Thank you to each and everyone of you for your advice. It is gratefully appreciated and all taken on board. I can't wait to get started, but certainly agree about waiting to see where the sun falls to see where to lawn. But in the mean time I'll prepare the ground ready. Under the patio - would I usually expect to find concrete
Could be any number of 'sub-bases' under the slabs Matt. Best to lift one up (you might want to invest in a pickaxe as you'll probably make good use of it on other parts of your project). You might find a concrete base or a type 1 aggregate base with the slabs 'spotted' (5 x spots of muck) or it could be laid straight onto soil. If it looks pretty even all over at the moment I would expect you have some form of base. Might even be old foundations from an old garage or who knows! Lift one up and take a look.
Thank you. I know there is a loose one right by the steps so I'll lift it up and take a look. It'll be useful to see so I can decide what to do and start planning. Exciting!
Thank you. I know there is a loose one right by the steps so I'll lift it up and take a look. It'll be useful to see so I can decide what to do and start planning. Exciting!
Looking at your picture again and with you mentioning steps I think it's highly likely you have some kind of base. You may find you have a retaining 'wall' around the perimeter of the patio and then some kind of infill in the middle. You ought to lift a slab or two in from the edge to take a good look.
A little bit of a promising discovery tonight. Found this satellite picture which shows quite a lot of my garden in bright sunlight, at some point of the year
Hi all. Just going to revive this thread with a few new questions if you wouldn't mind asking.
I've been doing a little more investigative work since we last spoke. I'm no soil expert, but I've removed a small amount of the stones and pulled back the bright blue membrane, and I think the soil looks good. Although it is compacted It seems light and easy to dig. I dug a small section to about a foot deep and it was all topsoil. Although there is a mixture of stone sizes under there. Do I need to remove them all? And what is the best way to do this? During the digging process do I try to spot them and dig them out? Or do I use some sort of sieve? Is it possible to rake them out later on once dug over and levelled? Or are they OK? I really don't know what the best thing to do is.
If I do need to take them out to a certain size what would that be? And then the stones that are left; What's a good technique to ensure that they are not at the very top? I want a nice soft landing for my daughter's tumbles.
Underneath the paving blocks at the back of the garden is a small amount of hard core. There's not a lot. Not as much as I expected any way. And some of it is nearly granual size it's that Crushed. Can I just dig this in and it'll be good for drainage? Or am I being lazy.
So many questions. I truly apologise! And thank you all for taking the time to read to my novice message!
It sounds like that soil is fine for grass. If you're worried about stones I'd remove only those lying immediately on the top of the soil, I'd not bother going to any more effort. They improve drainage and shouldn't ever see the light of day if you're laying turf over the top.
As for the hard-core, it sounds like you could just mix in soil, trying to ensure that the top layer is almost all soil and the hard core finds its way lower down.
Yes, my advice wouldn't change. It might be best to rake it over level and remove stones as they appear.
I hope it works out for you. I returned a paved garden to grass, it was very small, albeit sunny. It worked well enough due to the amount of light it got but the surrounding trees took a lot of the water so it was patchy close to them and in the shadier spots it tended towards moss. I'd probably have done it again, though, such is my dislike for those gardens (paved, gravelled or astroturf). I'm sure you'll find some combination that works for you (and nature).
Ive now removed the remainder of the block pavers, my body is in pieces. Haha. Although at the edges I only found a light amount of sand and loose hardcore, the vast majority of the area has 2 inches of sand and then very compacted hardcore, to the point where it's like hitting concrete with the spade.
How best to tackle it now. If I added topsoil to the top of the sand and hardcore would the grass grow differently here to the rest of the garden due to drainage? Or is it just best to do the backbreaking work and buy a pick axe to breakup and remove the hardcore as much as possible? There is around 35 square metres.
Posts
Could be any number of 'sub-bases' under the slabs Matt. Best to lift one up (you might want to invest in a pickaxe as you'll probably make good use of it on other parts of your project). You might find a concrete base or a type 1 aggregate base with the slabs 'spotted' (5 x spots of muck) or it could be laid straight onto soil. If it looks pretty even all over at the moment I would expect you have some form of base. Might even be old foundations from an old garage or who knows! Lift one up and take a look.
Thank you. I know there is a loose one right by the steps so I'll lift it up and take a look. It'll be useful to see so I can decide what to do and start planning. Exciting!
Looking at your picture again and with you mentioning steps I think it's highly likely you have some kind of base. You may find you have a retaining 'wall' around the perimeter of the patio and then some kind of infill in the middle. You ought to lift a slab or two in from the edge to take a good look.
A little bit of a promising discovery tonight. Found this satellite picture which shows quite a lot of my garden in bright sunlight, at some point of the year
Hi all. Just going to revive this thread with a few new questions if you wouldn't mind asking.
I've been doing a little more investigative work since we last spoke. I'm no soil expert, but I've removed a small amount of the stones and pulled back the bright blue membrane, and I think the soil looks good. Although it is compacted It seems light and easy to dig. I dug a small section to about a foot deep and it was all topsoil. Although there is a mixture of stone sizes under there. Do I need to remove them all? And what is the best way to do this? During the digging process do I try to spot them and dig them out? Or do I use some sort of sieve? Is it possible to rake them out later on once dug over and levelled? Or are they OK? I really don't know what the best thing to do is.
If I do need to take them out to a certain size what would that be? And then the stones that are left; What's a good technique to ensure that they are not at the very top? I want a nice soft landing for my daughter's tumbles.
Underneath the paving blocks at the back of the garden is a small amount of hard core. There's not a lot. Not as much as I expected any way. And some of it is nearly granual size it's that Crushed. Can I just dig this in and it'll be good for drainage? Or am I being lazy.
So many questions. I truly apologise! And thank you all for taking the time to read to my novice message!
Last edited: 22 March 2017 23:25:33
Hi Matt,
It sounds like that soil is fine for grass. If you're worried about stones I'd remove only those lying immediately on the top of the soil, I'd not bother going to any more effort. They improve drainage and shouldn't ever see the light of day if you're laying turf over the top.
As for the hard-core, it sounds like you could just mix in soil, trying to ensure that the top layer is almost all soil and the hard core finds its way lower down.
Hi Bob. Thanks for the response. I was planning on seeding the lawn. Is the advice the same re the stones?
Yes, my advice wouldn't change. It might be best to rake it over level and remove stones as they appear.
I hope it works out for you. I returned a paved garden to grass, it was very small, albeit sunny. It worked well enough due to the amount of light it got but the surrounding trees took a lot of the water so it was patchy close to them and in the shadier spots it tended towards moss. I'd probably have done it again, though, such is my dislike for those gardens (paved, gravelled or astroturf). I'm sure you'll find some combination that works for you (and nature).
Many thanks Bob. Appreciate the support and kind words
Help !!
Ive now removed the remainder of the block pavers, my body is in pieces. Haha. Although at the edges I only found a light amount of sand and loose hardcore, the vast majority of the area has 2 inches of sand and then very compacted hardcore, to the point where it's like hitting concrete with the spade.
How best to tackle it now. If I added topsoil to the top of the sand and hardcore would the grass grow differently here to the rest of the garden due to drainage? Or is it just best to do the backbreaking work and buy a pick axe to breakup and remove the hardcore as much as possible? There is around 35 square metres.
Thank you