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Sounds like you need a grab wagon to me, will work out cheaper than a skip generally and a lot less labour if the earth is all in one location.
Doing up our shack
- Thread starter Gimpymoo
- Start date
There is no accessibility to where the earth is and we do not have a front "garden" big enough to store it all.
As rubbish as it is, the options are wheelbarrow it to a skip or put some tarp on the extended pavement we have outside the house and dump it there with a timed slot for a grab wagon.
I have decided to do this...
We have a large extended kerbside outside the house. Not the pavement, this is separate. Used to be grass verge but council bricked the floor as it kept getting churned up.
Will lay down some tarp/heavy duty plastic and transfer all the earth onto that and book a grab wagon for later the same day.
We have a large extended kerbside outside the house. Not the pavement, this is separate. Used to be grass verge but council bricked the floor as it kept getting churned up.
Will lay down some tarp/heavy duty plastic and transfer all the earth onto that and book a grab wagon for later the same day.
Decided to get another 8 yard skip in the end with a drop door.
A grab truck would cost MORE, even afer paying for skip permit, I guess owing to the fact they can carry more than the skip.
The two trees are also being removed as I need to get rid of the shed and if I moved it now, the tree would just fall down
£215 to have them removed and "recycled".
Does that seem about right? Seems OK to me.
I was quoted £660 to have someone returf for me so will be doing that job myself
Hire a rotovator, flatten it all out, lay an inch of topsoil ontop and lay turf? Sound like a plan?
A grab truck would cost MORE, even afer paying for skip permit, I guess owing to the fact they can carry more than the skip.
The two trees are also being removed as I need to get rid of the shed and if I moved it now, the tree would just fall down
£215 to have them removed and "recycled".
Does that seem about right? Seems OK to me.
I was quoted £660 to have someone returf for me so will be doing that job myself
Hire a rotovator, flatten it all out, lay an inch of topsoil ontop and lay turf? Sound like a plan?
Decided to get another 8 yard skip in the end with a drop door.
A grab truck would cost MORE, even afer paying for skip permit, I guess owing to the fact they can carry more than the skip.
The two trees are also being removed as I need to get rid of the shed and if I moved it now, the tree would just fall down
£215 to have them removed and "recycled".
Does that seem about right? Seems OK to me.
I was quoted £660 to have someone returf for me so will be doing that job myself
Hire a rotovator, flatten it all out, lay an inch of topsoil ontop and lay turf? Sound like a plan?
Rotovate, remove rocks/ stones bigger than 3 inch where you can, need to get to a depth of about 6inches. Next, when you wet the soil is it clay like or does it drain well? If it doesn't drain well (also even if it does!) I'd seriously consider like 2 ton of sharp sand, rotovate that in to the soil. Rake roughly level, then walk it flat. Stick another inch or so sharp sand neat on top, rake flat. When happy walk flat. You are now ready to start laying the turf. When laying it, make sure when rolled it's always kept damp, dry roots at anytime means dead grass, I'd consider keeping covered with a wet old blanket /towel especially if sunny. Use a scaffold board /plank to walk on when laying the turves, always slightly overlap each row so you have to almost tuck each row together, if it's hot, they'll shrink and you'll end up with gaps!
Ok, now the important bit, once you are happy, water that lawn.. and I mean water it, good soaking, not high pressure in one area, but nice gentle spray all over, don't miss any, once in morning before full sun, and in the evening. Keep all pests (dogs, kids, missus) off the lawn for at least 4 weeks, ideally 6. (judging by the plot at least 15-20mins per watering session)
First cut, never chop more than half. You want the highest mower setting, and nice sharp blades! Leave a week or so, keep watering although once the lawn is established, cut back to just in evenings. Cut it a little shorter each cut, basically take it a spacer or a notch down each time, each week. You then should have a great lawn, it'll respond great to fertiliser like feed and weed etc, but the hard work has been done in the prep. If the kids/dog trash it, simply returf and it'll be a dream.
Many people neglect their lawn, which is dull really, it's normally the biggest plant in the whole garden, and looked after can make a garden truly special. Personally bare feet on a lawn in summer can't be beaten on a hot day.
When selecting your turf, be realistic, we'd all love superfine bowling green soft grass, but back in the real world if you have kids this will last about 5 seconds.. I have 2 daughters under 10, they love the lawn, realistically I chose a high fescue/rye mix of grass, this means it's courser ie less blades per sq inch but is much tougher, it can take repeated abuse. You may want something tougher still if you intend playing football or have a dog. Subject of fido, if he has to take a leak, a great idea is to keep a watering can full of water handy. Everytime he/she wees, go and water it down with a good half can, it'll stop dead patches and also save shrubs from die back where the leg has been lifted!
Because you have made your soil superfast draining, this will make the grass grow deep roots to find where the water is. Grass will grow roots 6-8 inch in length, at this depth, even in a hot summer, your grass won't go yellow and die off, it will remain alive, even if it's a heatwave and you are on holiday for 2 or 3 weeks! Your grass will be tapping into a giant reservoir beyond the reach of the sun and drought, the grass will grow like this to seek the water, meanwhile your neighbours will be out with the hose/sprinkler every night and still have dead spots!
Sorry to rant on, but hope you understand it's all in the prep work, do it once, do it well, save on loads of problems down the line.. oh did I also tell you about fast draining soil also stops moss? Bonus!!! Hope you find the info helpful and good luck, very impressed with your efforts so far, keep it up!
@Madwelsh That is superb information, thank you.
Not a rant at all, the lawn was in the state it was in owing to decades of neglect by ourselves and previous owners so would really like to have a nice garden.
I just want a simple garden with a nice lawn... well, for now
Bigger plans for next year... Outdoor kitchen
Here is a picture of the "lawn" a few years ago in summer...
Although to be fair, since we moved in, it has always been a poor lawn.
Not a rant at all, the lawn was in the state it was in owing to decades of neglect by ourselves and previous owners so would really like to have a nice garden.
I just want a simple garden with a nice lawn... well, for now
Bigger plans for next year... Outdoor kitchen
Here is a picture of the "lawn" a few years ago in summer...
Although to be fair, since we moved in, it has always been a poor lawn.
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@darael The Mortgage company have the deeds which show the boundary markings so I need to chase them up to get a copy.
My thinking right now is get a chain saw and have at it. Keeping in line with the wall
If the hedge falls over, he can sue me, literally
My thinking right now is get a chain saw and have at it. Keeping in line with the wall
If the hedge falls over, he can sue me, literally
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@darael The Mortgage company have the deeds which show the boundary markings so I need to chase them up to get a copy.
My thinking right now is get a chain saw and have at it. Keeping in line with the wall
If the hedge falls over, he can sue me, literally
Hedge-problem? Why didn't you say.. hehe.. what if that hedge died kind of very quickly? Almost like magic it was.. lol
Old lady up our street had a rented house next to her, landlord did jack about the back garden, let the conifers grow madly, she asked them to be cut back or removed, ignored, ignored.. Conifers are thirsty sods, killed off all of one side of her garden, just leeched everything out of her borders, then she's worrying about the roots going under the foundations, there was already damage to the paving around her house from roots. I popped around one afternoon, remove a plug about 3/4 inch wide by 1 inch or so deep, then drill to heart wood, fill with stump killer, then replace plug with woodglue. and repeat. Fast forward 6 months, trees dead, landlord has to remove as it's standing deadwood and dangerous. Local tree cutting guy thinks they must have got diseased, old girl asks landlord if he wants to go halves with a nice boundary fence. Job done.
Serious note, is the roots outside of your boundary line? If they are, nothing stopping you hacking it back to the boundary line and then putting up fencing, long as it's plenty strong it'll keep his work on his side..
See his thread here: https://forums.overclockers.co.uk/threads/hedge.18770864/
yes I just had a little delve and see the situation.. TBH I've worked with elderly near 25 years, they are cantankerous buggers to say the least. Get them onside and they can be fantastic, but lets be realistic, this guy has probably spent 50 years on that hedge, he knows every little detail, every which way to cut it to keep it a living wall as the boundary to the garden. It's a real tough one, there is obviously a generation gap between you, he's an old boring bugger and you are the young loud rude type next door lol.
That privet looks like a boss, now imagine you had a hedge 4 inches or so, just like the old boring bugger next door, the whole length of the garden? Now would this really set off the lovely lawn? It ain't going to be easy, but it's about training that hedge to bend to your will, you never know, boring bugger next door might find a little respect for you too.
If you want stress free, (and provide our lovely sparrows and robins and such, places to nest) solution, here's what I suggest. Privet is a tough old dog, it lives forever and can even grow through concrete! It was super popular because it can make do on even the most rubbish soil : nutrient-wise, hence a big favourite with house builders! Now, by the looks of it yours is very mature, likely going to have a core which comprises of 'trunks' maybe 5-6 inch thick?
What you need to do is this.. privet is like any other plant, where there is no light, there is no green, where there is light, there are leaves. By this reckoning, the bottom of the hedge should be slightly and i mean no more than an inch or 2 max wider than the top, so a very gradual slope, depending on the way the sun moves relative to your garden, you'll soon work it out.
Now, take a nice set of sharp secateurs, or a good set of shears, take about 4-5 inch of the growth from the central stems.. (so if the hedge sticks out 90cm from centre, take 10-12cm) the hedge will look a wreck at the end be warned.., but you'll have got 4-5inch or so back of your garden.. you now need to dump some manure and work it into the roots of the hedge all along. Plenty of water, can add some of them chicken manure pellets found in home bargains or homebase. Water that stuff in, then water every week.
Privet will go bonkers, suddenly all this grub, all this light, it'll throw new soft growth, really easy to trim btw (like with clippers takes about 10 - 15 mins on that length of hedge), leave a few weeks, then trim this back a little, this will make it thicken. Now, leave at this stage for 1 year, provided it has food and light, you should get a reasonably full hedge, but 4-5 inches back..
Next year repeat, take it back again, feed and care for it, keep it trimmed, by now your side will look like his. Hedges are beautiful when looked after, again so many make the mistake of neglecting, after the lawn, the hedge is usually the next largest plant in a garden.
The bonus is this, you knocking on your neighbours door and telling him 'It's about the hedge..' I'm going to be giving it lots of food so it will grow like stink, so you'll need to trim it more regularly.. can you wear a button cam so I can see him pass out?
If you are desperate for a fence, you'll be paying for posts gravel boards and panels, they are neat I guess, but you won't have half the wildlife, also you'll be out painting or spraying every other year. (not to mention the outlay likely close on a grand) Keep the hedge in reason, should never take more than 10-15 mins, you aren't ever cutting through wood, you cut through the young growth, which should be knife through butter. After you get to the size you want, for you guys, quite possibly as small as maybe 12-14 inch in total, stop feeding lol, or you'll be out there every week!!!
Little tip, don't ever burn privet, not with the green leaves, it smokes like hell and that smoke is not pleasant, contains nasties not good for anyone, same with laurel. Privet best bagged and chucked in green recycling, I wouldn't even let it foul my compost heap!
I hope I opened a little door on maybe the neighbours side and why he's protective, maybe something you hadn't even thought about. Think if you had a project you'd been doing 40 or 50 years, wouldn't you be a little protective? I think with a little work, you'd easily have that hedge way back to almost following the wall, it'll be full and dense, you can even get creative and put waves or patterns into the new growth which can change the whole dynamic of your garden. Couple this with stripes or patterns in the lawn, even the most boring elements of the garden can actually transform it, relatively cheaply and easily.
Christ, I'll be on a book deal soon!!! Hope you find it useful. I never dreamt I'd become my Dad, but well there it is !!!
@Madwelsh Thank you again.
Very useful information. You seem to have understood the situation very well
The problem is, as you have figured out, it is a mature hedge. I do not have "leaves"... All I have is mammoth branches and mahogany trunks
What you say makes perfect sense.
if you see the "overhead" pic a few posts up (above the one with the bicycles) you can see it has been trimmed back more since then.
At the bottom, it kind of "bows out", if that makes sense?
Tip:
With this new forum software, if you mention someone using the @ symbol, they get a notification about it
So need to reply to other threads
@Madwelsh - like so.
Very useful information. You seem to have understood the situation very well
The problem is, as you have figured out, it is a mature hedge. I do not have "leaves"... All I have is mammoth branches and mahogany trunks
What you say makes perfect sense.
if you see the "overhead" pic a few posts up (above the one with the bicycles) you can see it has been trimmed back more since then.
At the bottom, it kind of "bows out", if that makes sense?
Tip:
With this new forum software, if you mention someone using the @ symbol, they get a notification about it
So need to reply to other threads
@Madwelsh - like so.
@Madwelsh Thank you again.
Very useful information. You seem to have understood the situation very well
The problem is, as you have figured out, it is a mature hedge. I do not have "leaves"... All I have is mammoth branches and mahogany trunks
What you say makes perfect sense.
if you see the "overhead" pic a few posts up (above the one with the bicycles) you can see it has been trimmed back more since then.
At the bottom, it kind of "bows out", if that makes sense?
Tip:
With this new forum software, if you mention someone using the @ symbol, they get a notification about it
So need to reply to other threads
@Madwelsh - like so.
cheers for the tip.. as regards the hedge, you haven't fed, and you haven't watered.. anyways, beating about the hedge here aren't we, realistically, what do you want? Yes you can rip out the hedge, will break your neighbours heart, but, they will more than likely contest, it'll drag on and on.. more resentment, more bad feeling. The only winners are the legal teams.. If you see, I said only a little at a time? hehe, I know time waits for no man, but honestly try the feeding and trimming, see if the bare bits sprout, you'll be surprised, chop the top 6 inches off all the way along but leave a 2 inch buffer to their side. Take out the apical dominance and give food water and light, I think you may see some action, even on those bare bits of wood.. the idea was to gradually take it back without it looking bare-bones for months on end!!! A bit of patience and a lot of perseverance go a long way, maybe even to the tune of a grand, and don't forget you'll be reclaiming garden every year. You might even get proud of lawns and hedges.. hell I'm talking like an expert and never professed even the slightest interest lol!!!
@Madwelsh Apologies, i think you misunderstood me. I agree with everything you said in your original post.
I was just pointing out how it is now and the other picture was not "now", if that makes sense
I was just pointing out how it is now and the other picture was not "now", if that makes sense
nah.. you misunderstood me, I'm with too many flourishes on the post with !!!!! etc, you prob think I'm a complete loon lol.. I have tried a bit and failed a bit over the years, just learnt through hard experience, chop the top down 6-7 inches, leave it same height 2 inches before next doors side, stick the manure on work it in, chicken manure pellets work them in, water once a week, and a decent soak, not a show and go!!! Like I said, privet is a monster, it's kept under control by no nutrient and no watering, give it both, on a well established plant, it's going to go boom.. I won't be surprised that it rapidly starts making new shoots on the big bare bits.. leave them grow til about 20cm long, then cut by a third, they soon bush out. If privet has food and water and light, there is no end to it, if the temp is up, keep close eye on it!!@Madwelsh Apologies, i think you misunderstood me. I agree with everything you said in your original post.
I was just pointing out how it is now and the other picture was not "now", if that makes sense
Shed is down after a confrontation with a sledge hammer.
Nothing exciting to report other than a rat carcus found underneath the shed base which cared the wife ****less. Truth be told, when she screamed and said "Rat" I downed tools and legged it thinking she meant a live one - LOL.
The two trees at the back are being taken down on Friday.
The big pile of earth is being spread out over the garden to flatten it out and level it off. I think I still may need to buy more in.
When there is a natural slope and you are re-turfing, do you "fight" the slope and flatten it off or do you just keep the slope?
Nothing exciting to report other than a rat carcus found underneath the shed base which cared the wife ****less. Truth be told, when she screamed and said "Rat" I downed tools and legged it thinking she meant a live one - LOL.
The two trees at the back are being taken down on Friday.
The big pile of earth is being spread out over the garden to flatten it out and level it off. I think I still may need to buy more in.
When there is a natural slope and you are re-turfing, do you "fight" the slope and flatten it off or do you just keep the slope?
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Sorry, work has been interesting to say the least.. hehe, if it has a slope of 10 degrees or less, it's perfect, if you have a slate bed, like a snooker table, it isn't natural, and makes for clogging. If you are listening, small angle, or slightly higher in the middle is perfect. Mind, if you stick the 2 ton of sharp sand in, and then the inch on top.. trust me, you will have an uber draining lawn. This will make your grass plants sink their roots deep down.. Like I said.. it's all in the prep. I will show you my lawn, and I didn't do what I said.. I have bricks and pebbles under my lawn, Most times I can't sink a rose fork.. I've top dressed for 4 years or more, I've forced the fork into where I can, but my lawn is coming to me, even with 2 kids under 10.
Not perfect but I am happy compared to this:
And this:
Soldato
Wow good improvement!
Soldato
Great improvement but generic standard back garden but so many are! still no solution on the hedge I see