Muddy

There's consensus here, work with the slope. I like the slide idea. My 2.5yr grandson has just dug up his first potatoes, and he's so excited. I would make the zigzag path permanent with cordons of apple and pear trees and thornless loganberries, maybe a plum tree at the top. Growing your own food grounds your kid's future skills.

I would strim a zigzag path through the 'meadow' up to the top, where I would cut a 'picnic patch'. Leave the rest of the meadow to grow. If the kids and adults like to use it like that you could cut the paths into the slope and reinforce the edges with timber for next year. How keen a gardener are you?

I agree that condensed water has drained and collected to the bottom of the roof, because the membrane was a standard breathable and in too close contact with the aluminium covering. That was very apparent when I exposed the rot. A 'hairy chest' type membrane as described above should allow that drainage. If, when, I reinstall I will lift the stainless brackets up on osb squares to provide a 9mm gap. I was following the suppliers installation instructions, and they haven't changed. However, it's the corrosion that really worries me. Everything I read sort of says that a small contact of stainless with a lot of aluminium is ok. Assumptions are so easy, I've been bitten before.

We are in Shropshire. The roof is a single pitch of about 5 degrees, and on a single storey sunroom facing southwest, originally stables. The rest of the barn is brick 2 storey. Aluminium expands/ contracts about 5mm per meter ( I was told) hence the special sliding clips, and the panels are 5 meters. It's not a huge area and accessible. I remember reading on GBF about someone's bad experience with a standing seam roof and condensation so was primed, and keeping a closer eye on it. But the corrosion was entirely unexpected. The area of plywood deck to be replaced is mostly above the wall, which is timber frame. The roof is, from the inside, plasterboard, intello plus vapour barrier, 9x3 joist with warmcell between, 50mm foil faced pu insulation, 18mm exterior ply, Permavent Eco membrane, then the Vieo roofing.

I would have agreed with you before I lifted the panels and discovered the 'evidence' . If it's not corrosion caused by a galvanitic reaction between 2 dissimilar metals, what has caused it? The corrosion aligns with the clips, and even a couple of screws in the deck.

I have a standing seam aluminium roof on a single storey part of my barn conversion, I fitted it in 2011. Because it's easy to keep an eye on, I noticed the exposed plywood of the deck was delaminating, and a fungus appeared. At first I blamed a bad drip detail and tried to fold the drip edge down further, but on a subsequent investigation I found I could lift the bottom of the panels because the plywood had degraded to compost. It was not going to cure itself, so I carefully unclipped the aluminium panels to reveal and replace the rotten ply and make any other repairs. What I noticed is that where the aluminium is in contact with the stainless sliding clips there is evidence of corrosion, to the extent that there is complete perforation of the aluminium. The holes are small, about 3-4mm, but almost every panel of 15 is affected. I fitted the roof to the instructions of the suppliers. The aluminium sits directly on the roofing membrane, which is standard breathable Permavent Eco. I can see from the staining that condensation on the underside of the aluminium gets trapped in the membrane and soaks the plywood, but also allows a galvanitic corrosion between the stainless fixings and the aluminium. I was going to reinstall the panels, lifting them off a replaced breathable membrane to allow the condensation to drain. But it doesn't seem as straightforward as that anymore. It is outside of any guarantees. My thinking is that this type of roof is used widely by other self builders. 9 years, or less is not a very good lifespan.

What about a willow fedge? Willow will love the damp and should hold a metre of ground.

If this is for a disabled person then check that you don't need to pay vat. May make a big difference on whether you go for a whole new wetroom or just individual items. You can get waste water pumps that make non step wetrooms easy. A community occupational therapist would be able to advise on your mother's bathing needs. It is always good to preempt.

If you have the time and a pile of old pallets to burn, you can heat big lumps of concrete to 200C and then they crumble when you hit them with a sledge hammer. Very satisfying!