Drainage and Weed Questions

[Rabmac1]

Hi,

My current garden consists of a thick gravel path and small lawn with earth border containing plants.

Below is a drawing of what I am planning to do to my garden.

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From the picture you should notice that my garden is sloping away from my house.

Before I start this project I just wanted to verify that I am doing things correctly.

1. What should I put under decking to stop weeds? Can I just lay a weed block fabric? Is this OK to lay on top of gravel and earth or do I need to do something before laying it?

2. Do I need to dig down in the bottom section to add pebbles for drainage?

3. Do I need the soakaway before the retaining wall?

4. What is the cheapest material for the retaining wall that will last?

Thanks

 

[Deluks]

How high is the retaining wall?

 

[Rabmac1]

How high is the retaining wall?

It will be around 1m high [probably slightly less] from foundation to top.

 

[Deluks]

That's a concrete block job.

Your other questions:

1) Yes, plantex is good.

2) No, but the more the merrier behind that wall.

3) You need free draining material behind the wall, plus some pipe to carry water through to the other side.

http://images.meredith.com/diy/images/2008/12/p_SCM_190_02.jpg

 

[Rabmac1]

Cheers for your input, really appreciate it.

Think I will start digging this weekend.