landscaping

I am building some garden steps, but I am not sure what is best to use to backfill them. I don't know if it is best to backfill using MOT Type 1 or a lean concrete mix. The walls/risers for the steps are built out of concrete block and cobblestones. The height of the walls of each step from the...

Hi, OH jet washed our patio yesterday and without fully realising what he'd done went over our roof batten fence a few times. This has taken off a layer of wood and now as you can see looks a mess. Any ideas for how we can get this to look OK? TIA

We're looking at re-doing our garden and patio which would Include an ACO along the width of the house and a paved step the width of the bifolds as the current step down is huge. Problem is the stwp would cover the air bricks. Read about leaving a gap behind the step to keep ventilation but...

Hi forum first time posting, our garden slopes from left to right (looking out from the house) on the left there’s concrete fence posts about 6ft tall. We’ve dropped the level on our side to get the right level for our new patio which is probably about 1 1/2 ft down now, we’ll be raising that...

I have a slightly sloping front garden. I want to make it more low maintenance as the grass and weeds grow like wildfire and I don't have the time to keep de-weeding etc. I wanted to use weed membrane and gravel with possibly sleeper rails to stop the gravel moving down into and through the...

Hey my fence blew down. I'm rebuilding it stronger. I plan to use three 6" x 6" x 12ft posts. With feather edge panels with 3 rails each. I plan to dig them 3ft deep and use post crete due to the constant off and on weather. With Galvanised screws. I'll prob use temporary brackets while...

Hi, After deciding I can’t afford to pay someone to replace my deck with a raised patio I’m thinking of doing it myself. I currently have a deck (previous owner install) which spans the entire width of the conservatory ~8.5m and goes out 2.4m, steps down to another deck (same width) which goes...

I am planning on relaying a front garden path and I am considering using sandstone slabs with creasing tiles as a detail. I would like to use creasing tiles on their edge in a similar fashion to the paving in the attached picture. I have never used creasing tiles before and I was wondering if...

Hi, I'd really appreciate some advice. Our garden is really unusable with concrete steps and a slope - we have a two year old and I'd really like to be able to use the garden this summer, at the moment it's not very enjoyable to be in at all. I'd like to do the following to start with, but have...

I'm looking to buy a cut off saw for cutting slabs. I have hired a 2 stroke stihl cut off saw in the past, however I find 2 strokes to be temperamental and can be a pain to start. Makita make a twin 18v (DCE090ZX1) cut off saw, with hose attachment for dust suppression, which I could buy as I...

Hi We’ve recently removed an old pond from our house (left by previous owners) and getting the space ready for some patio. the first thing I’m unsure on is how to deal with the patio near the fence. Should I patio up to a point ?meters away from the fence, and leave a gap between patio/fence...

Hi all, I am wondering whether using sharp sand rather than soft sand is suitable for laying a sandstone patio, or any patio for that matter. Whilst a sharp sand mortar isn't buttery like a soft sand mortar, it is none the less strong and seems to bind well. A sharp sand mortar is also coarser...

We bought our house last year and we're now trying to fix up the front and need advice. We have a small space at the front of the house (6m x 2.5m) plus a side section (1m x 12m) that's currently gravelled with very old concrete path that needs replacing. The gravel doesn't work for a couple...

Hello, I'm wondering if anyone can help me. We've had a patio laid but we've come across a few issues and wanted to get some advice. 1. The whole patio slopes for the rainwater which is fine and not a problem but it seems to not only slope from back to front but also from left to right. Is...

Hi, I've been itching to get my garden redesigned. I'm not currently happy with the layout and as you can see from the pictures, there is a lot of wasted space. My plan is to extend to flat surface area, allowing for a longer flat lawn, and to allow me to increase the size of the patio area...

Hello all, I am laying a 20m2 patio in the garden and have had 3tonne of hatdcore delivered which I will be compacted and forming the sub base. I asked for a ton of builders sand to be delivered and I have ballast instead. This should still be ok to bed the slabs onto, right? What mix would be...

I am a landscaping newbie and I am currently trying to extend an existing patio. I have a number of questions about how to go about this but first, I will do my best to describe the construction of the existing patio. The pavers are a Stowell PCC 450mm x 450mm x 50mm utility paver. I have began...

Hi all, I am a gardener, with some landscaping experience, and I have a client who would like a small terraced area part way up their steep garden so as to give easier access for gardening. I terms of design, I think a curved upright sleeper retaining wall would be best, however I have never...

Wanting to save money on disposal and hardcore would breaking up my old concrete paving slabs work? Or should I just bite the bullet?

I am going to start my garden ready for the summer, I am looking at building a sleeper retainer step up (2 sleepers high) the sleepers will be dug in 50mm so I will have to infill around 305mm. (Leaving thickness for artificial grass 30mm and a 15mm base layer of sand to assist drainage) Should...