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

Day 7

View previous day here

Coffee.

Laying blockwork

Laying block work

Using a Marshalltown bricklaying trowel I apply the 4;1 ratio mortar to the top face of the plumb 225mm wide 7 Newton concrete blockwork, the thickness of the mortar bed on which each block is installed shall be 12-15mm.

For brickwork the bed and uniform perpend thickness will be 10mm.

Laying on the mortar

Laying on the mortar

I construct the two ends of the landscape rear garden feature wall, these are known as quions. Two courses of concrete blockworks are constructed on top of each other, staggering the blocks by means of two hall blocks on the next two courses insures this bond is locked together giving maximum strength to the overall bonding.

My mortar is creamy and easy to use, I'm not breaking by wrist trying to take a trowel full each time.

Plumb block wall

As I build by quion I insure the block work is level and plumb, by taking care constructing both quoins means I can use brick pins and a string line and run the block work in quickly, the larger the run the quicker you become as the preparation of the plumb quions allows you to use the spirit level less.

However, I do like to check my work every 20 / 30 blocks... habit or ocd.. I don't know.

Final sub base levelling

Sub base levelling

As I run the blockwork in, one member of the team sets the laser level receiving eye at the top of raised paving level from the datum, four road pins are installed on each corner of the Marshalls fairstone caramel cream raised seating area.

The two pins next to the open footings are set to 75mm below finished paving level, allowing 50mm full mortar bed and 25mm for the Marshalls high quality paving slab product.

Yes, we know the patio paving is 22mm thick !!.

The level for the two pins at the point of the step are adjust to allow a very slight run off for the surface water, I cant have my clients wine glass sliding off the glass top black rattan table can I?

You'll note that all levels are marked TOP OF TAPE for all string-line work.

Any person that walks through my string lines and snaps them are in debt to me by £10....

Final wacker compaction

Final wacker compaction

The raised seating area now has two consolidated layers of 50mm hardcore sub base stone material and each layers has a minimum of three passes of the wacker compactor plate to each layer.

This sub base is ready for patio paving, just not yet, I have footings, block work, lighting, beadwork, scratch coat, top render and two coats of very dark graphite to paint first.

Clean site, fill up water butts, cover walling with Hessian, etc, and clean tools.

Tomorrows blog:

Landscaping on a Marshalls kitchen garden

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Dougie replied to Dougie's discussion Lawnmower service
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21 hours ago
Dougie replied to Dougie's discussion Lawnmower service
"Thanks i will just order sone of  non genuine blades what cN you advuce on the oil levels i have two  different pictures with the level are different "
21 hours ago
Peter sellers replied to Dougie's discussion Lawnmower service
"Dougie we can't tell any difference, our mowers are doing a lot of commercial work on some very rough ground and depending on how many stones they hit non gen will last the best part of a season. As non gen are relatively cheap we usually replace…"
23 hours ago
Dougie replied to Dougie's discussion Lawnmower service
"Hi peter i havent tried it out yet i wont be using it  until april time was just ordering service parts for it and the honda blades were about £90 and the after market ones were about £30 was wondering if there any difference if they might last…"
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Orsolya Magyari replied to John F's discussion Fence Panels ( Easiest to reduce in Length )
"You're very welcome! What a brilliant coincidence - funny how things resurface like that.  Sounds like a satisfying job all round (except for the greyhound, of course!)."
yesterday
Peter sellers replied to Dougie's discussion Lawnmower service
"Hi Dougie. Tried that HRX out yet? We have used non gen blades for years wherever they are available. Can't see any difference at all."
yesterday
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yesterday
Dougie posted a discussion
I am just about to do my annual service on my lawnmower and i am wondering if you put on genuine blades or aftermarket ones did you notice any difference? 
Saturday
Dougie replied to Dougie's discussion Honda 537 HRX
"I just build one useing decking boards with a couple of straps 4ft"
Saturday
Honey Badger replied to Dougie's discussion Honda 537 HRX
"I use and 8ft scaffold board cut in half for a ramp."
Saturday
Honey Badger replied to Luke Stockbridge 's discussion Sthil km Rc94
"I had to buy one of those to adjust the carb on my br450. I think it's a 4mm hex. Standard sockets are to thick. Never seen the plastic bits before. Could they be some kind of adjustment add?"
Saturday
Andrew Betteridge replied to Andrew Betteridge's discussion Diseased tree.
"I walked around the National Trust Dyrham Park near Bath this afternoon and stopped to look at this tree stump, which has also caught my attention in the past. 
Any thoughts on what has happened to it?
When I first saw it several years ago, my first…"
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Andrew Betteridge replied to Andrew Betteridge's discussion Diseased tree.
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Luke Stockbridge posted a discussion
Hi all I need some helpive brought a new carburettor when I installed it I went to go to tune it but my 4mm hex don't fit any more!I'm unsure if it's still a hex, but smaller I was given a part no 5910 890 2311  but what's the plastic discs for if…
Friday
John F replied to John F's discussion Fence Panels ( Easiest to reduce in Length )
"Thanks for sharing Orsolya .
Tis indeed an old post but by very strange coincidence I was decluttering my filing cabinet yesterday and came across the paperwork relating to this job which I filed Five years ago .
In the end I chose lap fencing as…"
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Sthil km Rc94

Hi all I need some helpive brought a new carburettor when I installed it I went to go to tune it but my 4mm hex don't fit any more!I'm unsure if it's still a hex, but smaller I was given a part no 5910 890 2311  but what's the plastic discs for if…

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