Should be ok, it's what I would do. Install the pipe immediately behind but below the level of the sleepers and backfill with gravel or stone chippings type fill. Dig a soakaway for the pipe to discharge to (a pit filled with stones upto about fist size)
Hi, I've had some time to think about the 2ft high retaining wall I'm planning to build in the middle of my sloping garden with oak sleepers (to create 2 flat levels) & have worked out a rough plan. What I'm struggling with now is finding a way to prevent the 2 sides (brick wall on the left & fence on the right) from damp/rot. I'm not looking to make any changes to the fence i.e. concrete gravel boards etc. I want something I can work with myself. Some ideas I've been thinking of:
1) Build sloping beds on both sides (maintaining the slope on the sides) to avoid raised soil contact with fence/wall. I think I'd need to build deeper boxes to achieve that?
2) Build sloping beds on brick side and sleeper steps for the 2nd level on fence side. Would that work?
3) Create a curved pathway from the existing steps running along the fence and lead to the top right corner where we plan to keep our shed. Issue with this is the sleeper won't be flush with anything on the right. Would it still be structurally solid or do I need to make it L-shaped going perpendicular to the gabions at the back?
FYI- The 2nd flat level will be turfed and shed on the right hand corner.
I've attached some pictures for you to visualise better. 1) Land as it is now. 2) Computerised image (kindly created by @Greenbird) of how I'd like it. 3) Sloping beds (online image) I was referring to.
Would really appreciate your guidance in this. Thank you..
This is not a comment on your main technical question about levelling, but more about you how you'll use the garden - I see from the photo that you already have a patio near the house. However, in the virtual design, your garden furniture is shown set up at the far end of the garden. You say you want to entertain family and friends, so I would be tempted to keep the dining area nearer to the house, to avoid having to make numerous journeys up and down the steps/paths carrying food/drinks, glassware/tableware, etc. I didn't see any reference in this thread to the aspect of your plot, so perhaps the far end is your only sunny spot, hence where you'd like to sit, in which case disregard me, but by switching the positions of the lawn and the planting you would be sitting lower down in the space, which might feel more private/sheltered. Also, children (your own or visiting) tend to want to play on the lawn, so it would be easier to keep an eye on them from indoors if the lawn is closer to the house.
We have a sloping garden that was dominated by huge Leylandii along two boundaries but also featured a badly-sited greenhouse, a poorly chosen specimen tree that would have been more at home in a huge parkland setting and a motley colelction of prickly 1950's shrubs that were severely past their best-by date. We dithered for years before going ahead with a total revamp including terracing, and regret that we didn't do it ten years earlier! It has transformed the way we use the garden and our enjoyment of it.
Your lovely space has great potential to look fantastic and it's worth taking the time to get it right - contributors have given you some great ideas so do take the plunge!
Posts
Install the pipe immediately behind but below the level of the sleepers and backfill with gravel or stone chippings type fill.
Dig a soakaway for the pipe to discharge to (a pit filled with stones upto about fist size)
1) Build sloping beds on both sides (maintaining the slope on the sides) to avoid raised soil contact with fence/wall. I think I'd need to build deeper boxes to achieve that?
2) Build sloping beds on brick side and sleeper steps for the 2nd level on fence side. Would that work?
3) Create a curved pathway from the existing steps running along the fence and lead to the top right corner where we plan to keep our shed. Issue with this is the sleeper won't be flush with anything on the right. Would it still be structurally solid or do I need to make it L-shaped going perpendicular to the gabions at the back?
FYI- The 2nd flat level will be turfed and shed on the right hand corner.
I've attached some pictures for you to visualise better. 1) Land as it is now.
Would really appreciate your guidance in this. Thank you..