Where to by paving and a drainage question...

[skellem]

Well, I have taken the plunge and I'm re-decorating the garden.

The first main worry is that I have an underground stream that flows right past the fence (outside my garden) The problem is that my garden is always wet after it rains and that it doesn't drain properly, probably because it is too waterlogged. I thought of digging a long trench parallel to the fence and filling it with hardcore and then topsoil and grassing over it. I hoped that this might keep the dampness away. Any other ideas?

Secondly, I am looking for some cobbled paving stones...about 100x100mm or 150x150mm. The only problem is that most places want over £200 for 10 square metres which is a fortune! Is this a realistic figure or are there cheaper places around? I'm near Reading by the way, and I've been to B&Q and a couple of garden places...they all want an arm and a leg!

 

[breezer]

the sheds always cost more, try builders merchants

 

[kevplumb]

howay breezer
item errr wotsit

 

[Min]

There's a place near Chertsey (just off J11 of M3) that has all sorts,shapes, sizes and colours of cobbles and stones. There's a huge yard so you can wander round and choose what you want. I'll just see if I can find the name in yellow pages......

Yep .. try www.silverlandstone.co.uk

They have a weigh bridge so you can take a trailor / truck but I guess they deliver too.

 

[skellem]

Thanks Min, I'll certainly give them a try!

 

[Dewy]

I have a brook forming my bottom garden border and when the house was built the builders bulldozed the road and piled the soil in a huge mound between the road and the brook.
This pile was leveled when the houses were sold.
The land is blue clay so the original topsoil was below 2'-3' of clay.
The houses are at the original land level but this clay has raised the gardens and blocked normal drainage into the brook.
I dug a trench along the middle of the garden and a few small trenches leading into it in a herring bone pattern.
This was filled with the loads of builders rubble left around.
At the highest point of the garden I dug down 3 foot and found perfectly blanched grass above 2 ' of good topsoil.
I dug into this topsoil then filled the hole with more rubble and put the topsoil on top.
This cured any waterlogging.
When I put a garage behind the house 11 years ago I made the base above the garden level and dug down below the house level and filled it with 2' of hardcore.
I also dug a drainage trench from the original deep hole to join these foundations.
Rain water can now drain into both the brook and the drive, which links with the road hardcore.
Not only has this cured the drainage problem but now ensures that the clay around the house foundations does not shrink, as often happens on clay soils.

 

[big-all]

sorry to highjack this post

dewy i have tried to log in at att it dosnt recognise me on my dads computer have tried to register again as confused-one to post a message think i got that wrong as well

 

[Dewy]

You probably forgot how your name was spelled there.
It's big_all not big all or big-all
Anyway, I thought you were going away for a few weeks to give us a rest. lmao

 

[big-all]

no the names right smallcase underscore its the version of my log in i cant work out i only have three parts to my log in tried all combinations

 

[skellem]

Dewy, thanks for that, it looks like you did a fair bit of digging! I expect I will have to do the same now to cure my muddy lawn problem. The only problem is that being 6'2" with a bad back, the sight of a pick and a spade is not very nice! I might just see if i can get a mini digger in for a few hours.

 

[Min]

If you don't go for the digger then might be worth using a 'back saver' spade. It looks a bit odd with the normal straight shaft and D shaped handle off the top, but then it has another D shaped handle coming off at an angle at the front (looks like a lop sided Y from the side) which makes lifting a full spade dead easy.
(Principle of moments for all you physicists out there).

I've never seen one is a tool shop but there's a bloke in Old Woking that mends hand tools, sells second hand tools and makes these spades - all dead cheap.

Let me know if you're interested.

 

[skellem]

Min, I am very interested in that spade! Please could you give me some more details so I can do a search for it. Ta!

 

[masona]

Do you mean these?

 

[Min]

No Mason, it's not a post hole digger. It's a spade with two handles: one to drive the spade into the ground, the other to make it easier to lift the full spade out.

Skellem - The guy has actually patented the spade so I don't think you'll find it on the web but if you drop me an email I can let you have all the details. (You can get my email address from my profile).

 

[Thermo]

min, i know the thing youre talking about and i have seen someone on the web selling them, but for the life of me cant think where!
And your right it does look wierd!