- Hi my name is Claire and I'm wondering if you kind people can help.
We havent been in our house long but have already uncovered lots of bodged work, which we are slowly correcting. We have started to do work in the garden and found another potential problem.
We aren't stopping and are hoping to put the house up for sale next year. We want to make things safe but don't want to expend lots of time and energy.
We have a large L shaped raised decked area which is rotten in large parts including the beams/ supports. Some of the smaller section may be salvageable.
The decking is about four foot off the ground and measures about 8 x 4 metres (the longest part of the L) and 5 x 5 m (the shortest part of the L)
The square area forming the corner of the L is stone with a shed on top
The front edge of the decking rests on a stone wall .
The decked area backs on to two dry stone walls with a sloped field / hill behind. Water drains from the field and our garden can be quite muddy.
When we've lifted some of the rotten decking boards the area beneath is filled with what I can only describe as mud / sludge. There is some kind of membrane around it. I assume to protect the wood. The entire area beneath the decking appears to be filled to about 3 feet high with the mud. So I estimate at least several tonnes.
The majority if not all the decking has to go as its rotten and dangerous. I think the mud is giving some kind of structural stability to the dry stone walls. I am concerned that if it were removed it would affect the walls and stone area that the shed is on.
I'm wondering if there are other solutions.
1) add soil and plant it? Possibly creating a couple of tiers with stone walls to provide support.
2) Build a wall to the front and sides. Then use stone flags / gravel / concrete to pave it
3) A mix of these.
What are your thoughts. Your help is very much appreciated, thank you in advance. Hopefully I've managed to attach some photos
- Hi my name is Claire and I'm wondering if you kind people can help.
We havent been in our house long but have already uncovered lots of bodged work, which we are slowly correcting. We have started to do work in the garden and found another potential problem.
We aren't stopping and are hoping to put the house up for sale next year. We want to make things safe but don't want to expend lots of time and energy.
We have a large L shaped raised decked area which is rotten in large parts including the beams/ supports. Some of the smaller section may be salvageable.
The decking is about four foot off the ground and measures about 8 x 4 metres (the longest part of the L) and 5 x 5 m (the shortest part of the L)
The square area forming the corner of the L is stone with a shed on top
The front edge of the decking rests on a stone wall .
The decked area backs on to two dry stone walls with a sloped field / hill behind. Water drains from the field and our garden can be quite muddy.
When we've lifted some of the rotten decking boards the area beneath is filled with what I can only describe as mud / sludge. There is some kind of membrane around it. I assume to protect the wood. The entire area beneath the decking appears to be filled to about 3 feet high with the mud. So I estimate at least several tonnes.
The majority if not all the decking has to go as its rotten and dangerous. I think the mud is giving some kind of structural stability to the dry stone walls. I am concerned that if it were removed it would affect the walls and stone area that the shed is on.
I'm wondering if there are other solutions.
1) add soil and plant it? Possibly creating a couple of tiers with stone walls to provide support.
2) Build a wall to the front and sides. Then use stone flags / gravel / concrete to pave it
3) A mix of these.
What are your thoughts. Your help is very much appreciated, thank you in advance. Hopefully I've managed to attach some photos
Lee Burkhill: Award Winning Designer & BBC 1's Garden Rescue Presenters Official Blog
To my Newsletter
To my YouTube channel