patio...log cabin...diggers and more

[Hudson1984]

Hi all,

so, we've recently moved and the new house has a wide garden - it needs some love!

at the moment it has a shed sat on a patio slab base. The base is flat but not level i.e. it follows the slope of the land.

The shed is falling down and as such will be getting removed.

Now, I've had people out to quote for a dig out, level and patio job but it's coming in at about £6,500 to do the 50m2 that needs sorting... £1900 of this is the concrete base for the log cabin.

That seems alot to me.

So, hoping for some advice.

how hard is a mini digger to drive?
can I given some practice with the thing, feasibly dig a level ground?
I'd then build a timber retaining wall to keep the sides of the garden up (and the brand new fence!)

Does anyone have experience with plastic basing? the grid stuff you fill with shingle?

I wonder if my cabin would last on something like that instead, I could then do the base of the log cabin, level the ground, then merely have someone come in to do the patio at a later date

https://shedbasekits.com/product/probase-kit-4m-x-5m-log-cabin-or-garden-building/
this kit for example is £317 which would represent a HUGE saving. I could then have the professionals come and put the patio upto the shingle edge.

The log cabin is 5m x 4m, and will be used as a pub.

 

[blup]

Not difficult to drive, or even dig trenches with a little practice, much more difficult to grade/level.

Blup

 

[Hudson1984]

yeah, just a case of trying to do what I can rather than just admitting defeat and paying for it all lol.

Don't mind paying if I can't do things myself though.

 

[scbk]

You can also hire digger + driver, so you will (hopefully!) get an experienced operator with the machine who can do the work in half the time. Retaining wall would be better built out of concrete blocks/stone etc than timber.