Luckily the slabs were easy to remove, however since this was the site of an old primary school (now turned in to houses) there was no end to the layers of concrete, bricks, tarmac, more concrete underneath the original slabs. All of this was to be removed taking into account proximity to next doors lounge adjoining the lawn area.
I picked up a pick axe for the very first time and soon mastered the art of taking aim at whatever materials were to be removed including my ankles. Although affective at breaking up some parts of the surface we would need days of hard labour to take up this area which was about 3m x 3m. It was time to hire in the concrete breaker, but being 3 o'clock on an Easter Saturday, everything was to go on hold until Tuesday.
Tuesday came and within half a day we had taken up and removed just about everything down to the top soil. With the preparation complete now came the fun part. Bringing in the soil to bring it up to the required level, compacting it and readying it for the lawns to be laid.
Knowing we would be finished within the day I set off back to the nursery for the 4th time today to get the turfs and with the aid of a Stanley knife to cut them in. The new courtyard lawn was laid ready for a summer of outdoor entertainment for family friends and especially Jacob, Joe and Hannah's 4 year old son.
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| Patio slabs removed, lets get this concrete up with these picks. We should have this laid before tea! |
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| Closer inspection reveals layer upon layer of bricks, concrete, tarmac and... concrete |
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| This should do it! |
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| The finished article. |
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| Home sweet home! |
REFLECTIVE COMMENTS
This was no easy task but any means but reasonably quick to complete and with practice with the required tooling can be completed in a day by two people.
I was shown how to level the land and apply mulch and sharp sand to break the soil level to give it a more even finish. The lawn rolls butted right up to each other to leave no gaps, access planks we laid to walk over the lawn. I was shown how and why to butt the edges of the lawn down with the back of the rake. I witnessed and practiced cutting the turfs to fit the more awkward spaces. This all helped in my development and I feel I could now do this alone and shown others how it should be done the best way.
The results were perfect and I look forward to being invited to the first garden warming party!!
