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Hardcore
Michael356
Posts: 6
Hi all,
I've been reading a couple of discussions in relation hardcore and just wondering if anyone can elaborate on how best to deal with it. I recently bought a house with a small c. 20sqm garden to the rear. There is nothing there except a layer of gravel on top of a layer of hardcore. I don't know how deep it is but seems fairly compacted.
Would it be necessary to actually remove to hardcore (very tricky as no rear access to property) or is it sufficient to just break it up by hand?
Thanks!
0
Posts
If you plan on planting anything there, you will need to dig it up. A jig- a-pik or crowbar may be required.
If you just want to stand pots on it, it will be fine.
If your wanting to plant into the ground I would dig it up and remove it altogether by whatever means you can. I suspect that because someone decided in the past that it would be a pain to remove, it was decided to cover it with gravel instead!
Is that 20sq mtrs say 4mtrs by 5mtrs or 20mtrs by 20mtrs which would be 400sq mtrs?
If its 4mtrs by 5mtrs (20sq mtrs) that's not that big an area really I would dig it up and remove it through the house in 25kg MKM bags, a bag at a time into a skip on the road at the front.
If it's 20mtrs by 20mtrs which would be 400sq mtrs then I would then be tempted to say "Forget it", that's a lot of work.
When you've removed it though you may find that you might have to then buy in some top soil, that's a lot of material to carry back and fourth through the house!
For a 4mtrs by 5mtr garden! would it be worth the effort? Me no think so personally.
For a much larger garden 20mtr by 20mtr that would be hard work and you'll probably need a new carpet and redecorating too afterwards but would it be worth it? Yes I would do it.
It's 20sq meters so very small. Right now I have the opportunity to make a mess as will be renovating the house in the New Year. Definitely wouldn't do it after that!
Obviously it's a small area so I won't be planting any trees or anything. Will shurbs or climbing plants grow in it if I loosen it up?
Thanks for the advice.
Others may disagree but I'd say the hardcore must go and you'll probably need top soil in to replace it
What about one or two raised beds instead, but you'll still need topsoil or a lot a lot of bags of compost to carry through.
Which may need replacing at some point in the future I think.
Do you have a set idea of how you want your garden to be Michael?
Are you planning to lay a patio or lawn? How much of the area are you aiming to fill with plants?
There's no point in removing hardcore under an area designated for paths and patios, but if you want a lawn and flowerbeds you will need to dig it out.
We see lots of new lawn problems on the forum (especially in new builds) when they've been laid over builders rubble.
If you can give some idea of what you hope to achieve I'm sure there will be lots of helpful suggestions
Thanks for the feedback. Sounds like I'll need to remove the stuff as it will be better in the long run. Was planning to have a small patio area outside the back door and then low raised beds all around the outside. Probably best then to just remove it from areas where I'll put beds and leave the rest. Hopefully it can be done by hand.
Going to have a proper dig at the weekend to see how deep the stuff is.
Cheers for advice.
It depends on funds an energy levels. If you're planning a ptio and raised beds anyway I woud think that keeping the hardcore would be a simpler option. Then you can build raised beds up tp knee height for smaller plants and shrubs - knee height means they're comfy for sitting on so free seats if you make the top wide enough.
You could also build a deeper ones to take bigger shrubs and climbers such as roses and clematis that like a deep root run. This would stop your garden looking flat and you could easily ship in materials and compost during your house renovation phase.
Have a google for courtyard designs online and check out books in the library for ideas and things to consider such as outside lighting, water, bins and tools storage, seating, plants, boundaries..
I think if you don't remove all the hardcore first all in one go before you start you will regret it in future as your garden evolves and changes in future.
If only I'd removed it when I had the opportunity!!!!!
20sq mtrs is very little really. The depth of the hardcore shouldn't be more than at most 1/2mtr that's deep! It'll be less than that I'm sure.
It's one skip full. ok it'll be a FULL skip......It'll take a little over day to fill with a little family help.
Then you'll have no restrictions as to what to do with it as regards to planting it up when your ready.
Def remove it, you'll regret it later if not.
cheap option: skip, sledgehammer/pick axe, shovel
more expensive: hire a mini digger for the weekend and a skip. Bonus is once you've removed the hardcore you can dig down and loosen the whole patch up, your plants will love it, mine are growing about 5 x happier in beds where I've used a mini digger compared to those I've dug over by hand. In the latter, I've lost some plants 2 years on.