MegaGarden

LAWNMOWERMAN

2012-01-21T00:12:00.006Z

Our Nick came round today and besides doing several hours of quality uncleing and push-starting our broken-down car, he had time to show me Google's 3D modeling software, Sketchup and made a wireframe of the back yard. Here's some views, i'm going to have to draw the BBQ on with pencil when I show the builder because i'm not really sure how I want it.

Those things like washing machines on the left are wheelie bins. I can't help thinking it looks a bit like one of those 'How the Mesopotamians lived' renderings.

Early pre-history dwelling. No, honestly it'll be lovely when it's finished.

MEGAYARD

2012-01-13T23:30:00.036Z

Well 12 months or so have whizzed by, I think I was going to do a post about putting up our swing chair (I took some photo so I might do it retrospectively) but i've pretty much had my hands full with Kodie who's now 14 months old. In the summer I got chatting to one of our neighbours on the road who's a builder (and master of stunning stonemasonry) about converting our old back-lavvy to a covered back yard. He's up for it so I need to make him some decent plans. I've got an idea about the size I want, but i'd like it to have a bit of character, so i'm going to figure out some sort of model with the power of COMPUTORS.

That mess where the bikes and a load of junk are now used to be the lavatory 100 years ago. I want to drop it down to ground level and dig the back wall out a yard or two or three.

Ground level view, that doorfame used to be the old entrance to our lavvy I presume. Next doors still exists but ours has had the roof and wall removed. I had a chat with Anne and Mike next door and we have a plan to put our wheelie bins down the shared 'entrance path' between our houses when I get the wall moved back (3 wheelie bins width further)

This is next-door-but-one's back yard. Sort of exactly what I want, the place looks huge but cosy and really natural. Plus I have loads of lovely toddler memories of a currogated plastic lean-to at my mum and dad's house. I was originally going to copy this exactly

On my birthday last year, Zoe bought me this 1978 Barbequeing book, and this particular photo really caught my imagination. Back door and brick-built BBQ. It made me think it'd be good if the back wall of our yard looked something like this. Boozy salads.

This is sort of the vibe i'm after (and can't admit to copying Jamie Olivers fantasy lifestyle), i'd really like to sort out a central wooden table with a fire, probably same height as the table top that we can cook food on and keep warm with.

Next up is a stack of outdoor BBQ's that i'm using as a 'mood board' - I'd like it to look a bit less Miami and a bit more Peak District than most of these though:

This one's the closest I think, it'd be nice to have a sort of open fire in a grate inside a chimney, but crossed with a barbeque. I wonder if it's possible to do both.

Quite nice and 'trad' BBQ but I still think i'd like to do for the open fire / Flintsones version. The tiled top might be an idea...

This one has a pretty nice stone front under the counter, wouldn't mind copying this idea.

That oven-y thing on the right is spot-on!

Nice stone oven

This one's a bit more minimal, but I like the way it looks like it'd warm you up rather than cooking food.

Full on pizza oven by the looks of it. Unfortunately not really got the budget to dig out that much earth and sink a great big oven into the hillside.

Kestrel Cottage

2010-11-03T03:27:00.001Z

At what stage do people abandon good old fashioned 'No 77' and decide they're going to make their friends write something twee like 'Kestrel Cottage' on Christmas cards? Is it when you see one of these chaps out of the window?

Phew! That's It!

2010-10-17T01:56:00.012+01:00

The weather's a bit hotter which makes the final 20 or so barrow-loads up the hill a pretty sweaty job. Still, mustn't grumble (just sneak off to help with some painting)

That's all the topsoil dumped and raked, turf's ready and waiting. Now for the fun bit.

One down...

...and quicker than you can say Jim Robinson!

Give it a drink.

TA-DAHHHHHHHHH!!!! Huge Thanks to everyone who has worked on MegaGarden over the last 2 years. Once we get the swing chair in place next spring, you're all invited to the party of the year!

Back Breaker

2010-10-16T02:35:00.003+01:00

Today is going to be fun. Got to remove the remaining rubble and also cart a ton of topsoil and turf up the hill to the top of the garden. Feels a bit like this all over again.

Nearly there, just a few more broken bricks and we're clear.

Those sandbags from last week came in handy again.

Looking like one last trip to the tip while Nick carries soldiering on with the topsoil.

Ten Ten Ten

2010-10-10T01:49:00.009+01:00

We've got a nice sunny day on this most binary of dates and Nick is whipping through this herringbone like nobody's business.

Even got time to cut out the 'BBQ platform' to a perfect shape.

Okay, i'll go and help with another few coats inside and be back in an hour...

BAM.

Bricking It

2010-10-09T01:38:00.002+01:00

Nick marks off the foundations of our mini patio, if we've done the maths right, there should be just enough brick to make a spot for our future swing hammock. Once he's satisfied, we'll need some sand and cement. We're doing this dry.

Splat (oof my back)

That pile of rubble doesn't seem to be getting much smaller either, despite last Sunday's efforts. Think i'll give it a miss today and 'help inside'.

Bricks coming up...

...and away we go! CLONK.

This is the idea. Unfortunately all the bricks are different shapes and sizes. Taken from our old fireplace and bits of our stunning (ex-) brick kitchen, if they're wonky that will have to be 'character'.

Stihl-saw screamin' and we're under way! Thought my back was nearly recovered so decided to be a good egg and carry the bricks up for Nick while he did the tricky stuff.

Looking beautiful. You can tell this is going to come out great. What a craftsman for a brother!

Meanwhile inside, the house is getting its first coat. Look at that lovely bump - little mister could be here in a fortnight, no time to waste!

Visit from another local little mister. PATMAN.

Think that'll do for the day. Now we know what we're doing, tomorrow will be a breeze.

Delightful weather

2010-10-03T01:30:00.008+01:00

Sunday, bit grim weather-wise and all that concrete needs bagging up for the tip. Quick trip round to the Kaill's for some rubble bags and we're sorted.

Here comes Nick, well prepared for the weather. Bless him.

Digging a drain for the lawn-to-be. This is going to be the lowest point, so we don't want it getting all boggy at the top of the steps.

Fill it with lumpy bits and bobs, hopefully we should be okay...

Endgame

2010-10-02T01:02:00.010+01:00

It's been a few months since we last worked on the garden, we'd moved out while the builders moved in and made room in the house for our new arrival - due 01.11.10! Nick decided it was time to put some serious hard labour in on the garden before uncleing duties took up all his free time, so it was down to the hire shop and welcome back to our little friend - the electric breaker.

Going back in time to 2008, you can see where we broke out the old concrete patio. We did the front and the sides but have now realised that we need to take some more out at the back for the foundations of our new mini patio and to give the lawn enough depth to grow. That giant pile of rock is reminding me of another past MegaGarden episode, involving about 10 back breaking trips to the tip.

This is going to be the site of the new mini-patio. Finally put to rest that awkward question about what to do with edging along the side of next door's shed. Currently made out of hexagonal paving slabs and bits of slate - lovely!

C'mon Dad, get your back into it!

Only slightly less amazing than a Millenium Falcon landing ramp, this lovely old steel advert for Royal Daylight Oil (with Eccles phone number) was found just inches beneath the soil.

Big pile of timber and whatnot, includng leftovers from the Mushroom growing experiment (wonder how they are getting on) which may be used as replacement bannisters, or maybe keep us warm over the winter.

BBQ Inspiration Part 3

2010-07-29T02:19:00.001+01:00

The Greek take this BBQing lark super-seriously. This was on the villa opposite our hotel but was empty all week, shame we never got to see it fired up.

That's for a whole lamb and a few chickens innit?

Coupla wee rustic kits hidden away in the woods. BBQ and oven - so sweet.

Local quarry truck. One hell of a heavy logo. Pretty 70s new york subways crossed with Asterix.

BBQ Inspiration Part 2

2010-07-18T02:13:00.001+01:00

Out on a roadtrip around the North West's garden centres to find some tropical fish for Seth to have a look at, I come across this bad boy. I'd love one of these, totally Flinstones, but i'm a bit worried the scale and the materials won't be right for the top of Megagarden.

So nice though...

Didn't find any tropical fish but spent half an hour in the water feature department.

BBQ Inspiration Part 1

2010-07-10T02:06:00.001+01:00

I've got plans to make a brick / stone built BBQ at the top of the garden, but looking at this sweet piece o' kit is making me think about investing in a metaller. Gives off a nice heat for ages after the food has cooked too.

God, get that hair cut.

It's not all about stone

2010-06-08T22:17:00.010+01:00

I've done a bit of research about what sort of condition alpine plants like to live in (might have been a good idea just to ask at the garden centre). Turns out the best way of fooling them that they're back home on a swiss mountainside is to sit them in fine gravel, so I bought a bag when I was out on my travels yesterday. I put about an inch in all the cavities, so the rain will drain out of the plants and down into the centre of the wall. I've got a bad feeling that this might not be the best idea for the wellbeing of the wall but it's too far gone now.

First one in, it's one of the big ones and I had to really squeeze it in to the hole - I felt a bit guilty doing this, I hope it's okay.

Next one, even more rooty and even less happy-feeling about being stuffed into its new home.

Kicking myself now that I didn't go for the buy 2 get 1 free deal on gravel at the garden centre. There's nothing left to fill these big holes up so about half of the plants are going to have to stay in their pots until I can get my hands on some more grit.

Hmmm, not really the most naturallistic look! Maybe once they're bedded in and spread out a bit, they will look a bit more like the picture I had in my head...

YESSSSSSSS!

2010-06-06T21:24:00.002+01:00

Weather wasn't as bad as forecast today. Mum wanted to get some flowers for Zoe's birthday so while we were at the garden centre I decided to check out the alpine plants.

I forgot we had some of these growing in our front wall until I got back. Zoe told me she had pointed this out but I must have been off in a world of my own.

3 for 9 quid - there are zillions to pick from...

Finally narrowed the selection down - got 3 'biggies' too. Hope they're all going to fit in the wall when it's ready.

Here's all the stone we've got left to do this bit of coping. I wish I was watching Nick when he did the other bit, i'm not really sure where to start.

Oh, there's a view of the corner stone from next door's garden. Good shape, reminds me of a certain lego brick.

Half way done - that was quite fun. Panicking about the lack of stone left though.

BOOOOOOOOOOMMMM! TRUMPET FANFARE!!! FIREWORKS!!!

...and that's all that was left, maybe a few bits left over will come in handy for the other bit of wall to the right of the steps. That reminds me, i've got the steps to finish too. Not going to worry about it now though - I DID IT!!!

Here's the other bit that needs finishing. This is now mentally known as 'the BBQ platform'. That pink slab leftover from the inglenook fits perfectly.

This lovely pile of bricks has been sat outside the back door since we pulled out the fireplace, just waiting to be turned into...

...one of these!

The end is nigh

2010-06-05T21:54:00.029+01:00

It's a scorching day in Kerridge. David the owner agrees to let us fill the car boot for £15 - BONUS.

He was hovering around while I started picking out a few suitable flat bits (think he was going to bump the price up for nicking all his 'crazy paving') but I was taking so long that he decided to go back to his house, letting me have a good rummage.

Filling up nicely, should make finishing off the last course a breeze.

Nick turns up and decides to get a quick bit of yoga in.

Empty the mind...

...and HUP

This is what it would look like if Kickboxer had been filmed in Macclesfield.

We decide that while we're here, we may as well pick up the end bits for the coping, we need 14" square bases and search the whole quarry for some tasty specimens.

I'm not sure if the car is going to have any suspension or exhaust by the time I get down the quarry path.

Just as we're about to make an exit, the owner comes back and rumbles us. I think we were being a bit cheeky with a 'car boot full' but he lets us have the lot for £25. I can't believe that I bought a boot-liner to 'protect the car interior'.

When the wall is a little bit older and asks 'where did I come from Daddy?' I can show him this photo.

I dream of having one of these one day!

Time to stick a couple of the big ones in Nick's boot to save what's left of the suspension on the way home.

Quick check of the map and we're off.

In a repeat of day one of MegaGarden we had to cart all that stone up the hill round the side of the house and launch it over the back wall. Luckily this time Mike next door lent us his wheelbarrow but it was still a case of drinking a pint of water after each journey there and back. One of the big stones cracked when it got chucked onto what was left of the concrete floor, but there should be enough left of it to work with.

First piece going on! Ideal platform for putting brews on to. Looks great from this side too.

Not quite right from the front though, where it has been sawn...

15 minutes of whacking with a hammer later and some carefully placed moss and it almost looks like it will fit in. David #2 at the quarry (the one who does all the work) suggests chucking yoghurt onto stones to speed up the weathering process, but he didn't say what flavour.

Got all my new stones nicely laid out to finish off the right hand side of the wall. It does feel a bit like cheating at this point as there's no lumpy ones to deal with but I think I deserve a bit of a treat.

We struck gold!

Nick's putting the final touches to his coping and i'm about half way through. The weather is amazing today and the end is in sight so i'm really beginning to enjoy myself now. The other corner stone looks perfect too.

Ta-dah! I'm dying to get the coping finished on the other side, but it's forecast rain tomrrow, just going to have to do it one night next week...

When this wall is finished, so will be these pants.

Cheshire Demolition

2010-06-04T21:33:00.014+01:00

I've got the ever cheerful quarry owner to agree to open up especially for us tomorrow morning to grab half a ton of nice flat walling rubble. Also on the shopping list is a slab to make the 3rd step up to the garden plus 4 big square bottomed stones to use as the bookends of the coping. I'm hoping to pick up a slab of some sort (and maybe the end stones) from the always-exciting CHESHIRE DEMOLITION.

This place has got stones for miles as well as tons of other weird and wonderful reclaimed building stuff.

This seems to be some sort of Victorian hot-tub - a candidate for the central feature of MegaGarden if I decide to create a turn of the century swingers vibe.

Hmmm, here's some likely candiadates, there's too many to choose from.

This one's the ideal size but I think it would feel a little creepy every time you step on it.

I nearly went for this one but i'm going to be worrying about tripping up on that hinge all the time.

Another nice one, but 'tripping hazard' pops into my mind again. So I just went for a nice semi-knobbly piece with no major lumps and bumps.

They have a lot of stone suitable for the coping end-pieces, but at a fiver each I think i'm going to take my chances at the quarry tomorrow.

I've got a plan to get one of these old beams to turn into a bench, probably along the back wall. That's going to have to wait though.

Coping Hypothesis

2010-05-16T21:21:00.009+01:00

I'd been keeping Nick up to date with the coping idea via picture messages from Ireland and he thought it was a go-er. Before we got started, we had a surprise visit from the newest addition to the Kaill walling crew - the super-cute PATMAN.

While we were messing about with Pat, Nick got started with the coping experiment. By the time I'd come up to join him, it was already taking shape beautifully.

Another landmark event - NO STRINGS ATTACHED - and the wall is still standing! Unfortunately there are no decent stones left to finish the final couple of courses on the left hand side, so we're going to need another trip to the quarry.

Skull Harbour - Coping inspiration

2010-05-13T21:09:00.009+01:00

During a week in and around the lovely Irish village of SKULL, there was plenty of walling to get inspiration from, even though they tend to use mortar, the lazy rascals!

About 90% of the walls around this corner of the emerald isle use a sort of double-faced coping which i'd not seen anywhere round the UK, it's giving me an idea though...

Looks great from the outside faces, shame they're always filled with concrete. I wonder why they don't plant them up?

Hello... High on the hill above the harbour, I finally found somebody who had got some alpine plants on the go in their gateposts. This is definitely going to work, the question is, can we get the double-faced coping to stay in place without the mortar?

On the lookout for some alpiney / trailing plants that would like to live in the wall.

I'm not sure what this stuff is, but it would look great trailing down the front of the wall.

More nice trailers.

Sweet. If anybody knows what any of these plants are, please let me know. Should really have taken some home with me.

This wall has the opposite effect of what i'm going for (bedding plants plopped into a concrete hole rather than alpine plants that look like they've found their way the wall naturally) - but i'm a sucker for pansies.

Day 2 of 2010

2010-04-24T19:42:00.004+01:00

Okay, that's the front done then = Nick is shredding.

Schuh-wheet.

My side is not quite so straight because I decided to do the good thing and try to use up all the big lumpy bits. I should be able to finish it off with another thin course to get it all level and then we're done! Still not sure what to do about the coping though. There are still all those massive bits that we could dress into some sort of half-round shape but it seems like it'll waste a lot of stone, and we've not got enough to go all the way round either.

The weather had been really hot all day which means one thing. BBQ. I think we were watching this.

Oops missed a year

2010-04-18T18:42:00.008+01:00

Well, that's a year missed out since there was any work on MegaGarden, lets get the gardening fleeces on and get the hammers out. The pile of stone in the front is pretty much all we have left to use up. The red stone in the back is from the fireplace and next to it are some unused mushroom logs, but more about them later...

Tighten up the guidelines, I think we're just going to work up to here and then get the coping on. The front face only needs one course but the side is a bit wonky and will need 2-3 courses to get up to height. Not sure how we got so far out of wack but at least the end is nigh.

Nick whips through with some super-fast precision walling as usual. I was shocked at how much progress we made, could have been something to do with not stopping for a 3-hour full English break like we used to.

On Saturday I had a bit of a play with my Christmas present from Nick. He'd got me a few bags of mycelleum impregnated wooden dowels, that i've had in the fridge since December. The second part of the present was a boot-full of freshly-cut birch logs which got the chop on Wednesday. Working for Trafford council has its perks, when you can pick the trees to be removed that aren't quite right for that park (and need a new home all full o' mushies). I had to drill about 30 holes in each log, knock the dowels in, and then seal them all with sizzlin' mushroom wax.

I've got Oyster, Shiitake and Lion's Mane logs all plugged up and waxed - next thing to do is cover them in black bin bags and either bury them or leave them in the shade (behind my dad's shed). All you have to do then is wait 18 months for the fungus to spread throughout the log, then you leave it out for another year and hopefully the critters will sprout. This is not a hobby for the impatient.

I couldn't help feeling that it looked a bit dodgy to be loading up a red Golf with limb-sized, bin-bag covered packages. Hopefully my mum won't get stopped by Operation Ringmaster on the way home.

The end of MegaGarden 08?

2008-11-01T13:52:00.003Z

Looks like this could be the last weekend of work before winter sets in, we're nearly there and the house needs a lot of work inside to get it cozy in time for Christmas. We're down to the last few stones including a lot of awkward ones that need using up, so this last bit is looking a bit of a mess.

I couldn't find any decent through stones for my wall end - this floppy one was okay but not great. I'm still not too sure what i'm going to do between this wall end and the back wall (using next door's shed as an inbetween). I think i'm going to make some sort of lean-to / woodpile to store the fuel for my next project - INGLENOOK

Swapped the through but i'm still not 100% happy with it (or even 50% happy). Nick is doing an amazing job at the front end though.

And that's all we've got left - probably less than half a ton out of the original 6 tons. That precarious tower of concrete and brick is earmarked to be used for my troglodyte outdoor pizza oven which will be an integral part of the goings-on up here next summer.

A Little to the Right

2008-10-26T18:23:00.009Z

The clocks went back this morning, I spent an extra hour in bed dreaming about finishing this right hand mini-wall. I finished the edge of the steps first of all.

Even though we're down to the last few stones, we're still managing to pull out a few magic shapes. I was leaning over the wooden stairs to take this, so 1 second after I took the photo my feet whizzed from under me on the slime, giving me a massive horizontal bruise right across my body off the handrail. Not had a good winding for years - ooooffff.

Got about 8 inches to go to get it to ground level. The camera ran out of batteries at this point - i'll have to take a photo in the week of the next exciting course taking shape.

The Holder of the Boulder

2008-10-25T18:48:00.005+01:00

Nick came up again today, I was a bit intimidated by starting all over again with the corner wall and I needed some motivation. We're getting down to the last stones now, so there's not as much choice as when we first started but they need using up even if they are very wonky.

At one point when we were shovelling soil and rubble down to backfill the gap between the wall and concrete, I pulled out a grimy piece of plastic which immediately flashed me back in time to the happy days of 1980. Even my mum recognised what it was straight away.

I knew Nick would get things whipping along - I wish the days weren't so short because we could have got this finished in a few more hours. Hopefully if the rain's not too bad tomorrow I will get stuck in with Zo.

Rubble Reduction

2008-10-19T19:19:00.002+01:00

I figured out that I had overestimated the amount of rubble we were going to need to level the ground. This 2-ton pile of concrete, brick and dirty dust that's been sat there since we wrecked the inglenook in spring was going to have to go to the tip.

Sorting out the big bits to bag up, we'll leave the finest dust behind but I think we need to shift about 3/4 of it.

This was parked up next to the rubble skip, I took the photo for Jim.

8 round trips and I reckon nearly 100 back-breaking bags later, it's time to spread out the remaining gravel. My back is breaking but I can see the finish line now.

Yes! There's ground level. Unfortunately now I can see the back wall it has reminded me that it is about to collapse and is going to need to be rebuilt. Not this year though.

Finally got all our remaining stone lined up neatly, sorted into shape ready to use - the remaining work is going to be a joy.

Looking at that is really relaxing me. Ahhh

Adam Attack

2008-10-18T19:57:00.003+01:00

After 4 months of mithering, Adam made it down today and it turns out he is born with a natural gift for this walling biz. Zo gave him the rules of the game and we left him to it...

A couple of hours later there was 6 feet of rock solid, level, deluxe walling. He does like to do a good job.

Remember that dodgy bit that I promised to fix for Stuart last episode? Adam scooped it out and replaced it all with new stones, totally locked.

Whaley Walling Weekend 2

2008-10-12T21:10:00.013+01:00

We kind of overdid it on the beer-reward yesterday so we are all feeling a bit tired today. Luckily the weather is amazing and Stu and Sal are ripping through at great speed again in no time.

Stu has nearly completed another course. I was supposed to be giving him a hand with that gap on the left but I got sidetracked. I've still not fixed it.

When we raised the string for Stuart's next course I measured it and there are only 9 inches left to go. We have begun to worry that there won't actually be enough stone to finish it.

Another meticulous job from Sal, straight as an arrow.

Back to my personal nightmare, I don't know if this is cheating or whether it is part of the tradition of using whatever materials are to hand but I had a few concrete paving slabs that needed using up. I hope they are okay to build on top of.

Zo was working from the wall out to meet Sal in the middle, she was working super-fast as well, i'm lucky to have a gang of such amazing craftsmen.

Zoe reached the bus! This is going to be the eventual height of the wall, we've not decided on the coping yet - I don't know whether we will have any decent stone left by the time we get to the top, so might have to get some more from the quarry.

I got a couple of pieces in on my wall-end by the end of the day, i've got quite a way to go but it's an alright start and I feel a bit more positive about it than I did yesterday morning when I started.

Whaley Walling Weekend 1

2008-10-11T20:37:00.015+01:00

We've had a few weeks break from the wall with weddings and whatnot, last weekend was spent pulling down and putting up a new bedroom ceiling round at Stu and Sal's so they are returning the favour with 2 days hard labour. I really wanted to get the steps finished but Nick decided that we might be better off building the facing wall-end first.

I had been putting off going anywhere near the right hand side of the steps, thinking I could maybe build the matching wall there next year but we ended up getting stuck in. I think this could be a huge job though. There looks like an existing wall in place next to the fence but it is just a pile of rubble so it's going to have to come out and get rebuilt.

That's the old wall taken out and a couple of foundation stones put in. It's not a very wide space but we are going to have to build an L-shaped wall about 4 ft high. At this point I feel a bit like i'm back to square one and get a bit demotivated.

Luckily Stu and Sal come round and get me feeling postive again. They are both total naturals and speed through the walling like magic.

Stuart reaching the end of his course. As you can see from the beading in his hair, a giant cloud decided to set down on us for the rest of the day which covered everything in mud.

Sally had started from the corner and had done about 2 metres in 2 hours - she's quick! That'll be those nimble ladyfingers.

We decided this hobby is definitely more fun when the sun is shining.

Smashy smashy

Stuart just surveying his work, probably a good time to call it a day now. Wash the mud off and go for a few pints of dark mild as a reward.

You could smell the bonfires all around the valley today, it forced Nick to go foraging in the woods so we could have one of our own. He spotted a load of mushrooms that I was going to go back and check but I totally forgot, I might go back tomorrow.

Step to the beat

2008-09-20T12:20:00.008+01:00

We went out with Xian and Jade yesterday to see if we could summon Merlin round Alderley Edge (no luck but we did get some ice cream and chips) so today it's time to get those steps in. I dug down to the earth and at this point have got a couple of hefty 'character stones' on the left to hold the first step up.

Another big chunker on the right hand side to hold the step up. I laid some flat bits of crazy paving between the top of the front wall and the bottom of the new steps.

This was the sum total of this year's tomato harvest by the way, ALL THAT EFFORT TOO

Nick and Dad had been laying some giant lego brick type stones around the top of the steps at ground level.

The bottom steps and top surrounding step are done now, i'll do the middle step next weekend.

No Half Steppin

2008-09-13T20:17:00.009+01:00

We got off to a bit of a slow start today, I spent ages fiddling around trying to get the back corner hooked up neatly and Nick had been so hopped up on Brewers Yeast all week he came down with a crash and had to go inside for a sleep.

After Nick had woken up we decided for a change of scene and decided that today might be a good day to shift the pile of rubble to level off the floor.

All the big bits of concrete that we had broken up from the original patio were on the top of the heap, we laid them down first then got down to all the fine dust to do the fill-in that came out of our Inglenook smashing earlier in the year.

Just checking the levels of the big bits.

All nicely filled in now, we decided that it would probably be a good idea to figure out the steps were going so we could fill in up to the edge.

This is the rough position they're going to sit in. Big problem though, I realised that I should have broken up that extra bit of concrete when I had the power breaker. It's just going to have to be by hand...

Half an hour of concerted leathering and we finally managed to break through - that was really hard work!

Zo on the Go

2008-09-08T20:57:00.003+01:00

We got back from Czech on Saturday night and spent Sunday afternoon working on the wall, inbetween getting soakings about once an hour. I've been working all day today but Zoe had booked a day off and has done nearly an entire course. Dats ma girl!!

August's Walling Weekend

2008-08-24T21:20:00.011+01:00

We went to Wales last weekend and we are away in Czech for the next 2 weekends so we need to get moving this weekend

Weather was pretty good this weekend, only rained a few times

The ol' tumblin toms weren't too happy when they moved to their new home outdoors. 2 tommys out of 5 plants - maybe there will be room for a greenhouse when we move all this stone.

My lupins got totally munched by aphids last year and didn't flower at all. This summer i've been doing weekly mass executions with soapy water and they seem to be doing alright.

Looking alright there

Nearly all the way round...

The bus marks the eventual height of the wall - 18 inches to go

Ground Zero

2008-08-03T21:52:00.000+01:00

This silly spider keeps spinning its web across our back door, he decided to do it across the back steps today. Sorry fella.

Becky came down to lend a hand today. Good to see her and Nick using up some of the awkward shaped big stones that I had been putting off using.

Rapid progress today - a whole course on the front and nearly made it all the way round the side too.

I think we're up to ground level now, I keep telling myself that this is 'the half way mark'

Mums and Dads

2008-08-02T21:22:00.008+01:00

This morning I had some exciting unexpected guests, Jim and Katy with brand new addition to the gang - little Johnny. Jade and Xian came too with little Seth who is due in 3 months - WOOOO!

Father and son sharing a moment. 15 seconds of Lambada with dad will settle him down no problem.

As Jim and Katy went to get some chips for Johnny and Zoe & Jade went shopping for towels it was left to me and Xian to do the walling for today.

We put some throughstones into the inner bank at this level which is going to keep the wall from being pushed outwards (hopefully). I think they maybe should have been a bit longer but you can only use what you've got.

Well we managed to get to the end and picked a couple of runners for the wall end on tomorrow's course. Now it's BBQ time at Stu & Sals. Hopefully I won't be too late in bed tonight.

Flora and Fauna

2008-07-27T18:32:00.012+01:00

I thought that endless pictures of a wall that's taking a long time to come together might be a bit tedious so here's some exciting photos of plants around the garden.

PURTY

COLOURFUL

SPIKY

That's nearly 12"s done - only another 2 1/2 foot to go. It's been just over a month since we started. At this rate it will take until Xmas unless I start really putting the hours in. I have a party planned in my head for end of September - will this be possible?

We've been filling the back side in with gravel and soil and are only 4 or 5 inches from the eventual level of the inside floor. Crocs aren't really suitable safety shoes when you are dropping big bits of stone here and there but it was so hot and sweaty today that I couldn't face workboots.

This is technically known as freckle-muck

C'mon grow Tumblin' Toms!!

The second pair of dots above the string will be ground level - come on!!

MEOW

PURE EVIL

This is what the Turin Shroud would have looked like if our Lord had been allowed to keep on his denim shorts when he was getting crucified

Where's me batter bits?

2008-07-26T19:18:00.007+01:00

I should've really done this at the beginning but today i'm going to make the 'Batter Frames' which are used to get the correct cross section of the wall. Luckily my brother has a mania for hoarding bits of wood so it was easy to find a few nice bits to use (thanks IKEA)

You need to make the sides of the wall slope inwards towards the top so when the stones settle in to place they will move inwards (good) instead of outwards (bad). The ancient formula is that the base is half of the height and the top is half of the base. I'm cheating ever so slightly, height = 42", base = 18", top = 12". Pray Let the walling gods favour my maverick miniaturisation.

One end in and it's looking good! I hammered steel pins into the ground to hold it in place. When I was attaching the pins to the frame with tape I felt a bit like I was betraying the traditions and should've been using twine or something.

The other end was a bit trickier as there is a 3 foot drop into next door's garden. Luckily there was some hefty fenceposts found behind the shed so I hammered them in and screwed the frame on.

All strung up and ready to go. The string at the top shows the eventual height of the wall - there's a long way to go! Got a birthday party tonight and then village carboot sale in the morning but after that i'm going to spend the whole day at it.

First course coming up!

2008-07-20T20:48:00.006+01:00

Another nice hot and blustery day for a spot o' walling. We're putting the first course in today on top of the foundations. We'd spent so much time getting the foundations perfectly flat that this was so easy. We decided that if we want to have a chance at finishing this any time this decade though, we're going to have to move a bit faster and not spend 1/2 an hour per stone

Rounding the corner, some of those stones are *slightly different heights!!!* but i'm trying not to let it bother me. We're trying to get this wall done fast now

That's the first course all the way round to the first step.

The weather was so good that after Nick went home I decided to continue and start another course from the back. The level of the stones looks a bit wonky from here but they are alright more or less

It's starting to look like a real wall!

Finished the Foundations

2008-07-13T20:16:00.001+01:00

Making the stepped foundations up the bank - the string lines show where the new inner surface will lie

One stone away from finishing the foundations

DONE IT! It seems to have taken a long while to get to this point but I've convinced myself that this was the hardest part

Starting the first course. The end stone cracked when I was knocking the edge off it to neaten it up. It was going to be undeground anyway so it didn't even matter. Hopefully it'll be okay.

I think we're going to call it a day

Bye!

MUDBATH

2008-06-26T18:18:00.007+01:00

The day was a bit cloudy and threatened rain. First corner piece going on!

Things are definitely getting a bit grim now, this is a lot more fun when the sun is shining.

We made it! Now lets do one!!

That was a relief to get inside and wash all the mud off.

It's important to look after your tools, give him a bit of a wipe and he will serve you well. I'm thinking about using pyrography to write some runes down the handle. Does anyone know what's Norse / Dwarvish for GARDEN-SMITER?

The Very Foundations

2008-06-25T21:07:00.000+01:00

Nick is surveying the scene. The pins and the strings have gone a bit skew-wiff since yesterday.

Here's all the big bits of stone that we're going to make this wall out of. It's a bit higgledy piggledy at the moment but hopefully it will get easier and easier as the stones go into the wall and off the floor.

There are all the smaller bits down the garden, they'll be used in the top parts of the wall when we get round to it. The plastic bags are full of halfbricks from the fireplace smashing which we will use to level the ground on the inside of the wall. The weather was pretty drizzly when we started.

Marking out the foundations, this is the exciting first step so we can get an idea of what the wall is going to look like. At this point, in my head it's nearly finished.

The first two stones are in! They're a pair of beauties aren't they?

Half way through the foundations and it's time to call it a day. At this rate it's going to take a year! It's quality not quantity though I like to think. We're going to get up early tomorrow and have a good full day at it. I reckon we will get 2 or 3 courses done fingers crossed. The string on the right shows what height the ground on the inside will come up to. I think we're going to end up about 2 feet up from that if we've got enough stone.

Genesis of MegaGarden

2008-06-21T09:38:00.000+01:00

I've been thinking about rebuilding our garden for a while now. It's on a steep slope so we need a lot of stone. I got 6 tons of the stuff delivered last Friday and managed to get it all piled up in the garden by Monday.

There's the stone!

Somehow we had to get it up the hill at the side of the houses, round the neighbour's gardens and into ours! Thanks to Jim, Stuart, Nick, Zoe, Mum & Dad.

Jim and my Dad smashing the shed to bits. They were totally in their element.

That was a good shade of green.

The fire was causing the concrete patio to explode like fireworks. Much more exciting than your regular campfire.

Mum and Jim keeping a safe distance - it was getting a bit scary.

There's the last of the shed going up. The pile of stone in the front was from Stuarts outside loo, the big bits at the back had been picked for the foundations of the wall and the pile of rubble behind them came out of our Inglenook (but that's another story). The 5 foot painting of giraffes on the Serengeti (creosote on plywood) was accidentally done by me when I was fixing the shed last year. I was thinking of keeping it but we needed more fire for burgers at the end of the day.

Actually we did save one bit of the shed for sentimental value...