advice please - stepped gardens

My wife and I are considering buying a house with a stepped/terraced garden but this is a major issue for us because we would want to level it out to some degree. I would really appreciate any advice on how easy and expensive this would be.

The garden itself is built on 4 levels, 3 of which I would like to level-out to give our two young children more space to roam.
I estimate that to bring the second and third steps up to the same height as the first step I would require something like 2250 cubic feet of soil/filler (the average dimensions being 30 x 25 x 2.5). I also understand that I will have to factor in 'compacting' (forgive the ignorance I know nothing about gardening/landscaping).

So my questions would be, based on these approximations:

- what materials can I use and how much will I need of each? I'm guessing that I can buy a couple of feet of cheaper fill and then add 12 inches of top soil or something to that effect???
- there is no real access to the garden except via a side gate so I'm anticipating buying the materials, dumping the soil in the front garden and then taking it through via wheelbarrow myself (how many trips!) to the back garden. Then I suppose I'll have to pay for a professional to roll the soil and lay the turf for me. Can I really manage it the wheelbarrow route with this many tonnes of soil? Any idea of the costs of getting someone to handle the garden once the materials are in the back?
- am I on a lost cause? any idea how much will all this cost me?

thanks in advance, Marc

 

Marc it seems you might well need a helping hand or two or three!

Just depends how much spare time you have, what time span you're looking for it to be completed and if you have a large group of friends and a couple of crates of beer.

Either way it might well cost you a bob or two to do the job, but I'm sure you and your family will enjoy all the benefits from all the hard work...maybe not this summer now but next year for sure.

I wish you well with your gardening adventures.
Helen.xxx.

 

Hi Marc and welcome. if you are doing this yourself I hope you have a big wheelbarrow because by my reckoning ( and I`ve been wrong before ) you are going to need to import about 20 tons of material. I`m a professional gardener and there is no way I would tackle that on my own. David.

 

thanks guys.
good grief - 20 tonnes! won't need the gym any more...

I guess I could put decking on the lowest step and raise it up that way? Dai - what do you think?

And in terms of materials what coudl I use as filler or should it all be soil at that depth?

 

Madc it`s not the gym you`d need it`s a physiotherapist. Decking would be an easier option and you could tailor it to the family needs, ie, sitting area, barbecue or viewing area.Properly fenced off it could even become a play area for the children. David.