Landscaper or Builder?

Discussion in 'Garden Projects and DIY' started by Shaun, Aug 25, 2018.

  1. Shaun

    Shaun Gardener

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    Hahaha... that innocent little ditch can be very deceptive. It has on ocasiones overflowed with its torrents flooding the entire road. Luckily our home is at the top of the gradient, homes further down the road were not so lucky though :sad:
     
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    • Ned

      Ned Evaporated

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      Having looked at your pictures Shaun, and knowing how things can be in Hampshire, I would suggest that you need a reputable builder to look at the job. I would be considering some underpinning there to protect the garage.
      With those big plants against the wall, and the obvious use of the pathway, I suppose a retaining wall would be out of the question.
       
    • Mike Allen

      Mike Allen Total Gardener

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      Might be cheaper and easier to clear and prepare the drainage ditch and lay say a 12" dia pipe, then cover it over.
       
    • Ned

      Ned Evaporated

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      Don`t think it`s as easy as that Mike. The ditches are there for a very important and sometimes urgent reason - you can`t just go mucking about with them.
       
    • Mike Allen

      Mike Allen Total Gardener

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      C'mon Tetters. Surely you know me better than that. Fair do's. I enjoy so much being able to talk and share thoughts, feelings etc with folk.

      I think it was you who mentioned Hampshire. Forgive me if I'm mistaken. I love Hampshire especially the New Forest. My eldest daughter lives in East Boldre. Boy, when it rains there. It rains. Many area there are no pavements, not even drains as we city dwellers are used to. Following a downpour you can be ankle deep in water. Ten minutes later and it's all gone.

      Entry to Kerry's front garden and house. An open ditch runs across the frontage of these four dwellings. To gain access, the ditch has been piped for about 8-10 feet and covered over. For longer ditches, in some parts. Pipes have been laid, covered over and the some parts of the ditch/waterway has been left open. This allows for the rodding if required of the pipes.

      In the past, such pipe would have been glazed earthenware. Now poly whatsit pipe is rolled out for gas, water and waste, so much cheaper.
       
    • Ned

      Ned Evaporated

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      Where would we all be without Polly Wotsit.... never too old to learn something Mike. :love30:
       
    • Shaun

      Shaun Gardener

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      Many thanks all for the comments. One thing that’s very clear is that I need to be very careful not to restrict the flow in anyway because if the ditch overflowed after the work was carried out then I could be liable for any damage regardless of whether it would have overflowed or not had the work not been carried out. And while constructiing a long culvert and filling in the ditch is very appealing it would definitely restrict the flow especially if the culvert got blocked. So I would just be wasting an application fee because my local authority would never consent to such a plan.
       
    • Liz the pot

      Liz the pot Total Gardener

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      The fishery I own has a half mile lane which we also own with a run off ditch to one side. We have had the council inform us we can’t fill or add a pipe and that it must be cleared of obstructions.
      Can’t comment on the one above but our ditch runs into a local stream that runs along side the lake.
       
    • shiney

      shiney President, Grumpy Old Men's Club Staff Member

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      There used to be a ditch running along the front of our properties (3ft inside our boundaries) and in 1953 it was piped and covered. There are fifteen properties and they piped the 600yds along the front with the ditch left open at either end (runs for two miles alongside open fields). They used 3ft diameter pipes (can't imagine them doing that nowadays) and, in theory, they also take the rain water from the road gullies. There has never been any blockage problems.

      We have a peculiar situation as the ditch was originally the boundary between two District Councils. Nowadays nobody remembers who put the pipe in and both councils claim it has to be the other one as there are no records in either! They have now moved the boundary to the centre of the road and each council has taken responsibility for different services. Fortunately they are both in the same county so the road itself belongs to the county - until it meets the next county at the river where the ditch runs to.

      Just before the river is reached there is the railway, which is in one county whilst the station is in the other. Ain't life wonderful! :heehee:
       
    • Sheal

      Sheal Total Gardener

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      I certainly wouldn't use a landscaper and they are usually expensive. When I had a large soakaway dug out and replaced I used a recommended firm of Groundworkers.
       
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