Turfing it all would be our last resort to just have some green space instead of looking at barren land. Then we'll tackle putting borders and pathway in phases..
Railway sleepers are good - they've just been treated usually and have that stained worn look. But in my experience - unless your digging up sleepers from an disused railway line (something I've definitely not done before ) there isn't a huge price difference.
There is a price difference in softwood and hardwood/oak sleepers. Softwood apparently only last a few years, but I have no first hand account of that. Oak can last decades if the drainage is right.
I clearly misunderstood. I thought you said in your initial post you intended turfing it.
Oh no you didn't!! Sorry if I wasn't clear, I meant turfing it all leaving the slope as it is will be our last resort. Ideally I want to create 2 flat levels first and then turf them and add borders later on..
Railway sleepers are good - they've just been treated usually and have that stained worn look. But in my experience - unless your digging up sleepers from an disused railway line (something I've definitely not done before ) there isn't a huge price difference.
There is a price difference in softwood and hardwood/oak sleepers. Softwood apparently only last a few years, but I have no first hand account of that. Oak can last decades if the drainage is right.
Haha.. you'd be very courageous if you'd dup up sleepers from disused railway line 😀 Just checked prices for oak sleepers. You're right, they're not too far off. I got a garderner in to discuss about splitting garden into 2 parts and he said I'd need 8 bags of top soil for the back part to make it level with the sleeper height!! That sounded too much to me. I was thinking of bringing some of the existing soil from the back to the middle (where I want to start the 2nd level) to achieve the flattish level. That will obvs depend on how far deep the gabion wall is going..
How deep is the foundation for the brick wall, especially at the points where you will be digging out next to it?
What will you do against the dividing fence to retain the soil without risking rotting the fence?
How deep is the drain and where do the pipes run?
The brick wall runs down to the patio level. Not sure about how deep the drain is but therr are 2 more square and 1 round man hole in the patio area.
Unless the otherside of the wall is patio level along its whole length it's likely that the foundations will step up to follow the slope.
I'd lift the manhole cover and check. It's an odd place for a manhole. You might (should) have a drainage plan in your purchase details though so maybe check there too?
The brick wall is patio level all along the length and there is car parking on the other side of the wall. Ok I'll check the paperwork first to find more details about the manhole. So annoying to have it there in the garden!!
What a difference a picture makes. As others have said, try to maintain consistency in the materials you use for a homogenous look. Brick wall or timber sleepers or, if you want blocks for ease and economy, you could try rock faced dense concrete blocks which will pick up on the rear gabion wall. Whaterever you use, 1 course is not going to achieve 2 level areas as you have a fall front to back of around 15 brick courses, which is 1125mm approx, or 5 courses of blocks.
What a difference a picture makes. As others have said, try to maintain consistency in the materials you use for a homogenous look. Brick wall or timber sleepers or, if you want blocks for ease and economy, you could try rock faced dense concrete blocks which will pick up on the rear gabion wall. Whaterever you use, 1 course is not going to achieve 2 level areas as you have a fall front to back of around 15 brick courses, which is 1125mm approx, or 5 courses of blocks.
Thanks for taking the time to examine the image and replying. I think I'm now seeing sense in using same materials as present (planning on using sleepers) for consistent look. With regards to the fall, it's around 8 brick courses (to the mid-level) where I want to add the split. Instead of raising the level that high, I was thinking of bringing the existing soil from the back (depending the gabion wall runs till deep below) & fill the middle part. Would then a 1 or 2 course sleeper work?
How deep is the foundation for the brick wall, especially at the points where you will be digging out next to it?
What will you do against the dividing fence to retain the soil without risking rotting the fence?
How deep is the drain and where do the pipes run?
The brick wall runs down to the patio level. Not sure about how deep the drain is but therr are 2 more square and 1 round man hole in the patio area.
Unless the otherside of the wall is patio level along its whole length it's likely that the foundations will step up to follow the slope.
I'd lift the manhole cover and check. It's an odd place for a manhole. You might (should) have a drainage plan in your purchase details though so maybe check there too?
The brick wall is patio level all along the length and there is car parking on the other side of the wall. Ok I'll check the paperwork first to find more details about the manhole. So annoying to have it there in the garden!!
Have a dig at the base of the wall, I suspect the brick will stop at the soil level and it will be concrete blockwork below. The blockwork should step out quite a bit as well to make the wall thicker. If you level out from the existing sleepers you may end up with exposed blockwork rather than brick.
If you can keep your head, while those around you are losing theirs, you may not have grasped the seriousness of the situation.
If I follow you correctly then going back from the sleeper wall you intend to keep the slope for half the distance (rising approx 600mm) then create a 300mm 'ish high retaining wall (2 x 200mm sleepers for e.g), the void behind it being made up with soil cut from upper part of the slope adjacent the gabion wall. To know whether this would be possible you need to check whether you could potentially remove 300mm soil from in front of that gabion retaining wall. I would suggest that you dig a small (and I do mean small) trial pit in the centre of the largest of the gabions (As I think you are aware, gabions are there usually for a very good reason and you do not want to undermine them in any way either digging beneath them or at an edge). I would suggest a pit of about 300x300mm perhaps 500mm deep. If you find the bottom of a gabion, STOP. Second point, assuming you could safely remove 300mm soil without undermining the gabion wall, will the soil remain usable topsoil below what you intend to strip? Normally topsoil in new build would be about 150mm so stripping this to use further down the slope will leave you with poor subsoil on upper slope
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There is a price difference in softwood and hardwood/oak sleepers. Softwood apparently only last a few years, but I have no first hand account of that. Oak can last decades if the drainage is right.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Just checked prices for oak sleepers. You're right, they're not too far off. I got a garderner in to discuss about splitting garden into 2 parts and he said I'd need 8 bags of top soil for the back part to make it level with the sleeper height!! That sounded too much to me. I was thinking of bringing some of the existing soil from the back to the middle (where I want to start the 2nd level) to achieve the flattish level. That will obvs depend on how far deep the gabion wall is going..
Ok I'll check the paperwork first to find more details about the manhole. So annoying to have it there in the garden!!
As others have said, try to maintain consistency in the materials you use for a homogenous look.
Brick wall or timber sleepers or, if you want blocks for ease and economy, you could try rock faced dense concrete blocks which will pick up on the rear gabion wall.
Whaterever you use, 1 course is not going to achieve 2 level areas as you have a fall front to back of around 15 brick courses, which is 1125mm approx, or 5 courses of blocks.
With regards to the fall, it's around 8 brick courses (to the mid-level) where I want to add the split. Instead of raising the level that high, I was thinking of bringing the existing soil from the back (depending the gabion wall runs till deep below) & fill the middle part. Would then a 1 or 2 course sleeper work?
To know whether this would be possible you need to check whether you could potentially remove 300mm soil from in front of that gabion retaining wall. I would suggest that you dig a small (and I do mean small) trial pit in the centre of the largest of the gabions (As I think you are aware, gabions are there usually for a very good reason and you do not want to undermine them in any way either digging beneath them or at an edge). I would suggest a pit of about 300x300mm perhaps 500mm deep. If you find the bottom of a gabion, STOP.
Second point, assuming you could safely remove 300mm soil without undermining the gabion wall, will the soil remain usable topsoil below what you intend to strip? Normally topsoil in new build would be about 150mm so stripping this to use further down the slope will leave you with poor subsoil on upper slope