"THE Wall" is done...now the bit in the middle nee

[ABCwarrior]

Untitled

• ABCwarrior
• 5 Apr 2012
• 2

Untitled

• ABCwarrior
• 5 Apr 2012
• 1

Untitled

• ABCwarrior
• 5 Apr 2012
• 1

Untitled

• ABCwarrior
• 5 Apr 2012
• 2

So after slogging away I finally finished it....but my master plan to put down terram and grey chips in the middle and all around the house has been scuppered... now the OH DEFINITELY wants a "proper" decked area....this will be either:
A- a circular concrete slab 4.2m radius 100mm thick (nightmare formwork, handballed concrete but permanent and maintenance free but she's not keen on this- maybe with a glass aggregate finish but can't find anyone who supplies this...could be a very tricky finish too?)
B- Decking- would be the easiest solution but I do not want an ugly box so would have to be circular...manageable to work out but the real issue is I do not want 178mm/128mm height up the wall lost, and it would look stupid.
Somehow I would need to get the finished level of decking to the bottom of the wall- so any bearers would need to be in the ground effectively...can't see this lasting at all
C- slabbed- but this means excavating 100mm of the existing ground and putting down some type 1 and hiring a whacker plate, sand and cement plus some suitable slabs that look good and won't look naff in a few years....

Anyone got any suggestions???

(ferkin pleased with the wall btw...Bobby Dazzler!!)

 

[ladylola]

Looking good.
To be honest I'd go for your last option and try to source stone slabs , certainly won't be the cheapest option but would look good.

 

[LeadFarmer]

Looks like youve done a great job.

Stone slabs would look perfect, perhaps with gravel in places around the edges to form a kind of border which you could plant into as well? This could also allow run-off rain water to disperse into?

 

[ABCwarrior]

The 2.1m radius would leave a 30cm border which I thought would look ok with gravel around it. I'm thinking about concreting it because if I do that and it looks ok, then it's a winner. If it doesn't look good I can then find some relatively thin slabs in either stone or slate and bed them on to it only adding perhaps 30mm in height? Or add thin bearers(25mm) of timber to the concrete to keep standard decking off the surface
Found some company Timbertech- they do "composite" decking in a slate colour, have emailed them for a free sample. Would be rot proof but would still need adequate ground level bearers which were the same...concrete lintels radiating out did spring to mind. But the product may look naff so will have to wait and see.
Trying to keep the features in the garden flowing and circular, and casting a bit of circular concrete seems a challenge....