Rolawn Gold Medallion

Hilperton

in , ,

This project was a complete garden makeover .The clients had a design for the garden with a few set requirements they wished for. As the existing lawn sloped towards the house they requested a level lawn, the shed base extended and the garden terraced. The brief was to lay a patio at the back of the house with steps and a path leading to a small seating area at back of the garden. Then a path leading around the side of the house to the front door. The choice of paving used was sandstone light grey. 

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The first job was to remove the old grass and then lift all the old paving. Then excavating the areas that were to be paved ready to put down a compacted scalping base. The paving was then laid on a sand & cement mix, with the steps constructed and the upper path and seating area laid. To finish a dark grey pointing mix was used to complement the slabs. 

The sleeper retaining wall was constructed by fixing the sleepers to posts set in the ground as was the wood used to retain the lawn. This was constructed to level the lawn as requested by the client. Creating a level lawn brought about a new set of problems being that the soil beside the upper path and seating area was higher than them, this was overcome by using the paving vertically to retain the soil. The paving was used to bring a uniform look and achieve the request of not much wood being used.

The soil which was excavated from the patios and paths and piled in the garden was levelled to the new edges of the new lawn. This was levelled and prepared for turfing using Rolawn Medallion turf.

On this project I had a mixed bag of weather from sunshine, freezing cold, wind and the rain!

Trowbridge, Wiltshire

in ,

This project was a complete makeover with client designing the garden to her own personal needs and wishes. The design was in a layout form with no measurements, so my first job was to make sure it all fitted into the garden!

The existing lawn was removed and put to one side as this would come in use later on in the job. Construction of the raised beds was next, these are 2 sleepers high with a 50mm topper which acts as a wider top and seating area. The sleepers are secured by putting wooden posts into the ground, concreting these in and securing the sleepers with coach screws. Some of the stripped off grass from the existing lawn was then used in partially filling the raised sleeper beds, which over time will rot down once the topsoil is placed on top. The soil from the excavation of the patio area was used to do this. 

The existing concrete paths were broken up using a hydraulic kango and the concrete was used to provide hardcore for the patio area. This was done to provide a solid base which will stop the patio sinking as well as extending the life of the patio. The base was then capped off with scalpings and compacted with a wacker plate. The client requested textured paving for the patio area so we went with Bradstone buff textured paving in 3 different sizes in a repeating pattern. These was laid on and pointed using a sand/cement mix with white cement to get the pointing to complement the slabs.

Around the intended new lawn area metal edging and block paving was used to retain the topsoil. The block paving was used in front of the raised beds to provide a mowing strip, this allows you to get a nice clean cut edge by the sleepers, when mowing the lawn. Metal edging is great because it is very flexible and allows you to create neat curves for edging turf or boarders. Over 3 tonnes of top quality topsoil was brought in to level the lawn area, this was then turfed using Rolawn Gold Medallion. Before the turf was laid a starter fertilizer was put down this promotes good root growth which is vital to the turf surviving .

Landscape matting was put down over the pathways, this will stop weed growth in the gravel areas. The gravel used in this garden is 20mm Romsey, this was chosen because it is large enough not to get stuck in the tread of your shoes or boots and get brought into the house . The shed and bench were constructed from kits and they completed the garden. I was very lucky to have the weather on my side especially for moving the soil. This garden is now ready for the client to start planting and to enjoy!