Hi all, I am clearing out my old shed and have some old roof slates. Can anyone give me ideas to use them in the garden = are they any good to use for the bottom of pots etc. I want to know whether or not to keep them or get rid of them.
If they are real slate, sell them on fleabay - you might be surprised how much they are worth. They make good 'copings' for walls with a dab of mortar underneath. They make very good damp proof courses for garden structures. They work well as a liner for a watercourse if you overlap them slightly. You can hang them on the outside of the shed to keep the rain out.
Gardening on the edge of Exmoor, in Devon
“It's still magic even if you know how it's done.”
If they are the old curved concrete ones, I have seen a path created with the tiles sunk vertically side by side - looked fantastic but I suspect very fiddly to do. I used a couple to create a hedgehog home under the hedge and some more for an insect hotel. Not sure what you could use the thin straight slate ones for though - edging for paths perhaps.
I am the only person I know who always kept their car in their garage! Not now, we downsized so its used for storage, and in the next road in a block, agree with Zero, you need light for these plants.
I always used my garage for the car too, but I don't hang on to the amount of sh*te that other people seem to fill their garages with The slates could also be broken up [if they're the real thing] and used as footings in pots to prevent holes becoming blocked with soil/compost @hachimag I have some roof tiles which are handy for lifting pots up off the ground, especially if they contain plants which like good drainage, and they're going in borders where the soil would be sodden. If they're the curved/undulating type, they're perfect for that. If you stack them, they're also good places for insects etc to hide, and therefore provide food for other wildlife.
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Count me in as another person who has always put their car in their garage. Of course using a garage as a garage or as a s(h*)torage place depends on many factors and is either a matter of personal choice or circumstances. However, when a house is built (or heavily renovated) and people have a proper garage built with no intention whatsoever to use it to park their car, is something that I find irritating. Especially as they then park their car in the street, thus permanently using public space as their own private space. It's just not fair.
The problem with lots of garages is that you can't get a car in them P.Jo. Well, you can, but you need a sunroof to get out of them again If they aren't going to make them of a suitable size, why bother at all? Make carports on new houses instead, then people would also stop acquiring loads of the aforementioned s***e, or at least, they'd have to fill their houses with it instead
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Ah well, you see, converting a garage is 'Permitted Development'. So if you're a developer building houses and you build houses with garages, they sell for more money, even though it costs virtually nothing to build the extra space (because they have no finishes, which are the expensive bits). Same with loft spaces. There are dozens of companies making very good money providing specialist garage and loft conversions. Paving over the front garden or parking on the street is much cheaper and easier than getting planning permission for a house extension of equivalent size.
Older houses with garages often have a problem that the garage was designed for cars that were much smaller than they are now. Cars are huge compared to even 10 years ago.
Gardening on the edge of Exmoor, in Devon
“It's still magic even if you know how it's done.”
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They make good 'copings' for walls with a dab of mortar underneath.
They make very good damp proof courses for garden structures.
They work well as a liner for a watercourse if you overlap them slightly.
You can hang them on the outside of the shed to keep the rain out.
“It's still magic even if you know how it's done.”
The slates could also be broken up [if they're the real thing] and used as footings in pots to prevent holes becoming blocked with soil/compost @hachimag
I have some roof tiles which are handy for lifting pots up off the ground, especially if they contain plants which like good drainage, and they're going in borders where the soil would be sodden.
If they're the curved/undulating type, they're perfect for that. If you stack them, they're also good places for insects etc to hide, and therefore provide food for other wildlife.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Well, you can, but you need a sunroof to get out of them again
If they aren't going to make them of a suitable size, why bother at all? Make carports on new houses instead, then people would also stop acquiring loads of the aforementioned s***e, or at least, they'd have to fill their houses with it instead
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Paving over the front garden or parking on the street is much cheaper and easier than getting planning permission for a house extension of equivalent size.
Older houses with garages often have a problem that the garage was designed for cars that were much smaller than they are now. Cars are huge compared to even 10 years ago.
“It's still magic even if you know how it's done.”