Does anyone know anything about gardening?

I like bamboo as a screening plant - just need to be careful of clumping or runners depending on the root control you will have available. You could have a nice full herbaceous border of different plants maybe leading to more herbs near to your eating cooking area. Theres plenty of good guides on how to create these

What should I join the right angles of my new oak sleepers with? Just some long outdoor appropriate screws? Or do I need something more robust?

2400x200x100mm. The corners wont be mitred, I'm not a maniac.

I've seen some people use coach bolts.

I've built them with screws, placing 2x2 in each corner and fixing to the on the internal so as not to be fixing into the end grain.

I use 150mm hex head screws, but depends what you are building.

This is a sleeper planter I did this weekend using them.

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Whilst we're on oak sleepers - is £25 about right for a 2.4m sleeper?

Saw a video where the chap anchored them with a 25mm auger bit and oak dowel, looked smart when cut flush.

Made a fire pit in the back of the garden using rocks and other things I found - total cost = £0.
I need to get some steel mesh to cook stuff on it now👍

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Yep, that is exactly what I pay for oak.

Hmmmmm. I paid £36 for mine. Shuts ears.

I think I'll go for screws (since I have them already). Its for a raised bed but only one board high so very low and stable.

@ffm and I used Toolstation 42827,
32 x 32 x 300 galvanised holding down angle plate
on the internal corners for a 'clean' look.
Holes were drilled out to allow TS 57582 5.0 x 50mm torx head screws.

Finally getting good germination. :) Apparently the trick is to wrap your seed tray in plastic, and then leave it on the radiator.

To be fair I am in Devon, so much cheaper.

I use these screws, depending on how the loading on the sleepers works, I have had zero issues, and have about 50 sleepers spread around our garden.

I’m going to replicate this at the allotment I think. So simple

Sweet.

Did you put a vent at the bottom for air flow?

Looks like this plastic compost bin has been doing more growing rather than composting this winter.
Looks like its probably bluebells

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And here's the 6 x 6 greenhouse on the extended concrete base

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Had a big rethink on the garden design: circular patio rather than the massive deck previously. Should break up the square lines and leave more space for plants. Adults area and kids area, more or less, in the form of a padded plastic grass area over the existing patio.

Anyone have any strong thoughts as to Sandstone vs block paving? I'd assumed blocks would be cheaper, but that doesn't seem to be the case from browsing the Marshalls site. I guess maybe blocks are more suited to heavy traffic areas like driveways? Thinking one of their circular patio kits like this:

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OK, so I'll try to give a quick summary. Neither is as easy to lay as slabs, which are generally laid on studs of mortar.

Blocks are laid on a 2" bed of carefully screeded sand, then compressed with a wacka plate, which is used again to rattle in kiln dried sand to bond them together. It's important to get the base even or the whole lot will be bumpy. The outer ring of blocks has to be set in mortar or everything will spread out. You also have to allow for a few mm of compression for the sand or the centre will whack down lower than the perimeter and hold water.

Sandstone should be hard wearing if laid correctly, on a continuous bed of 1"/25mm of mortar. The varying thicknesses of the sandstone makes an even surface difficult to achieve. Then all the joints must be pointed.

Either way, I would recommend a 4" depth of concrete beneath or the whole lot will move.

Enjoy!

Concrete!? Interesting. The videos I was watching last night suggested 4"+ of stone dust then a 1" dry mortar bed was best. I'll be building a retaining wall around the perimeter with a 400mm foundation and 2-3 courses of concrete blocks on their sides. That should help keep the whole lot in place. It'll sit below ground and separate the beds and the patio. I'll set a ring of coping bricks on top as a border.

The Marshalls stuff is 'calibrated' which should helpfully help get them even. I'll have to install some kind of drainage channel along the side of the house I imagine

I've used Marshalls, don't trust the calibration, although it is generally quite good. Don't try to lay a bed of mortar all at once, do one or two stones at a time.

The cardinal sin when laying random sandstone is getting four corners together and forming a cross. Also, long unbroken lines are to be avoided. That bloke manages both in a small area, I would sack him. His method of laying guarantees voids and therefore weak spots in the mortar.

I always use a concrete base, yes it costs more, but it goes nowhere, particularly on clay soils which expand and contract considerably.

I am sure you would do this anyway, but lay out all of the sandstone circle, including joints, to set the exact position of your wall. You can extend the concrete circle and use this as wall foundations as well.

Where do you work by the way? Fancy coming to Cardiff? Sounds like you'll do a considerably better job than me!

Good shout on the concrete actually, it won't be that much more than what I need to lay for the reatining wall, and I can probably do away with that all together. Considering I've dug out about 100mm -150mm lower than where I want the top of the patio to be, how would you go about making a circular former for the base?

I always use a concrete base, yes it costs more, but it goes nowhere, particularly on clay soils which expand and contract considerably.

150mm will be about right, 100mm concrete, 25mm mortar, 25mm stone. I would normally mark out the circle plus 100mm, using a peg in the centre and a bit of string line. Unless the slope is quite severe I would use the surrounding soil as shuttering, otherwise old blocks or bricks on the downhill side which can be knocked away the morning after concreting. Use soil left over from the dig to profile the surround up to any exposed stone as necessary.

I'm in Sussex, so you'd need a spare bedroom!

Anyone got any big lumps of rock knocking around in their garden they want rid of? Want to dig a fire pit for the allotment and line it with stone...

I think I've confused you a bit when I said retaining wall, the area is actually flat, probably an average of 100mm down from the finished patio/path level. (Path at the side there yet to be excavated). I was originally thinking a small wall to separate the sub base and flower beds, but if I go with your suggestion of a concrete base, then I can do away with that and the base needs to end up above the current (excavated) level by about 50mm.

I can probably work something out by either digging slightly deeper and/or using some kind of bendy shuttering staked in to place.

All slightly moot as I don't have a cement mixer or any time currently!

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OK, not easy to see from your pictures, I would really need to look at the site. Are you sure you need the base to protrude 50mm? The finished surface will be 50mm approx above the base surface. If you need bendy shuttering at only 50mm depth, hardboard strips formed around pegs made of cut-down reinforcing rod will do the job, the interior pressure of the concrete will hold them in place.

Presuming you're looking at the 2.84m circle, you'll need about 1.4 tons of concrete. This could be knocked up by hand in a day. You wouldn't enjoy the process, I would use a mixer!

I did I indeed - here’s a picture. Found an old water main cover which you can lift up and down and put a drink on when you close it.
Going to spark it up tonight

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