we changed our patio last year from a small 10X12 builder size patio to a 25x12 for next to FREEEEEE
craigslist.
i was patient. found a lady who was doing a major overhaul and i went and got two pickup loads full (and i mean full- poor lifted tundra was sitting on the bump stops) of paver stones. knew i was gonna need some sand and base material. i piled the pavers in the back yard till i could get around to it. low and behold, i got free gravel from, you guessed it, CL from someone who overordered and then wound up getting free sand from someone else who overordered. we wound up taking about 3 weeks to gather the materials, and i went and got half a pickup load of sand i had to buy but the rest of the materials were all free. was a huge pain in the butt- im never doing a paver patio again. EVER. but it looks really nice. and to top it off, i got a new grill at the same time. for free hahaha. i went to get a swing set from a guy for the kiddos (again free) he had this grill he said he was scared of. it was 6 months old, and shot flames out of the knob. he couldnt find the paperwork so he rolled it to the side and got a new one. if anyone knows anything about a gas grill, the venturi tubes are common to get spiders in...yup. thats all it was. i cleaned it out and its been working just fine since then. i hate to sound white trash by picking up garbage haha but my back yard consists of a large wooden play fort with slide and tire swings (tires for free from discount tire- just ask for the trash ones ), small metal swing set with a new paint job, a free hot tub that works great, looks awesome, and the new owners to a house didnt want it, and of course the free patio. we did buy some used patio furniture - large table and 6 chairs for one end, and a loveseat and two chairs for the "sitting area" on the other end.
anyway, didnt mean to hijakc, just wanted to share that my truck mod budget didnt take a hit hahaha.
now i need to find a good deal on a project truck like yours....