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

Day 10

View previous day here

Coffee.

Electric ducting installed

Electric ducting installation

The trench depth for the 60mm diameter black ribbed duct is hand dug at 300mm, I still have an additional 100mm of consolidated sub base to install bringing the overall depth to the required 400mm.

This particular ducting product comes with a draw cord inserted within the duct, as a rule of thumb I would tie two pieces of timber at each end of the ducting so not to loose the cord, then cover with plastic to stop debris falling in the duct, then the appropriate colour code tape is wrapped around the end of the ducting.

However, on this occasion I insert all the electric cable for the project with a meter spare at each end.  The pre installed draw cord is left in the duct in-case additional cables or a later replacement may be required.

Sub base back fill

Sub base back fill

The ducting is backfilled with the 40mm to dust to a level of 150mm from finish floor level, FFL,  and consolidated.

Electrical warning tape installed 

Electrical warning tape installed

The trench is semi backfilled to the required level of 150mm below FFL and the ducting is marked with electrical warning tape.

Once the entire ducting has been taped the trench is filled and consolidated in 100mm layers, compacted until the required height of fill is reached.

Ducting trench compaction

Ducting trench compaction

No my team member isn't about to run the wacker plate over the mixer cable, the mixer is unplugged before three passes on each layer is consolidated, all our trenches or any back fill is built up in 75-100mm layers and compacted, the seven perimeter raised black limestone planters with up lighters have been left open for the later looping of the electrical cable.

Recess's wall brickwork

Recess wall brick work

The brick work is installed to the rear of the two recess walls, six courses are required for each wall. I run five courses at present and will finish the last course of brickwork once the mortar has gone off, making the final course so much easier to lay.

Friday clean down

Friday clean down

I rarely see any of my clients past or present whilst I'm building their dream garden, so I try to put myself in their position.

Each Friday evening the team will carry out what's known as our "Friday clean down", I know that all my clients will walk onto the project together over the weekend and view what's been created throughout the week and visualise together the finished landscaped garden, so the site is left as tidy and safe as possible, windows, sills are washed of dust and all components to the garden build up are stowed away.

Landscaping feature walling

Landscaping feature walling

I'm unable to complete the walling as I await my final lintel, I'm assured this will be with me by Monday, shame really as I would have liked the walling to be going off over the weekend.

Tomorrows blog:

Garden water reflection pond preparation

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Open forum activity

Angela Sharp replied to Andrew B's discussion Quoting yearly and billing monthly for domestic clients?
"I too often charge by the hour but that's partly because I want to know when I can leave, and when I can get to my next client. I really don't see a problem with it but I only work for private clients, only go to two clients a day, many of them…"
8 hours ago
Fusion Media posted a blog post
Hunter Grinders, part of the Howardson Group, is excited to announce its presence at BTME 2025, where the cutting-edge Jupiter ATI 'All-in-One' Grinder will be on display at Stand 217.The Jupiter ATI 6.0: Elevating PrecisionThe Jupiter ATI 6.0 is a…
9 hours ago
Fusion Media posted a blog post
The SISIS team, part of the Howardson Group, is set to bring its cutting-edge turf maintenance machinery to BTME 2025. Located on Stand 252, SISIS will display a range of products designed to enhance turf care across golf courses, sports grounds,…
10 hours ago
Fusion Media posted a blog post
Dennis Mowers, part of the Howardson Group, will be at BTME 2025 in Harrogate this January, exhibiting their innovative range of turf maintenance machinery.Visit Stand 252 to see the latest advancements designed to deliver exceptional results for…
10 hours ago
Richard Shelton replied to Helen Fresson's discussion Day rate for landscaping?
"Inflation has nothing to do with it. Things like minimum or a decent wage do. This has been running much higher than inflation over the last few years."
10 hours ago
Tim Bucknall replied to Andrew B's discussion Quoting yearly and billing monthly for domestic clients?
"Planting I would tend to price as a one-off.  Weeding etc is just experience.  I find a useful starting point is that the beds can often take about the same time as mowing, but obviously that can vary massively."
14 hours ago
Fusion Media posted a blog post
The Howardson Group is pleased to announce that Tom Worthy has joined the team as Regional Sales Director. Tom brings a wealth of experience and a deep-rooted passion for the turf care industry.Upon leaving school Tom joined the John Deere Turf Tech…
15 hours ago
Anthony Toop replied to Andrew B's discussion Quoting yearly and billing monthly for domestic clients?
"We quote a price per visit and then with that have an expected time per visit, say 1 hour. But we also stipulate that that time is not set in stone, and can vary depending on weather, time of year and task at hand. So a particular visit might be…"
yesterday
Anthony Toop replied to Helen Fresson's discussion Day rate for landscaping?
"Hi Adam, I'm curious, if you increased your rates by 10 to 15% each year and not by actual inflation, after a few years didn't you start to price yourself out of the market?
 "
yesterday
Intelligent Gardening replied to Andrew B's discussion Quoting yearly and billing monthly for domestic clients?
"The task is weed the garden.... when does that finish? "
Saturday
Peter sellers replied to Helen Fresson's discussion Day rate for landscaping?
"Bryn, it's not easy but don"t let that put you off.
Assume you have a website?
The majority.of our commercial work has been gained by firstly identifying the sites we want to maintain and then approaching the businesses in person by calling in or…"
Saturday
Richard Shelton replied to Helen Fresson's discussion Day rate for landscaping?
"We are currently working on an average of £45 to £50 per hour per person, plus vat. This does not include the cost of re planting, mulching etc. Another area we are looking at is the cost of tipping green waste. We work on commercial grounds…"
Saturday
Bryn Evans replied to Helen Fresson's discussion Day rate for landscaping?
"This is great to see Peter, this is what I've been aiming for a last couple of years.  I always get priced out of commercial because I don't have the machinery yet , but it's getting there. Any advice on how to get more comms work?
 
Thanks"
Saturday
Graham Taylor replied to Peter sellers's discussion Van security
"I use a Bulldog wheel clamp on the trailer and those round "Limpet" type locks on the rear and side doors.  We're in a bad area for Pikies driving past and nicking anything thats not bolted down so this security has worked well for many years. …"
Friday
Adam Woods replied to Andrew B's discussion Quoting yearly and billing monthly for domestic clients?
"Andrew... I will answer another one of your queries... I always used to charge by the hour (I know not the cleverest, but it worked for me). If a client wanted me to come to them on a regular basis we agreed how many hours that would be before visit…"
Friday
Andrew B replied to Andrew B's discussion Quoting yearly and billing monthly for domestic clients?
"Thanks Tim, its the system i'd like to use, but not 100% sure i'm good enough at estimating how long certain tasks take, Hedges or lawncutting is easy to calculate, digging, weeding or planting...not so easy to estimate time wise so Im still a bit…"
Friday
More…

Van security

Wondered what others are using in the way of physical, not electronic or technological  security devices. We are only concerned with overnight security to deter the the vehicle being stolen and the serious consequences of a complete van and contents…

Read more…
1 Reply · Reply by Graham Taylor on Friday
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