DIY 15m x 5m Garden makeover.
Discussion
First full day on the garden in a while.
Managed to pick up a 1/3rd of a bag of bulk sand locally for free, and another third of the dusty sand they use under astroturf.
Used the dusty stuff to level the path, again.
Then laid the path, actually went done quite nicely. Debated with myself to lay them the way I have and cut them or lay them in line with the path. Undecided if my way will be worth the extra effort.
Happy with that. Was a couple of cm off square by the time I got to the bottom end.
Carried on to the shed end. Unfortunately didn't get a good picture.
Atleast some of the top soil I paid to get rid off it looks like I'll need to buy back.
Should get the last of the slabs down tomorrow, out of the two full pallets I'll be left with half a slab. Should also get the second render coat on too.
Managed to pick up a 1/3rd of a bag of bulk sand locally for free, and another third of the dusty sand they use under astroturf.
Used the dusty stuff to level the path, again.
Then laid the path, actually went done quite nicely. Debated with myself to lay them the way I have and cut them or lay them in line with the path. Undecided if my way will be worth the extra effort.
Happy with that. Was a couple of cm off square by the time I got to the bottom end.
Carried on to the shed end. Unfortunately didn't get a good picture.
Atleast some of the top soil I paid to get rid off it looks like I'll need to buy back.
Should get the last of the slabs down tomorrow, out of the two full pallets I'll be left with half a slab. Should also get the second render coat on too.
Harry H said:
Great job you're doing there. I'd worry about those sharp corners of the capping stones on the end of the wall though. I'd be taking great chunks out of my leg every time I walked round there.
Haven't walked into them yet but I was thinking the other day I could have sawn the edges smooth. 
Second coat of render, now my least favourite job.
Picked a light shade that has the downside of highlighting my handiwork, must have been hungry when I was shopping, the colour is Cornish Cream, apparantly. 1st coat.
Going to use the offcuts as a base for the step, almost no waste, which feels good.
My punishment for getting rid of top soil prematurely, digging it out of someone's garden locally. Another bulk bag might still be required.
Looking like I'll have the bulk of the work done by the weekend.
Picked a light shade that has the downside of highlighting my handiwork, must have been hungry when I was shopping, the colour is Cornish Cream, apparantly. 1st coat.
Going to use the offcuts as a base for the step, almost no waste, which feels good.
My punishment for getting rid of top soil prematurely, digging it out of someone's garden locally. Another bulk bag might still be required.
Looking like I'll have the bulk of the work done by the weekend.
Pointing done. First time using the brush in resin jointing compound. Quite expensive and not really as easy as it makes it sound. Still needs compressing into the joints then making good. It has the consistency of brown sugar, right down to the stickiness of it when it inevitably gets everywhere.
57Ford said:
Ah, I see the plan for the path now - I was having nightmares on your behalf about cutting the lawn around all those stepped slabs 
Got rid of a lot of that in my recent build by having a grass-level lower step before the patio but it’s still not perfect.
It’s all great though, congratulations and good thread.
I basically just made a lot more work for myself, just to end up with some slightly 80's shapes. Had done some rough maths to work out how much I'd be cutting off the corners right back at the start. I'd estimated the length of the grassed area to be 10m, it's actually 8m, so ended up a bit narrower than predicted but still ok.Got rid of a lot of that in my recent build by having a grass-level lower step before the patio but it’s still not perfect.
It’s all great though, congratulations and good thread.
Speaking of grass, it comes today, only an adult (and a GSD) could get excited about a delivery of grass.
57Ford said:
May be too late or you might have already done it but have you catered for all that rainwater collected by your new patio? You don’t want a bog right next to the opening in your nice new wall. I dug what I believe is a french drain gully full of stones covered with membrane around the edges of the lawn closest to the patio and it then takes the water away beneath the lawn.
Sorry if it’s a bit ‘sucking eggs ‘ but I only just noticed it in time before doing mine.
No, there's no drain at the minute. Will see what it's like over winter and if needed I'll stick something in along grass side of the wall. Sorry if it’s a bit ‘sucking eggs ‘ but I only just noticed it in time before doing mine.
The most fun part, or atleast the biggest reward for smallest effort. No more muddy garden. Significantly more expensive than seeding but couldn't face the dog tracking mud in the house for the next month. Cost £170 delivered for 40sqm, total cost for the project is now £1800 and change, a little bit over budget happy enough.
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