How to hide a manhole cover !

Dear Gardeners,

My apologies if I have posted this in the wrong place but it is my very first post !

My tale of woe revolves around a manhole cover which we were not aware would be in the tiny (and I really mean tiny) garden of the brand new house we have bought.

It appears that in an area of lawn which is approximately 5m x 5m square, we will have a manhole cover slap bang in the middle. Its too late to have it moved and believe me we have tried to appeal to the builders better nature but it appears he does not have one. The real killer is that this manhole cover should remain accessible in case an inspection is required, this means that a large rock is placed on top is not a suitable solution

So, I am trying to find an ingenious way to cover this eyesore and leave the little lawn we have available as a suitable play area for our two very young children and their friends. The perfect solution would allow us to place an area of lawn over the cover in some sort of frame which could be removed when an inspection was necessary, but I cannot find such a miracle solution.

Does anyone please have any other ideas ?!?!?

Many thanks

 

Somebody had pics of planters they made for hiding manhole covers .Remember seeing them here somewhere .Hope someone will be able to provide the link to them.
Welcome to Gardeners Corner

 

If you had such a piece of lawn in a frame you would be forever watering it and when you went away you would come back to a square of dead grass. Stick something on top. A nice big ceramic pot with some plants in it. Or whether you could have a little bit of paving round it and then a bird bath or sun dial on a pedastol actually over the man hole cover

 

I put a nice trough filled with alpines on mine. Does the job a treat. Managed to get one that was exactly manole cover sized as well!! Until I read this, I'd quite forgotten the manhole was there!

 

I had to deal with a similar situation this summer. The previous owners of the house had covered the 2 inspection covers that were in their front lawn with wooden boxes, and planted them up with conifers, believe it or not! The new owners were horrified when I told them that was what was under these dead conifers in the rotting wooden frames that they wanted me to replace...

What I did was to make a wooden frame that would sit snugly round the covers, and put containers inside.

Here's the before


and what I made


I think I have a photo of them in situ, which would give a better idea - I'll have a look. If you're used to sawing wood, it's easy enough to do. If I can do it - anyone can! :D

 

here are the boxes in situ. The interesting thing was that they were on a slope, and the two wer very close, so it took a bit of planning to get the dimensions just right.....



The containers are nothing at all - they were just ones the customer had around, and I popped in some bedding plants I had around at the time, until they could decide on what they wanted. (Have to admit though, that when I went past the house several months later, the same containers were still there, still with the smae plants, but they lloked fine, with a standard fuchsia in the centre, and predominantly cineraria and ivy around it.

 

Welcome mabbiss I have seen them covered with old stone sinks and planted with trailing plants

Dendy those boxes are fantastic! Youre a very talented lady

 

Dendro - brilliant - I have never thought to make something to size.

The solution must be some sort of container like Dendro's with some height and perhaps also something trailing to soften and hide the edges.

 

Those are the pics I was thinking of Dendy

 

Elderly Aunt had a 'cut to fit' piece of artificial grass - matched her lawn a treat and just had to roll it back like a carpet when they needed to get to the manhole! :rolleyes:

 

im tempted to say that the man should pull up his trousers,but that would be rude,Sorry Nathen couldnt resist it :D :D

 

:D :D :D

 

Like it Jjordie!! But did she have to water it a lot? :rolleyes:

Thanks for the compliments, everyone! :D Mr D kept me right on how to do it, as it was the first time I'd actually made something out of wood, but I did do it all - and am very proud of it!

The solution has to take into account how much, if at all, the cover is proud of the ground. You'd have to deal with each one separately. We have on to, but we'll probably just put a nice pot on it, and anyone who wants to get access will just have to shift it.....

[ 01. November 2006, 08:35 PM: Message edited by: dendrobium ]

 

Thank you all so much for the excellent advice. I am currently torn between the astro turf, a feature like a bird bath or one of those awesome boxes but please keep the ideas coming if inspiration strikes !