Category: Gardening (Page 4 of 9)

All things to do with gardening

First of the flagstones being installed

October 25, 2014 / stephen

While we were away for a couple of days this week, the first of the flagstones has been installed in the sunken garden. It is going to take quite some time to get all of these laid. Still, it will look great once it is done.

The first of the flagstones are starting to be laid in the lower terrace of the sunken garden. We are using a random pattern rather than laying the flagstones in courses. The flags are of varying thicknesses and we are coping with this by using a thick bed of sand and cement underneath the flags.

The thicker of the flagstones are probably on the weight limit for two men to carry – you certainly don’t want to have to move them far. Fortunately, we have managed to move the pallets into the sunken garden using the telehandler.

The flags are of varying quality, but this all adds to the rustic feel of this space. The worst of the flagstones we are putting to one side and will return the reclamation yard for them to be replaced – they are so rough, they are a “trip hazard”!

Sunken garden and the weather

October 21, 2014 / stephen

The bad weather, which has been forecast for a while now, hit us today. By 2pm, it was too wet to carry on, but Paddy and Jonny did their best. They switched their attentions to the step by the back door and this has now be laid. There is no point in trying to point it in this weather, but at least the flagstones are down. Their is a step to go in underneath the porch and this is being earmarked for another “wet day activity”. We can’t really do them both at the same time otherwise you wouldn’t be able to get in the house!

Before the really bad weather hit, we had time to use the wacker plate to pack down the crushed stone in the sunken garden. Now the stone has been packed down, we need to put some more crushed stone to bring the levels back up to where they should be.

The upper terrace still has to be levelled, but we are taking the opportunity to get rid of some of the waste stone behind the retaining wall.

The temporary concrete blocks and flagstone have been removed to make way for some concrete and some new (or rather old) flagstones to be installed.

These still need to be pointed, but it makes a huge difference to the appearance of this area. The shoe on the bottom of the rainwater pipe also needs a coat of black paint!

This area is starting to look a little more finished. It is amazing how you can get used to things looking half finished!! I have spent the last 2 years doing so!

Progress on the sunken garden

October 18, 2014 / stephen

It has been very wet here in Yorkshire for the past week and this has impacted on the progress on the work in the garden. Actually, the progress has been pretty good, but the impact is definitely starting to show on the grass! Lots of rain, new grass and heavy machinery are not a great combination. Still, it will grow back!

Paddy and Jonny have really put the hours in this week and it shows. The two terraces are starting to take shape and next week we should be in a position to start laying the first of the flagstones. All of the wiring is now in place for the uplighters that will light up the walls around the garden at night.

There are a number of uplighters around the perimeter of both the lower and upper terraces. The wiring has to be put in place before the flagstones are laid. We know the position of the lights so that we can drill the holes after the flagstones have been laid.

The wires coming out of the short sections of brown drainage pipe are for the lights that are going to be recessed into the flagstones. The lights are positioned 30cms from the walls to shine light up against the stone work.

The blue pipes allow water that builds up behind the retaining wall to seep through the stonework that will face this retaining wall. The pipes will feed into small plastic weep holes in the finished wall.

This blockwork has been built to support the stone steps that will be installed here. The blockwork to the right will be face with the same stone as you can see on the back wall above.

These arrived in the week on 4 lorries. There should be enough flagstones here to cover the 154 sqm in the sunken garden. It is difficult to believe that we are going to need this many flagstones, but we did measure it (at least twice!). As well as the sunken garden, there are also a couple of areas to flag at the front of the property.

There is a drainage channel along the back of the sunken garden. The flagstones are laid so that water will run away from the house and into this channel. Only the thing plastic groove will be seen as the rest will be covered by flagstones.

Sunken garden

October 13, 2014 / stephen

Work continues in the sunken garden despite the rain. We are hopefully that we will have the levels sorted out in the two parts of the sunken garden by the end of the week. However, the first thing that we need to do is to build the retaining wall between the two terraces.

This is the retaining wall that will separate the lower and the upper terrace in the sunken garden. It has rained throughout the day today and this makes progress slow. And very muddy!

Progress in the sunken garden

October 11, 2014 / stephen

With the large steps installed from the lounge into the garden, we have passed a major milestone. The next job is to build the retaining walls for the upper terrace and get the ground level right (together with the drains). Much of this work will be done next week and I expect by the end of next week we will be laying the first of the reclaimed flagstones.

We are going to place the order for the remaining ashlar this week, but unfortunately there looks as if there will be a 2-3 week delay while we wait for delivery. We may well get on with other odd jobs around the property (e.g. flagstones outside the front and back door, pointing on the outbuilding) while we are waiting.

The temporary ramp built to get the telehandler into the lower part of the garden was dug out this morning. You can see where the channels have been dug to accommodate the drains that need to be installed to take the water off the patio. The flagstones will slope very slightly away from the house to ensure that any rainwater is kept away from the property.

The temporary ramp that we built to get the telehandler down into the garden has now been removed. This means that we can get on with building the retaining wall for the upper terrace next week.

Now these steps are installed, the last thing that we need is for them to get damaged. The cardboard should prevent any odd chips or scrapes.

Steps in the sunken garden

October 9, 2014 / stephen

We have had more success today and all of the steps from the lounge down into the sunken garden are in place. And with no damage!

The large bottom step that got damaged yesterday was removed and replaced with a slightly slimmer one. It doesn’t really matter as the flagstones will cover this part of the step.

Paddy and Jonny spent all day on these steps, but they went away smiling as they went in without any damage. You can see that the bottom step on the right is slightly slimmer than it should be. This is ok as the bottom is covered by the flagstones.

These steps look great – big and chunky, but very heavy. Everyone is relieved to see these in place.

Oops!

October 8, 2014 / stephen

We always knew that handling large and heavy pieces of ashlar was going to be awkward. We also knew that they would damage fairly easily. Well, today, we proved it.

While putting the bottom step in place, a corner of one of the large pieces of ashlar got damaged. The guys did the best they could to repair it, but unfortunately it is always going to show up. Structurally, the repair is fine, but cosmetically, it looks awful. It might look slightly better once the stonework dries, but it is always gone to notice when wet. The only option is to replace it.

The good news is that we probably have a spare step – we ordered 4 steps and it looks as if we are only going to need three. Still, it stopped work today as the repair was attempted and then finally discarded. Hopefully tomorrow will be a better day.

The largest piece of the bottom step was lowered into position fairly easily. The second (smaller section) is brought down into the garden using slings and a telehandler.

While the damage is fairly minor, it does notice. Luckily we have a spare step, do the large section will have to come back out tomorrow and be replaced.

The chipped corner piece has been glued back in place using some resin. It has been ground back so that it is perfectly in line with the existing stonework. If you closed your eyes, you would not be able to feel the chip. However, when you open your eyes that damage is all too obvious!

New stone steps

October 8, 2014 / stephen

We are getting prepared to lower some of the large stone steps into place outside the lounge. Just the sheer weight of these steps make them a major challenge. To make life a little easier, the steps themselves are being preformed using concrete blocks and concrete. The ashlar steps should then just sit on top of these preformed steps. Well that is the theory anyway! With some of the stone weighing more than half a tonne, this is not going to be easy.

The steps into the sunken garden have been pre-formed using concrete blocks and bricks. The wires running through the steps are for an external power socket and for the lights in the sunken garden. I am not sure where the little knitted Santa came from!

The work on the garden continues…

October 6, 2014 / stephen

Well, the gardening continues. Apparently, they didn’t have a smaller digger, so we ended up with a big one. They also didn’t have a smaller telehandler (it was stolen), so we ended up with a big one of those too! Mmm….this isn’t helping the state of the grass.

Within a couple of days, this will look a lot better. But right now, it is a bit of a mess.

Work on the sunken garden starts

October 6, 2014 / stephen

Despite the rather wet weather, the work has commenced on the sunken garden at the rear of the property. The garden is going to be split into two terraces laid with reclaimed Yorkshire flagstones. There will be access from the lounge, hall, snug and master bedroom. Wherever possible, the level of the patio will be level with the floors inside. This will make down the delineation between the inside and outside spaces. It will also make the inside spaces feel bigger than there currently are.

Today, a lot of the materials were delivered (I suspect there is a lot more to come) and the work has started on levelling out the garden area. We have modified the design slightly, so are waiting on some newly drawn up plans from the architects. Although, this adds cost to the project, doing the work without a plan comes with it’s own risks – one mis-ordered piece of ashlar would potentially cost as much as having the plans drawn up in the first place. So not having the drawings could potentially work out to be a false economy.

One tonne bags of crushed stone, concrete blocks and bricks plus a pallet of cement – it is what every gardener requires!

There were a few lumps and bumps that needed to be levelled out before the crushed stone can go down.

The far end of the sunken garden levelled out. There will need to be some work to sort out access to the inspection chambers for the drains.