I was quoted £3k for my fancy new decking area but I did it myself for a fraction of the price

A MUM who was quoted £3,000 for a new decking has revealed how she built one herself for a fraction of the price.

Melissa Preston, 44, a mum of two from Northampton, who owns a cleaning company, managed to pull off the project for just £540.

Her clever money-saving tricks included using a neighbour’s old decking, bannisters and handrails that were destined for the skip, and repurposing old furniture she had bought years ago from Lidl and Aldi.

Melissa told money-saving Facebook group DIY On A Budget UK: "After being quoted almost £3,000 to have a new decking area I decided to save the money and do it all myself at a fraction of the price.

“I was fed up with the girls dragging bark into the hot tub!

“My first task was to decide how big I wanted the decking. Once this was decided I ordered all the decking and the pergola.

"The longest and toughest part of the project was getting the area cleared and de-weeded. This seemed to take forever.

“Once it was all up to scratch I was then ready to start the build.

"I was very nervous as I’ve never tackled anything on this scale before, let alone done the whole thing myself.

"But I do like a challenge so this spurred me on.”

Melissa made use of a neighbour's trash to perfect the design of her decking.

"I saw that my local neighbour was going to skip their old bannisters, decking and rails, so I asked if I could have them and they agreed,” she said.

“It saved them a trip to the tip.

“The best bit was making use of some old decking and handrails that a neighbour was going to skip!”