Encouragement or a reality check

Well at least you have the right idea of tackling it in stages.
Its going to be more of a demolition job for a while. and probably going to look a lot worse before it starts to look better.

 

Looking forward to seeing your progress @Lucy Davies

 

Just lifted a plank - solid concrete underneath the whole thing! Looks quite thick. Also, at least a bit of rubble!


Will need to figure out a plan to keep the puppy from getting stuck underneath while I go on with it..!

 

What a shame, but at least you now know what you're dealing with.

 

Until you know how thick that concrete is and if it has hardcore under it its not clear what will be involved.
The other thing to bear in mind is disposal of all the old decking and the rubble/concrete.

 

I don’t think it would be worthwhile for me to remove the concrete myself. With the hiring of the jackhammer and my lack of knowledge, I think it would be frustrating and end up costing almost as much as hiring a professional. Will probably get a builder and skip for that.

I bet I can put the decking boards on Facebook as “free wood, collection only”, and someone would come and get it. It’s not all rotten. Wood is so expensive I could probably actually charge for it, tbh!

 

Yep, good thinking.

 

Ok, all it will take is effort !, patience, a bit of money(depending on choices) and determination to get to a conclusion.
Suggest you rationalise the design; and then mark it out on the decking, with chalk. Pick a fine day. Take a photo/sketch(s) Once you are happy, then mark out with permanent paint/painted nails, whatever.
Thats your plan.
Divide it up into seperate tasks, try to complete each before you move on.
Decide if any waste can be re-used (save budget, costs of disposal) In the interim, you could use the removed boards to frame openings in the deck to prevent the pup exploring underneath.
In 'to be planted' areas you may find you need to remove concrete completely, or just drill drainage so first job is to drill some holes and determine thickness and area: and perhaps discover what it was laid for.( Shed base ? well capping?, air raid shelter, outside closet ? just because they could !)
My suggestion to you, because its nearly Autumn, is to do the planning now, to do the preparation/construction as winter permits, ready for planting in the coming spring to enjoy next summer. A garden is never finished......

 

How old is the house? Is it an old backyard and original concrete? If it is I would forget doing anything with it. Tart it up/repair and go for pots and/or planters. Never would have thought of drilling holes in it, but would be worried if it is an old backyard.

 

When I hear loads of sun/south facing and rubble, I think of arid/Mediterranean gardening!
Researching these types of plants will give you a vast collection of easily managed species, for anything else there is always containers and tubs.
You're only limited by your own imagination.....and budget

 

The house is Victorian, but the concrete isn’t! I don’t exactly know why I feel I can say that for sure, but I’m pretty sure I can. You can see the edges where the house next door either removed theirs, or never had any - and these are terraces, all built at the same time, so it’s reasonable to say, it’s not a requirement for the house’s foundation, thankfully. I’m sort of resistant to the idea of leaving it and adding pots, etc, just because that’s what everyone has told me for so long about the decking - that I won’t be able to remove it, I’m being silly to think of trying, and why can’t I just be content with flower pots instead. Because of people (ok, ok, not people, my opinionated and pessimistic parents) telling me this so often, I’ve become more and more determined to get that decking (and now concrete) up and out! But of course, since I do plan to hire a builder to remove the concrete, I suspect he’ll be able to let me know if there’s a good reason to leave it.

I had never considered drilling holes for drainage, and then planting a garden on top! Would this be likely to work? I’ve genuinely never looked at a lawn or a garden and thought, “I wonder what that’s on top of…”, so I suppose it could be very common, and I’d have no idea. I think I could definitely keep part of it, as the base for a very small patio area, and path, though it is extremely ugly grey concrete so I would need something actually pretty on top of it like paving slabs - and in that case, is there any purpose to keeping the concrete underneath?

I like the idea of spending Autumn and Winter in demolition mode, and rebuilding in the Spring.
It will certainly take a very long time, I know that!

And when I say, “loads of sun”, I mean “loads of sun, considering it’s in the rainiest part of an extremely rainy country..”! The Beautiful South said it best:

 

It might be worth you looking at some of the recent articles on gardening on rubble, building waste etc such as this one Hardcore landscaping: how to grow a garden on sand, gravel and concrete

 

Here's my tuppence worth. Unless you have a budget big enough to get people in to clear it all out, you'll have to work with what you have @Lucy Davies, and do it in steps
Getting rid of anything bulky will always be a problem, but many councils have a clearance option, so check that out first.
Decking is a great medium if - it's in the right place, and if it's good quality. If you're set on having your patio, it would make sense to have the path to the gate of the same materials. Decking can be very slippery in wet weather, and through winter, so it's less ideal as a path. With paving or similar, you can always put some sand down if it's icy, and sweep it off later. Not so easy with decking.
Forget clearing what's underneath. Decking is often used to make a slope easier to deal with and create a level surface, although I can't see much of a slope in the pic.
Once you have the patio done [that's the first thing to do] clear the decking away, and go with your plan to have raised beds. Far easier than trying to sort what's underneath. I'd forget grass, because the area's small, and by the time you have your patio etc done, it won't be worth it. However, you can simply replace the old deck with new, which avoids all the problem of a slope and the underlying concrete/rubble. If you place it at an angle, ie- diagonally across the site, that helps create a more interesting space, and you can do the raised beds with the same material. There's only a problem with that concrete/rubble if there's waterlogging, but if water drains, there's no great need to worry about removing it. If you can do any of that work yourself, it'll save a fortune, but take time to plan where the beds are going.
Re the wall - you could remove as much of the loose render as you can, and see what it's like underneath. Again, unless you can afford to get someone to re do that, you could leave it, and disguise it with planting if you have beds there, adding trellis or similar screening to help hide it. It may even be a decent brick underneath which would actually be a nice feature. If it's just blockwork or similar, you can scrub it and use a standard masonry paint to make it look better.
A decent change still won't be cheap, so it comes down to what matters most, and what you can afford if you want someone in to sort the main parts. Hard landscaping is better done first, so think about the costs of your patio to start off with.

 

As is always the way Lucy, you will be bombarded with different advice .

We all look at the situation and decide how "we" would deal with it, but when all's said and done it's what you want to do that counts.
I hope all the responses you've received have been of some help in making your decisions, and really look forward to seeing what happens next.

PS I love the Beautiful South .

 

Hi Lucy! I lived in a Victorian terrace in Manchester about a million years ago. There was a bare area of earth near the back wall where the outside loo once stood, and the rest was solid concrete or brick. As a lot of those terraces followed a pattern, you might find the same bare soil towards the back, so if you are keen to plant, that might make it an easier place to start. Although I was already a keen gardener by that point, I knew my limitations and just planted up that space, with pots elsewhere.
As others have advised, do it in chunks, otherwise it can be disheartening.