Hello everyone,
Yesterday we had the landscaper come for an inspection – the desert is starting to take shape in my mind; let’s see what the budget will allow in the end.
Our building supervisor originally recommended installing a gravel splash guard around the house with a drainage pipe inside it that would lead to the rainwater system.
The landscaper now says the pipe isn’t necessary since the volume of water will simply drain away. He would make the splash guard 40 cm (16 inches) wide, up to about 15–20 cm (6–8 inches) below the windowsill (which is where the black waterproof membrane ends). Gravel at the bottom, crushed stone on top.
He would remove the mineral mix from the construction road and reuse it as a base for the parking space and driveway. If there’s any left over, he plans to form it into a half-round mound. On top of that, we’d lay field stones and create a second small patio, which would get both morning and evening sun.
He estimates that the 75 cubic meters (97.5 cubic yards) of topsoil from our soil pile would be spread out, but he expects to need an additional 20 cubic meters (26 cubic yards). He recommends a 25 cm (10 inch) topsoil layer for everything except the lawn.
The last point is the hedge, which he could provide – it’s quite a few meters, so it’s questionable whether the budget will cover it; but who knows. He recommends Portuguese laurel (Prunus lusitanica) because it doesn’t grow too aggressively.
Thanks for your opinions.
Yesterday we had the landscaper come for an inspection – the desert is starting to take shape in my mind; let’s see what the budget will allow in the end.
Our building supervisor originally recommended installing a gravel splash guard around the house with a drainage pipe inside it that would lead to the rainwater system.
The landscaper now says the pipe isn’t necessary since the volume of water will simply drain away. He would make the splash guard 40 cm (16 inches) wide, up to about 15–20 cm (6–8 inches) below the windowsill (which is where the black waterproof membrane ends). Gravel at the bottom, crushed stone on top.
He would remove the mineral mix from the construction road and reuse it as a base for the parking space and driveway. If there’s any left over, he plans to form it into a half-round mound. On top of that, we’d lay field stones and create a second small patio, which would get both morning and evening sun.
He estimates that the 75 cubic meters (97.5 cubic yards) of topsoil from our soil pile would be spread out, but he expects to need an additional 20 cubic meters (26 cubic yards). He recommends a 25 cm (10 inch) topsoil layer for everything except the lawn.
The last point is the hedge, which he could provide – it’s quite a few meters, so it’s questionable whether the budget will cover it; but who knows. He recommends Portuguese laurel (Prunus lusitanica) because it doesn’t grow too aggressively.
Thanks for your opinions.
Hello,
I wouldn’t want to do without drainage. It’s better to have a bit more drainage than too little in case of heavy rain. In addition to the house drainage installed by the site contractor, I also installed a second drainage system behind our terrace.
We planted our hedge ourselves as well. Along a length of 40m (approximately 130 feet), I dug a trench with a spade and shovel, about 30cm (12 inches) deep and 30cm (12 inches) wide, and planted hornbeam seedlings from the local nursery in it. The cost of the seedlings (height about 1m (3 feet)) was 360 euros (4 pieces per linear meter x 2 euros). The seedlings are significantly cheaper than potted plants, but they are only available at certain times of the year.
I wouldn’t want to do without drainage. It’s better to have a bit more drainage than too little in case of heavy rain. In addition to the house drainage installed by the site contractor, I also installed a second drainage system behind our terrace.
We planted our hedge ourselves as well. Along a length of 40m (approximately 130 feet), I dug a trench with a spade and shovel, about 30cm (12 inches) deep and 30cm (12 inches) wide, and planted hornbeam seedlings from the local nursery in it. The cost of the seedlings (height about 1m (3 feet)) was 360 euros (4 pieces per linear meter x 2 euros). The seedlings are significantly cheaper than potted plants, but they are only available at certain times of the year.
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