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How To Repair A Pothole In Gravel Driveways

When the integrity of your gravel driveway is impaired not only does it have a negative impact on the curb appeal of your property, but also makes your driveway a danger zone. If your driveway needs to be repaired, you’d simply have to grab the bull by the horn and get it done - the sooner, the better to avoid the problem getting worse and to have your beautiful gravel driveway back as soon as possible.

The major cause of potholes in driveways is usually water, when it gets trapped beneath the surface of the driveway. Therefore, you may also want to enhance the drainage in the area as part of your repair. The repair process is quite simple for confident do-it-yourselfers, but if otherwise, then calling in a reliable professional will save you some time and extra money that can result from possible errors. So how do you repair gravel driveway potholes?

✓ Prepare the area. This involves removing all forms of debris from the pothole. To achieve this, you can rake, shovel or brush the loose stones, soil and other debris from the pothole.

✓ Fill the pot hole. Make use of a coarse gravel to fill up the pothole to a depth of about 3 inches beneath the driveway’s level. Upon the filling, simply tamp down the coarse gravel using a commercial tamper or any available homemade option. Once done, the final 3 inches to the surface of the gravel driveway should then be filled up with gravel which perfectly matches the colour and texture of the remaining driveway.

✓ Compact the patch. To achieve this in an easy and fast way, simply run your car’s wheel up and down over the repaired spot gently a couple of times. This will be enough to compact the patch and seal the pothole.

Yes, although you should make sure that the terrace or decking is able to support the weight of a hot tub. Usually, you will need to have a structural survey carried out on the area. Seek the advise of a hot tub retailer or installer about the logistics of installing one at your property.

How To Draw A Garden Landscaping Plan

Are you thinking about constructing a new garden landscape? Do you have an existing one but forgot where you planted those tulip bulbs the previous autumn? Or perhaps you’re just trying to identify the exact spot where you cut back that clump of wilted foxglove, without mistakenly digging it up. For everything to be much easier when it comes to a garden landscape, it’s always a wise decision to draw a garden landscaping plan.

To get started, let’s take a look at the materials you’ll need to acquire. These includes a piece of white paper on which the existing elements on your garden will be plotted, a piece of tracing paper and tape to give options for planned additions, a pencil, an eraser as well as a measuring tape.

For more accuracy while drawing your plan, you’ll need to measure the garden’s distances, perimeter, the existing garden beds size as well as the trees’ and shrubs’ shape and size.

• Write down the measurements taken on the scrap paper.

• Assuming it’s a medium sized backyard garden that’s 18 feet wide, we allocated a scale of 3 feet to equal an inch.

• Using a piece of white paper (could be graph if you wish) and a pencil, carefully outline the perimeter of the space. Once done, you can then sketch in the existing plants as well as other special features on the space (features that are of a permanent nature like trees, fences and paths).

• Hold a piece of tracing paper and tape in on top. Then you can sketch out the plants you wish to add to fill in the spaces in the garden on the tracing paper.

Driveways usually sink because they haven’t been laid properly. They may not have been dug deep enough, or the installer might not have used the right materials. This will need to be corrected at the earliest opportunity, although in extreme cases, the driveway may need to be completly be relaid.

1. Plan your shed base You must have a sturdy base for your shed, otherwise the frame won’t stand properly and could stop the door from opening. Decide whether you’re going to have:
   • A concrete base laid on hardcore
   • Concrete slabs on sharp sand
   • Treated wood beams on hardcore or shingle
   • An interlocking plastic system
   All bases should be laid on firm, level ground as far as possible.
2. Treat wood with preservative To help your shed last as long as possible, you should coat all the wooden parts with timber preservative before you put it together.
3. Put the shed floor together Some will need more assembly than others, but you need to make sure that the floor panel is attached to the joists; follow the manufacturer’s instructions for the correct spacing.
4. Put up the shed walls
   • Mark the centre point of each wall on its bottom edge, then do the same for the shed floor so you can line them up together.
   • Stand the gable end on the base and line it up. Check that it’s vertical with a spirit level – you might need someone to support the panel while you do this. Use a temporary holding batten to keep it in place.
   • Fix a side panel to the gable end panel with countersunk screws, then add the second side panel in the same way.
   Don’t attach the panels to the floor until you’ve fitted your shed roof.
5. Fit the roof
   • If the shed comes with a support bar, put this in position before you put the roof panels in.
   • Nail the roof panels in place, ensuring there’s a parallel and equal overlap at each end.
   • Roll out some roofing felt from front to back, leaving a 50mm overlap at each side. Secure it with clout-headed felt tacks at 100mm intervals.
   • Apply mastic sealant to the outside corners, then fix each corner trim with 30mm nails.
   • Add the fascias and finials, predrilling 2mm holes to avoid splitting the wood. Nail them through the felt into the shed using 40mm nails.
6. Add the shed windows
   • Slide each windowsill into the tongue and groove cut out, then put the window cover strip in position, fixing it to the vertical framing.
   • From inside the shed, put the glazing sheets into the window rebates, making sure the bottom edge of the glazing sheets sit on the outside of the sill.
   • Fix the window beading on the top and sides with 25mm nails.
7. Fix the walls to the floor Before you do anything, make sure you check that the centre marks on the walls line up with the marks on the shed floor. Then fix the wall panels to the floor with 50mm screws, aligning them with the joists.
And that’s it! But if you’re not confident in building a shed yourself, there are plenty of professionals available who will be happy to help.

Do I Need A Gardener Or Landscaper?

This is a question that’s often asked by most homeowners across the globe. While it’s true that both gardener and landscaper can make your garden a lot more beautiful and pleasing to the eye, it’s also crucial to know the significant difference between the two professions.

So who is a landscaper? We have two types of landscapers: the landscape architect whose job is to design a landscape and a landscape builder whose job is to do the physical requirements of creating a landscape. Both types are very interrelated such that landscape architects can also be landscape builders or have one or more of the other type in same team (as most landscaping building projects will be supervised by a landscape architect).

Now the main difference between a landscaper and a gardener is the type or scope of work they’re qualified to undertake. Generally, landscapers require just one or more types of trade licences to work, meanwhile a gardener may or may not need a trade licence. So who is a gardener?

It’s the job of a gardener to come in and maintain the landscape garden once the landscape has successfully built the outdoor area. In other words, it’s part of a gardener’s services to prune plants, mow the lawns, do the weeding, fertilize your soil and much more. It’s not their job to construct a large retaining wall or a gazebo. And you can also be sure they won’t appear with a backhoe ready to sculpt your landscape.

Overall, deciding who to choose between a gardener and a landscape depends on the type or scope of work that’s required. With the aforementioned differences, you should be able to easily determine who to call when in need of a landscaping or gardening service.

When it comes to landscaping issues, lawn mushrooms are a very common occurrence. If you’re one of the several home and property owners who simply loves to have a great looking grass, finding mushrooms in your lawn can be a truly frustrating experience. However, with the right skills and knowledge the problem of mushroom growing in lawns can be resolved. If you don’t have the confidence required to carry out this task, then we’d recommend you call in a professional landscaper for help in order to avoid costly errors and unnecessary expenses. In this post, we’re going to put you through the processes involved in lawn mushroom removal.

First and foremost, let’s consider why mushrooms grow on lawns. To determine why mushrooms are growing on your lawn, simply examine the state of your lawn. Lawn mushrooms thrive in damp, shaded and organic waste rich environments. Figure out if you have drainage problems with supports the mushroom challenge, organic waste to be removed or perhaps you have areas on your yard that happens to be very shady.

In order to get rid of mushroom in your lawn, you’ll have to resolve your yard problems. If your lawn is very wet, try to find out if there are things you can do to minimize the moisture. You can reduce the decaying organic materials in your yard by raking your grass clippings, replacing existing mulch or detaching your lawn. If your yard happens to be quite shady, check if some targeted pruning can help to enable the access of more light to your yard. Also, you can apply a fungicide to eliminate the existing lawn mushrooms.