Full Garden Landscaping for a family in Elworth, Sandbach.
The Brief
This family garden was of little practical use. The children had outgrown the play house. Its only use was for the dog. Our brief was to fit a lot into a small space, with something for everyone; creating a characterful space to be enjoyed day and night.
Project Summary
Location: Elworth, Sandbach
Project Type: Garden landscaping… design & build
Completed: June 2024
Timescale: 2 weeks
Client Type: Private homeowner
Lead Designer: Andrew Goodwin
Budget: £15-20,000
Our Site Assessment & Spec’
On arrival:
Tight access down the side
No utilities such as electricity
Lack of privacy to one side
Overgrown trees
No features to keep or improve
Our specifications:
Composite decking over concrete base
Aluminium pergola over the decking
Oval shaped artificial grass
Venetian style fencing
Indian sandstone patio
Garden fence lights, decking lights and spot lights on the plants
Narrow border planting between usable spaces
Design & Construction Decisions
This garden required excavation of the whole garden to 200m below finish height.
This allowed for 150mm Type 1 MOT for the paving and Type 3 MOT for the artificial grass.
The decking was secured to a concrete slab, 100mm thick. So we dug 50mm deeper in this area; the remaining 50mm was built into the 1:60 fall of the paving.
A doorstep was required, constructed of concrete block work clad with cut paving slabs to match the patio.
The fencing was screened using planed and rounded 75mm rails with a black membrane behind.
Infrastructure for the electrics was provided with install of 3 core armoured cable.
Challenges & Solutions
Firstly, the artificial grass. This was constructed to an oval. All such installed need bonding, so we constructed concrete haunching to shape.
The pergola needed bolting into the concrete whilst this had not fully cured by the time build completed, so we used temporary construction adhesive to bond to the decking before returning to bolt into position at a later date.
An obstruction to installing this concrete base was the presence of tree roots. These were lessened to the maximum possible extent to provide longevity to the slab without undermining the health and stability of the tree.
A 70 tonne groundworks with dig out and new aggregate required use of grab lorries for collection and delivery of the clients driveway which was fully protected with ground cover boards and sheeting.
The Outcome
We have absolutely transformed our clients garden. Inviting at night and full of practical potential during the day with lots of usable spaces… making the most of a small space with clever and well considered design.
The plants add a long season of colour and interest.
Heavy use by dogs on a small space did result in an unpleasant aroma, whilst we recommended this to our clients to support with maintenance.
As is common with unsealed natural stone, it has required maintenance to keep it looking its best whilst future sealing will help with this.
About Goodwin Gardens Ltd
We are qualified paving contractors, with horticultural knowledge and experience of all garden landscape installations. We are design and build specialists offering in-house services from garden design, to groundwork’s and all completed installation’s. Five star rated with and high quality reputation.