Yard and Garden Renovation

[Terry34673]

Hi,

The concrete, patio and garden area at the back of my house is currently a complete disaster zone. There is some old concrete outside the back door which is old, cracked and uneven. I think the patio slab area is a bit of a botch job legacy from one of the previous owners, there are fences falling down on either side and the garden is really uneven with weeds, moss, animal holes and waste and bare patches of earth.

Currently water pools on the concrete and patio slabs and creates a damp smell which sticks around for ages. I guess ideally both these areas would be on the same level and the water would drain off into the drain somehow ?

I want to renovate the whole area, but I have no idea where to start. I got in a professional for a quote and he quoted around £6000 which shocked me. At the very least, are there any really easy jobs I could do myself to bring the cost down? What if I wanted to tackle the whole thing myself ? How difficult would it be?

Here is a quick video I took this morning of the area :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tMBrGqXW9Hk

 

[Andyc84]

I have renovated my entire garden,

removed old decking, removed old pond. in doing so have removed approx 7-8 skips of rubble.

constructed new patio area with steps.

replaced 1 fence line with concrete posts and feather edge.

now looking to turf and complete a few raised beds and green house.

Have spent in the region of approx £3000 in materials, (not yet including turf) and the whole job has taken a good 2 years so far, but will be complete this autumn when i turf (not in the summer)

none of it has been difficult, a bit of help on here has enabled me to do the lot. but it is slow and hard labour at times.

I would suggest fences are easy enough, fairly quick win for a small amount of effort. ground clearance is easy enough as well if you have the know how, again, this is easy enough from questions raised here as they are a helpful bunch!

it all depends on time, and your willingness to do the hard graft, which is often what costs on labour!

FYI, my garden is approx 22m by 10m and on a slope from one corner to oopposite diagonal of about 2m elevation.

 

[Deluks]

Having watched the video, it's not as bad as you made out. That's DIY territory, get some gloves and some weedkiller for starters.

 

[Andyc84]

Having watched the video, it's not as bad as you made out. That's DIY territory, get some gloves and some weedkiller for starters.

The lawn and hedge are easy territory. if you just want lawn, then a bit of care will see it grow back in the dead patches, just needs a bit of TLC.

The hedge is manageable by yourself.

The fence is easy enough to do with the right tools, but is definitely a diy job.

As for your patio and the concrete around the house, could be a diy job, but will take a little while to achieve this , and depends on what you want to do with it all.

If you are not confident of doing this, but feel you can have a go, ask specific questions on here for some advice, and it'll certainly start you in the right direction.

 

[Terry34673]

Yes I do want to make a start myself on the patio / concrete area, or at least understand the basic steps that would be involved. I would like the new surface all on one level, across the existing concrete and patio area, with any water draining off into the drain system not into the garden. And of course, any new fencing would have to integrate nicely with the new surface.

I am probably going to buy some weedkiller today and give the garden a good watering.

 

[Deluks]

You could either remove the slabs and level off to where the lawn starts, or bring the surrounding concrete up to the level of the slabs. First one will likely need a skip, the second one you should leave a gap between the new raised area and the house walls. Or leave a perimeter of gravel around the house, a french drain (Google it)

 

[WalksWithTurkeys]

Having watched the video, it's not as bad as you made out. That's DIY territory, get some gloves and some weedkiller for starters.

The lawn and hedge are easy territory. if you just want lawn, then a bit of care will see it grow back in the dead patches, just needs a bit of TLC.

The hedge is manageable by yourself.

The fence is easy enough to do with the right tools, but is definitely a diy job.

As for your patio and the concrete around the house, could be a diy job, but will take a little while to achieve this , and depends on what you want to do with it all.

If you are not confident of doing this, but feel you can have a go, ask specific questions on here for some advice, and it'll certainly start you in the right direction.

Sensible advice.

This was my house 3 years ago:

same house recently:

Yesterday I replaced a 6 by 6 fence panel (helped by neighbour), and put up two 6 by 4 panels and the central post by myself.

Do the research, think about what you want to achieve and you will get a lot done. I killed, rotovated and reseeded my lawn, removed holly trees, and shrubs, removed a 15m long badly made path, put down paths in veg bed and so on. It takes time, but you can do it for small money compared to using pros.

The only thing to watch is anything underground. You may/will have electrics, water pipes, waste pipes and sewer pipes, and you don't want to destroy them. Also, if you need to break up concrete, or rotavate a lawn, hire equipment, don't buy it. Hired stuff will be higher spec and make the job much quicker.

The hard part, in my opinion, is the concrete round the back door. You might risk damaging pipes etc, and laying concrete requires a mixer, and a bit of skill. I helped someone put down a new concrete floor in a large room, and it is quite doable given care.

 

[Terry34673]

What I had in mind was sticking with the existing design, but merge the old / broken concrete area and patio slab area into one big paved area all on the same level. Does this sound like a good idea? Do you have a better idea? Here is a diagram of the existing design :

Garden diagram

 

[Terry34673]

I have updated the diagram of the garden with some more information.

 

[JohnD]

cracked, sunken and wet concrete around the soilpipe and drains suggests you may have cracked and broken pipes under the surface. This is extremely common in older houses. So don't cover it up, break up that concrete and have a look.

It will not just cause damp and smells, it will also wash away the ground under your paving and under your house.