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Planting over rubble

julie.thomson3859julie.thomson3859 Posts: 2
in Problem solving
I have an old fish pond which takes up most of the centre of the garden and it is deep in the centre - about 4 feet. It is filled with rubble taken out of the house when it was refurbished - so wood, slate, concrete, plaster etc. I was going to flatten the debris out, level it off, put topsoil on top and put a lawn over it but I’m now thinking should I just get a digger in to remove the rubble first? I’m worried about sinkage, drainage and a plethora of other problems I may be storing up for the future. It’s a lot of rubble, I can assure you! Membrane from pond remains in situ. All thoughts gratefully received. 

Posts

  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    It'll never be right unless you remove all the rubbish, for the reasons you've given. In the deepest sections it might be ok, but settling over time would be the biggest problem, and you'd need to keep amending that. 

    I'm not sure what you mean by membrane - do you mean the liner? You'd need to remove that, or at least puncture it well enough in lots of places for adequate drainage.  :)
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • LoxleyLoxley Posts: 5,698
    It will always show up if you try and lawn over it. As an island planting bed or wildlife meadow area it might work, but you'd definitely want to remove the liner or at least puncture it.
    "What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbour". 
  • julie.thomson3859julie.thomson3859 Posts: 2
    I did puncture the membrane (liner) but I think you’re just confirming what I originally thought. It’s the settling over time I’m worried about. I don’t want to end up with a bunker! I think I’m going to get rid of the rubble, at least most of it, get the liner out and just put top soil in the hole. That way, I can do what I like without any worries. It’s easy to do it now, not so easy to excavate it out once the garden is done if it went pear shaped. Thank you very much. 😀
  • JennyJJennyJ Posts: 10,576
    4 feet deep is a lot of topsoil, and if it's different from the natural topsoil in your garden, you'll always be able to tell where it is under a lawn. If you're renovating the whole area to be lawned, it might give a better long-term result to level what you have after the rubble and pond liner are out, making sure it's equally firm all over including the ex-pond area, and then add an even layer of topsoil over the top. It'd be more work, but perhaps not too much if you're getting a mini digger. You also have the opportunity to dig in manure etc if your soil needs it.
    Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
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