Super mega fugly garden to fix

[daiking]

So we started off with this, an end cul de sac plot, semi detached house, stream on the long border, north facing. House and garden had little maintenance for years. Garden was overgrown but cleared before we bought it.  A load of mature trees along the borders and ground covering foliage,  not grass. The house is raised a little above the garden that in general slopes toward the stream. There was a concrete drive and area between the house and concrete sectional garage:

 

 

Now we’ve added a side and rear extension and the garden is a mess. the garage has lost its roof, door and half a side but still stands on the concrete. Part of the drive has been dug up to do drains (There will be a separate thread about drains) leaving massive ‘potholes’ much of the concrete section between old house and garage has gone but the ground around the border of the actual house has been infilled with earth and building rubble with random piles of stuff all over the place

 

 

[daiking]

So here is how some of it looks:

 

 

This is stood by the stream look east along the north wall of the extension. This infill is full of rubble and there is a drainage pipe (kitchen and rear gutters) running along this section to get round the front of the house to main drain.

 

We would like a 3m+ wide patio out from the bi-fold doors. Not a completely level threshold but certainly up to 1 or 2 brick courses of the door. Coming out 3m+ from here will leave the level 1m - 1.2m above the main garden that the chair is at the start of. 

 

I figure I’d need a retaining wall but with the low height and only a couple of metres of earth from the house means it won’t need to be engineered. And some sort of steps down from the patio to the main garden. So need help here.

 

This is looking at this area from the other side

 

 

This is the stream side position but looking south

 

 

Again the infill is full of rubbish but I think we’d want a sort of path along this wall and then some sort of transition down to the lower garden level. A smaller retaining wall?

 

This is the current state of the side return at the back of the extension - broken up old roof tiles :shakeshead:

 

 

This is the bit at the front of the house where the drive was dug up to do the drains

 

 

ITs like a canyon and needs filling. The drive will not be re done anytime soon. Will MOT1 in here compacted do the job indefinitely?

 

And this is the current state of the ‘garden’

 

 

My boys seem to love it even if they can’t play football/ride bikes - its far more interesting than that for them. The tramp’ and playhouse need to come up the east side of the garden leaving that area clear to be dug over and turfed so its the garden. Theres an area to the rear of the garage, down at garden level which will eventually be the site of a large (PD) garden building but that’s a long way in the future

 

The current wreck of the garage is full of SH1 Type

 

 

But I’m currently loathe to get a skip (or four) to clear the site as Gabions might be an option for landscaping. 

 

I don’t really know where to start.

 

Edited May 28, 2016 by daiking

[daiking]

Actually I do know where to start and it's the drains...

[ProDave]

I can see a great deal of potential there. AND a great deal of hard work if doing it manually yourself.

I would start with the raised deck area built of timber. At least that quickly gives you somewhere nice to sit and survey the carnage.

There is no easy way to landscaping the "lawn" if you want to retain the soil you have, it's a case of pick out the rubble and rubbish then level the soil.  Having the deck and then steps down should allow you to get a more level lawn.

What to do with all that rubble? Well on the basis you may one day need it when you do the drive etc, put it under the raised deck. And yes that is a serious suggestion, it costs nothing, it's out of the way and accessible should you want it. Obviously fit a side panel to the deck to hide it, but one that can be removed.

Other stuff that's clearly rubbish and no good for hardcore even then get a skip or take it to the tip.

MOT1 is good stuff for driveways, plenty of people here put that down then never do anything more.

To restore a decent lawn, spray the whole lot with something like Gallup 360 (I borrowed a backpack sprayer) which will kill everything without poisoning the ground, then level it and re seed.

[daiking]

Potential is why we bought the place but it's hard work to make that real. 

There is no real grass at the moment. It was previously covered in ivy, the topsoil is just matted with roots. the intention was to dig over/cultivate the flat area, pull out the worst of the contamination (stones/roots) and get in a few tonnes of topsoil and lawn maybe 40-50 sqm. That could be done for a few hundred pounds relatively quickly. 

I'm prepared to put off the bit nearest the house for the time being. It doesn't  get the best of the sun, the part where the chairs are does so I'll need a temporary hard area over there. 

I did want to keep the bricks and rubble, I've been pulling them out whilst digging investigative holes. I wasn't sure they would be good for anything but didn't want to pay to clear it and then pay to bring fresh material in... The spot behind the garage for the the future build is ideal for storing this - but I need to lift the bluebells and transfer them elsewhere first.

[Declan52]

Think you need to strip it right back for a start. Any rubble you are keeping store it out of the way for future use. Any crap into a skip and then you will have a better idea of how much stone/topsoil you will need to raise your levels. After that then it's just you a shovel and a Barrow and a good few tonnes of materials to shift. 

[Tennentslager]

Dai,

I'd have a good tidy up , it's amazing what a couple of hours can achieve.

Stack things together and put rubble in piles where you think you won't have to double handle it.

It'll look better and you'll feel better about it. 

Invite some mates around and get a fire going and provide cold beer!

 

[Onoff]

I knew it was you from the title daiking! 

When I read your posts it's like a parallel life. I'm lucky in that I've half an acre to distribute the cr@p though. I tend to try and put wood, hardcore, top soil in their own "area".

Yours will look great when it's done I'm sure. Always remember that it's cheaper than gym membership! 

[Bitpipe]

I think it just needs a few old sofas and some discarded white goods and you have the urban jungle look sorted

Agree that a good general tidy will work wonders, and help you see more potential. Hire a skip (experience has taught me to go one size bigger than you think you need) and get to work !

 

[Stones]

+1 on the tidy up as a first step.  Fill the car and go to the tip (you can always invest in a sheet of thick polythene to line the car boot / seat folded down area, to keep the car clean.  You might then want to consider paying your boys to do some of the donkey work - get them a set of gloves and have them pick out the rubble / bricks etc into a pile.  Once you have a clear site, you'll be in a much better position to see the potential.

You mentioned gabions as a possible retaining solution.  Sleepers are another DIY friendly option to think about.

[daiking]

What do you all mean? This is tidy and is already an improvement!

 Stuck inside at the moment with some interior work but will need to get outside more in the coming weeks.

i have been quoted over £5k for groundworks and tidying up to build up the bit by the house and construct a sleeper retaining wall (140 sleepers!). 

 

Thats is without paying any attention to the drains. So that isn't going to happen." And it will be DIYed as slowly as it is until such time I need to get help.

[Onoff]

Or get a couple of mates over and fire up the barbie. "You do bricks, you do timber, I'll do steel" sort of thing. Fuelled by a £10 for 20 cans offer (or two) and you'll have it done in no time. Have a plan and a designated space for things to go to. Yes you might stash the rubble under the deck later but will having it there whilst you do the decking get in the way of that etc.

[warby]

Put in landrains wrapped in geotextile and drain to stream

 

[daiking]

Had a bit of a dig. Only 10sq m or so, in the unmolested part of the garden, turned over the top 100-150mm. It was not particularly tough to do manually, a small cultivator/rotovator would speed things up though. I know that deeper down we're on solid yucky clay but the top bit looks dark and rich, unfortunately full of roots and god knows what but little in the way of rubble. If I can find a decent spot for the trampoline it may be possible to manually dig over a decent size patch and turf sooner rather than later. From the soil I have, I reckon I wouldn't need much top soil either.

[jack]

Nice thread title.  Kevin Bloody Wilson fan by any chance? 

[daiking]

8 minutes ago, jack said:

Nice thread title.  Kevin Bloody Wilson fan by any chance? 

Not especially although I am familiar with the song in question. That and Santa Claus you...

[Onoff]

I've met Kevin Wilson a couple of times now after concerts at CD signings. Made the mistake of wearing a previous tour's T-shirt and he called me a "Cheap c***" for not buying the new one in front of umpteen other fans. 

[jack]

4 hours ago, Onoff said:

I've met Kevin Wilson a couple of times now after concerts at CD signings. Made the mistake of wearing a previous tour's T-shirt and he called me a "Cheap c***" for not buying the new one in front of umpteen other fans. 

Sounds about right.

I spent part of my youth in Australia, so am pretty familiar with Kevin Wilson and Rodney Rude.

[Onoff]

6 minutes ago, jack said:

Sounds about right.

I spent part of my youth in Australia, so am pretty familiar with Kevin Wilson and Rodney Rude.

He signed a CD for the missus, it says "To *****, thanks for the root, Kev!"

The one he signed for me says "To ..... get f*****, Kev!"

Blown too much of me time buying dinner and wine..... 

[daiking]

I did an hour of weeding this week. Filled a 240litre wheelie bin...

holly is a pain in the ass, isn't it? Even when you don't sit on it.

[daiking]

I've discovered concrete blocks about 200mm/10" under the surface running north/south, parallel to the stream a few metres from that boundary.

from the pre-purchase surveys, there shouldn't be any utilities running through here. But I haven't worked up the courage to dig out a block to see what's underneath.

 

[Nickfromwales]

Tidy, now I won't get any sleep. Get back out there, right now, and dig one up. 

Ill wait here. 

[PeterW]

Didn't they used to use those to cap off old sewer runs........ 

[daiking]

3 minutes ago, PeterW said:

Didn't they used to use those to cap off old sewer runs........ 

In my line of work, it reminded me of a shielded concrete pipe bridge. i don't want one of them in my garden. 

 

As as I understand it and all the drains were done, the sewers come out the front of the house not the back

[daiking]

The natives are getting restless. My impatient wife is deperate to have a garden that resembles a garden.

 

We had a quote to a raised a levelled bit around the house practically up to the bi fold doors, turfed to the side and back, some sort of patio/hard surface. Probably using sleeper to hold the raised bit, maybe 600mm or so high. Steps leading down to a levelled turf area for the main part of the garden where the trampoline live. Needing to get rid of the remains of the garage and build up that bit whilst also doing a ramp down into the garden and bonded resin areas at the top where not a patio and a similar path around the lawn, tidying up the borders ready for planting I suppose.

 

Nothing fancy at all, just basic stuff to sort if out ready to turn it into a garden- that'll be 13 grand please.

 

I don't know where to start having never done anything like this before and don't have that sort of money to spend at the moment so we're in a bit of a hole, much like the garden.