Garden levelling

[KyleJones]

Hi all,

 

First post here so go easy ha. Looking to do some work in the garden before the summer comes in but not sure how to go about what I’m looking to achieve. You can see in the picture attached that our garden slopes from right to left with neighbours either side. There is a difference of 1170mm from the highest point on the right to the lowest point on the left. Rather than remove or add soil I would just take from the highest point and add to the lowest point. Would that then mean I would have to retain both sides? It might not be clear from the photo but the boundary fence curves towards the back and that leaves me stumped with regards to retaining. Would I somehow follow the curve of the fence or just build a straight retaining wall? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[joe90]

That’s a lot of soil to shift and yes would need retaining at both ends. Are you looking to retain all lawn?, if not then what about terracing with plants and bushes? Retain small areas of lawn to sit.

[KyleJones]

Hi Joe, thanks for the reply. Ideally yes, I would like to retain all of the middle section that you see in the photo between the front and back fence as I would like this to be flat and same level. It is unusable at the moment for a table and chairs or any kids garden toys so would like a large flat area.

[joe90]

How about a large circular flat area in the middle laid to lawn or patio (or 50/50) then the four corners of the garden slope up and down to existing fences with planting in them. If you create retaining walls around the garden that’s removing fences, foundations, concrete etc etc s lot of work.

[KyleJones]

I had considered maybe just digging down to the lowest point on the left hand side of this line and then leaving a bank on the right hand side of the line. So the banks would start from the line and upto the highest point of the boundary. Would that negate the need for retaining walls? Thanks

[Kelvin]

Rather than level slopes it generally better to try and use them to your advantage. I’d therefore look to create some terracing and/or some banked areas with the lawn area in the middle. 1.17m difference is a lot to try and level even if you split the difference and cut and fill. To give you some idea hammer in some sticks to where you think the final level would be and put some string between them. It’ll highlight how much earth you need to move. 

Edited April 9 by Kelvin

[KyleJones]

Hi Kelvin, thanks for the reply. Do you think what I have posted above is achievable? Digging down to the lowest point for about 75-80% of the area and then leaving the bank to the highest point? Many thanks.

[Kelvin]

Everything is achievable. Why is it you want to change it? Presumably to make it more useable?  If so do you need to level all of it? You could break it up into sections to add some interest. 
 

When it stops pissing down I’ll show you what digging out 1.17m looks like on our driveway. 
 

 

Edited April 9 by Kelvin

[saveasteading]

I wouldn't do it.

Many people would love the extra interest that the slope brings. It looks as if it slopes southish, picking up more sun too.

There's lots of scope for interest with shade loving, easy care plants to the left and keeping the right for lots of sun. By all means flatten a small area where you would like to sit or kick a ball about.

[KyleJones]

Thanks again for your replies both. In response to your question of why Kelvin the answer is yes, to make it more usable. We have 2 young children so would love to flatten a large enough area to get some garden play sets, paddling pools, tables and chairs. It wouldn’t be as much of an issue if it was just me and my partner but would like the flat area for the children. I think flattening the majority and leaving the bank to the highest point sounds like my best bet at the moment. Access for a mini digger is ok so that will take a lot of the effort out of removing the soil.

[joe90]

Having a previous house with sloping garden I understand the issue of flat area for kids (and adults), I created a patio area with banking above for flowers and it worked well, the patio area (crazy paving because it was cheap back then) was usable even when the lawn was wet/muddy.

[KyleJones]

Hi Joe. Do you foresee any issues with laying some new turf at the lowest flattened area with regards to drainage? Would I need to look at installing some drainage solutions and what would you recommend if so? Many thanks

[Kelvin]

What you’re suggesting will be fine. Draw out the space on the ground where you think the various items might go. It’ll give you a really good idea for the size you need. 
 

When my kids were little I created a garden area for them. It was a small vegetable plot. My daughter especially enjoyed it. Son preferred the creepy crawlies. Now they are adults neither of them have the gardening bug though but was fun at the time 😂 

[Kelvin]

5 minutes ago, KyleJones said:

Hi Joe. Do you foresee any issues with laying some new turf at the lowest flattened area with regards to drainage? Would I need to look at installing some drainage solutions and what would you recommend if so? Many thanks

How wet does it get and is it free draining? When you add drainage you need to drain it to somewhere. 

[KyleJones]

Hi Kelvin, you’ll have to excuse my complete lack of knowledge, my diy skills haven’t ventured outdoors yet🤣 what do you mean when you say free draining? Our garden doesn’t get very wet at all at the moment even with any torrential rain so I’m guessing it drains pretty well naturally. Just wondered if the lowest point may be prone to puddling if it’s encased by banks? Many thanks 

[Kelvin]

Free draining is just that not getting very wet with all the rain i.e. the water is draining away freely. Given the slope it’s likely draining away following the slope. You might find a neighbour at the bottom with a wet garden. 
 

When building retaining walls they retain the ground but water can build up behind them. Generally you add a drain behind the wall (a pipe with holes in it) and weep holes in the wall.  If you add drainage it needs to drain to somewhere which is often a soakaway (a big hole filled with gravel/stone then covered back over with earth) Google retaining walls it will be clearer. If it’s all quite free draining then weep holes in the wall might be enough.  It also depends on how you propose to build the wall. 

[KyleJones]

Thanks for that Kelvin. Hopefully I’ll be ok then as the garden doesn’t seem to hold much water at all. With my idea of leaving the bank to the right hand side would that negate the need for a retaining wall then? Many thanks 

[Kelvin]

You can grade the land gently back and create a slope. We were going to do this instead of putting a retaining wall up our drive but I wasn’t happy with that long term. Was an expensive decision. 

[KyleJones]

I think this is the option I will take for now. I’ll dig the majority flat and then create the slope back to the boundary. Potential to revisit in the future and maybe look at retaining walls, but a bit out of our budget at the moment. Thanks all for your help.

[joe90]

It appears your ground is fairly free draining. Banks can be sloped and planted, I created a rockery on mine which helps retain soil pockets. Even the “flat” section will be best with a little slope for rain to run off.  To negate getting rid of or importing soil if you can keep it all just by relocating it you will save money and effort. 

[KyleJones]

I was thinking of dumping all the soil into the back portion of the garden for now and then possibly when the time comes to tackle that part of the garden I could create a raised section. I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it haha.

[Kelvin]

You might know this already. Strip all the top soil from both the area you are digging out and building up first and put to one side. Create your bank/graded slope and then add the topsoil back. 

[joe90]

Tip, don’t shift it twice, get the digger in, decide on the height and size of the flat section (middle of the garden?) then shift excess  to where it needs to go. The ground will settle after a while and you can fettle with paths, wall, banks at your leisure.

[KyleJones]

Thanks both for your help, really appreciate it. Feel ready to tackle this now, wish me luck haha.

[Kelvin]

Good luck. Post pics of finished result.