit for a deck, fence or patio project?
It depends entirely on where you live, and there is no useful national answer. As a rough guide, decks above a certain height, anything attached to the house, and fences over a set height usually need one, while a ground level patio or a gravel path usually does not. Separately from the city, an HOA can have its own rules on materials, colours and heights that are stricter than the building code. Ring the local building department and describe the job. It takes ten minutes and it is far cheaper than being told to take it down.
What tools should I rent rather than buy for a one time project?
Rent the heavy specialist gear you will not use again: plate compactors, augers, concrete mixers, masonry saws, pressure washers. These cost hundreds to buy, take up a garage corner and need maintenance. Buy the hand tools you will keep reaching for: a good spade, a level, a tape, a cordless drill. The rule that works is to rent anything with an engine that you would use once a decade, and buy anything you will pick up next month. Items on this checklist that are commonly rented are labelled.
How do I plan an outdoor project across multiple weekends?
Split the work at points where stopping is safe. Excavation and base work is a natural end to a first weekend. Never stop halfway through a concrete pour or halfway through screeding bedding sand. Leave nothing that traps water or catches a foot in the dark, cover anything that rain would spoil, and take a photo of where you got to, since the following Saturday you will not remember. Book rentals against the weekend you actually need them, not the whole project.
Where does my checklist get saved?
In your own browser, on this device. Nothing is sent anywhere and we cannot see it. If your browser blocks storage, as some private windows do, the tool says so and your ticks simply last for the visit. Printing or copying as text gives you a copy that does not depend on the browser at all.
Now put a number on it
The checklist tells you what to do and in what order. The budget planner tells you what the whole thing costs before you commit to any of it.