A Landscapers garden preparation Devon

An insight to the daily life of a garden design and landscaping build up on a rear garden located in Cullompton, Exeter, Devon.

Day 2

View previous day here

Coffee.

I requested a larger machine to move the stock pile of rubble as the previous hired excavator struggled to meet the projects demands. You never can tell what belt of ground lies below the surface topsoil.

Clean site, Clean work vicinity

Road sweeping

Now that the micro excavator has been replaced with a 1.5 ton machine, the roads are swept clear to eliminate any future problems that may arise from peeved neighbours, this and parking are the two most common problems that have risen in the past..... a long time ago I must say.

Again common courtesy goes along way.

Garden Clearance

Garden clearance

Now the excavator has been checked for oil, water and red diesel, the rubble can be moved into reach of the Hiab grab. I set the revs to a touch off high and operate the digger until the pile is relocated.

In the mean time the team mark out the retaining wall footings and hand dig to 500mm below finish floor level.

As a rule I'm a firm believer of allowing the excavator to do it's job, however, on this occasion it's a hand dig as I cant slue round with out fear of knocking this 2m high 100mm wall !!

 Hand digging the feature wall footings

Hand dig footings

A 2m high x 225 wide feature T shaped 7 newton block wall with recesses and stainless steel up lighters will be constructed on 600mm wide x 500mm deep Rc 35 structural concrete, the team makes short work of this minor hand dig. We've hand dug on landscaping projects were goats refuse to venture !!

With the ditching bucket I have cut the footings which will accommodate the exterior garden BBQ and kitchen area, the later gas bottle and all electrical ducting, lighting, pump switches will be out of sight in the cupboard space below the work surface.

Diesel machine at the end of the day

Diesel machine at end of day

With half of the feature wall footings dug, the decking dig reduced to the correct levels and the days drawing in way to quickly for my liking, I start to cut and reduce the raised seating area, riser and half of the main paving and led reflection pool area by eye.

Having an "eye for a level" cannot be bought and takes years of practice to gain...... I wont be far out once the team dip tomorrow with the laser level.

Clean site, secure all tools and diesel the excavator, never diesel up in the mornings as the fuel tank is half full or less and will collect condensation over night.

Every day the garden will be kept tidy once we have completed our goals.

Tomorrows blog:

Groundworks on a Landscape Garden Exeter

Votes: 0
E-mail me when people leave their comments –

You need to be a member of Landscape Juice Network to add comments!

Join Landscape Juice Network

Open forum activity

Joseph Taylor is now a member of Landscape Juice Network
yesterday
Andrew Steele is now a member of Landscape Juice Network
yesterday
Gary Bashford replied to john newton's discussion Which mulching mower to choose
"We use and supply Grin mowers, by far the best dedicated mulchers we have used in build and cut quality.
Please feel free to give me a call for prices and more info, we are able to offer discounts to LJN members; 07894 10787."
Wednesday
Fusion Media posted a blog post
Dennis has unveiled its latest advancement in sustainable technology: the Multi Charger Hub. This new product significantly enhances the efficiency and convenience of charging their acclaimed E-Series battery-powered mowers.The E-Series, known for…
Tuesday
Dougie replied to Dougie's discussion Honda 537 HRX
"Thanks for the tip looks like a decent machine think i might need to build a ramp to get it in and out the van "
Tuesday
Peter sellers replied to Dougie's discussion Honda 537 HRX
"Dougie, top tip run the back wheels on setting number 3 and don't alter this adjust the height of cut on the front wheels. We generally use 2 or 1.5 it collects/mulches much better with the back wheels set 1 setting higher than the front. Hope you…"
Tuesday
Honey Badger replied to john newton's discussion Which mulching mower to choose
"I second hrx 537 hy"
Tuesday
Dougie replied to Dougie's discussion Honda 537 HRX
"I have just received my hrx 537 looks a lot bigger than my older machine  look forward to trying it out"
Tuesday
Honey Badger replied to Dougie's discussion Honda 537 HRX
"Lawnflite, kaaz and weilbang are clones of old honda models. Just saying."
Tuesday
Honey Badger replied to Dougie's discussion Honda 537 HRX
"I love my hrx537 "
Tuesday
Mark Wilkinson replied to Dougie's discussion Honda 537 HRX
"Likewise ✅"
Tuesday
Mark Wilkinson replied to Richard Harding's discussion Lawn cut prices 2025
"Interesting."
Tuesday
Mark Wilkinson replied to Nigel McDonald's discussion waste carriers licence
"Good call!!
Just renewed mine actually."
Tuesday
Mark Wilkinson replied to Dougie's discussion Honda 537 HRX
"Honda are absolutely brilliant at making motorcycles but very poor at making mowers compared to Hayter Pro which are far superior in the dry but is like mowing seaweed in the wet compared to a Lawnflite Pro which beats them both in the wet.…"
Tuesday
Nigel McDonald posted a discussion
Good day all,The waste carriers licence.I have just upgraded my registration from local authority to Gov.uk. To be honest my local authority could well have been out of date.As someone who only transports his own waste its free, so well worth…
Feb 9
Richard Harding replied to Dougie's discussion Honda 537 HRX
"No roller but the stone guard does lay down a half reasonable stripe, even when mulching."
Feb 8
More…

Honda 537 HRX

Hi i am interested in getting a new mower i am  looking at the Honda 537 HRX HY and the honda  476 hrx hy does anyone have both of these machines whats the difference just the size soeed and collect the same? Thanks in advance 

Read more…
24 Replies · Reply by Dougie on Tuesday
Views: 549