Does anyone know anything about gardening?

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Would you mind posting the total cost when done?

Always curious how it stacks up with the other options.

Bit of a lazy question, but there are so many online options....

But does anyone have a good shout for where would be cheapest to get 70l of dressing bark delivered?

Cheers.

Also does anyone have a good how-to for laying a patio which includes how to manage drains, and drainage running underneath?

To add some context; our waste water goes into a drain on the patio, and our lawn gets waterlogged.

I'm going to rent a hollow tine aerator machine it when it dries out a bit, but putting in proper drainage won't happen for a while. However I'd like to ideally run a pipe back from the lawn to the drain so that if I do put in some drainage tube thingys in the wettest part there is something for them to feed into. If that makes sense?

Cheers.

Don't waste money on the aerator, they don't achieve much.

Drainage is relatively simple, 4"perforated pipe with 4" of shingle on all sides, headed downhill into your existing drain. Be warned, you will almost certainly need a skip for the spoil and to returf the lawn. It is labour intensive!

Patios generally need 4" of concrete beneath them, with a degree or so of fall towards your (recently drained) lawn. Probably allow for a 6" deep dig as you will need a further 2" for the surface of your choice plus mortar. Estimate concrete at 1 ton per 0.5 cubic metre dug out. Allow 1.25 cubic metres of skip room per 1 metre dug as the spoil 'fluffs up' when dug.

Alternatively, give me a call if your lottery numbers come up!

I'm about to do the same so v.interested in results of this...

Thanks a lot. That's really helpful.

Due to the heavy clay soil + two small children drainage isn't feasible in the near future. Whereas renting an aerator seems feasible.

I presumed clay soil, which is why I am not hopeful for the effectiveness of an aerator. The problem is that the water needs somewhere to go and clay will saturate and let nowt through.

Never underestimate the ability of two small children to transform a winter lawn into Passchendaele within an hour.

That's a good point.

I was hoping that filling the holes with sand would undo some of the compaction from over the years. But as you say if its heavy clay underneath then it's still not really being sent anywhere. Especially if it's only 10cm down.

No2 isn't even crawling yet. But No1 turned the lawn into a pile of mud pretty quickly. Not overly fussed. It's a lawn in a family house and TBH it's very lush and rugged most of the time.

The other thing I was thinking is putting decking over one of the worst sections where the path for the shed is. Then either side having grasses and other structural plants. It's just tricky finding something that loves being waterlogged and possibly frozen solid in ice and then blasted by sun all day in the summer.

I also really need to make some drawings of what I mean.

If you draw the decking with approximate measurements I will tell you how to build it and what you will need..

final updates on the extended concrete base for my larger greenhouse.

My mate has a mixer and fortunately only lives three roads away so I headed around there this morning and pushed the mixer back home. Quite easy as it has pneumatic wheels.

Went to the suppliers and bought plenty of ballast and cement and with a 4 to 1 mix and just the right amount of water the first batch of was ready

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Once the step was filled in I layed the 3 large (2' x 2') slabs across the top and then started filling over them.

Got my plasterers float, my bubble and a bit of board to tamp it down and Bob's yer mother's brother.

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yeah of course. All the shuttering was spare wood lying around my shed or garden and so were the bricks and paving slabs so no cost there. I also have a plasterers float and various tools etc already.

The size of the extension is circa 2' 6" wide by 6' long by 6" deep (sorry it's not in metric) and took 4 bags of cement (£20) plus 16 bags of ballast (£36) to fill.

The greenhouse was free too so total cost was nominal. Don't think I'm missing anything.

You might need to hire a mixer cos this makes it ten times easier but if you can beg, steal or borrow one that is the ideal result.

I had a quick 8’x4’ base to knock up this week for my Asgard storage, I forgot what a chore it is the old school way.
It’ll probably all get dug up again when we get the drive done but I’m sick of my workshop being a bike dump.

Today I’m going to make a start reassembling the large Rhino greenhouse I bought on eBay six months ago, still can’t quite believe I got all that glass home unbroken. I did the base and then life scuppered it.

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Suttons have a clearance sale on, mainly bulbs

https://www.suttons.co.uk/email/plant-bulb-and-equipment-clearance/

Nice doormat

Looks smart. How are these storage units with condensation. Really need to get some bikes out of the garage, but really do not want anything getting rusty.

Thanks, that's really kind.

Decking in one spot is a definite* go, but I'm still negotiating on the walk way.

It's a classic stereotypical gender divide. I use the shed so want to be able to walk normally to it in the winter. My OH doesn't think it matters and isn't convinced on the aesthetics.

I actually think decking around the shed will look good providing there are plants. It will hopefully give another level to draw your eye to the side. Plus I think it will be fun for kids to run and jump off through interesting looking plants.

*life permitting

Have a look in the bike storage thread.

Iirc it's mixed, which I assume means location dependent.

Cheers, like @hugo7 said there are pros and cons but I chose security above everything. Tbh my saddles have gone mouldy in the unheated/uninsulated workshop so I’m not losing much.

@mashton Supermundane I think.

Welp, looks like another few weeks of nocturnal frost. I guess the seeds I started outside aren't going to make it.

In the hunt for bark I found this reptile place that was competauvr.

https://www.internetreptile.com/non-branded-bark-chips-fine-bulk-70-litre/

Got 70l fine and a course less a £5 code + delivery = 140l for £57.15 GBP

Epic fail trying to do things with kids around. Messed up by x10!

I've had mine for over ten years, without any major issues with condensation. You have to be careful to put bikes in dry, I've had a couple of instances where bar tape has got some slight mould on it but otherwise no problems.

Frame eventually back together, I hate jigsaws.

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Well done.

Very envious.