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• Decking joists
• Coach screws
• Coach bolts
• Combi drill
• Socket set
• A saw suitable for your project and the thickness of the timber
• Pencil
• Decking preservative
• Sandpaper or sander

1. Measure your deck frame and cut to size if necessary.
2. Make 2 pencil marks on each end of the frame’s 2 outer joists to mark where the coach screws will go. They need to align with the centre of the adjoining outer joist. Then, use a flat wood drill bit to drill recesses into each mark. Make them the same depth of the screws that your using’s head and wide enough for a ratchet or socket to tighten them.
3. Using a thinner drill bit, line up the outer joists and drill a pilot hole through the middle of the recess. These pilot holes act as a guide for the screws and stops them from splitting the wood.
4. Fit the coach screws with either a drill driver or socket and ratchet.
5. Repeat the process for the inner joists once you’ve assembled the outer frame.

1. How to build a shed base out of paving slabs
   • Mix sand and cement together to make mortar or use a pre-mixed one
   • Use a trowel to lay mortar for 1 slab at a time on the sub-base and lift a damp-sided slab onto the mortar, using a piece of timber and club hammer to tap the slab into position carefully. Continue to lay the first row of slabs
   • Make equally-sized spacers in all the joints in the slabs to ensure they’re the same size, checking it’s level as you go along
   • Next lay slabs along the two adjacent outer edges, filling in the central area row by row
   • Leave the mortar to set according to the instructions or for at least 48 hours before filling in the joints with mortar or paving grout
2. Building a shed base from concrete
   • Create a wooden frame around your shed base area (also called formwork) to stop the concrete from spreading
   • Mix pre-mixed concrete with water or use 1 part cement to 5 parts ballast
   • Wet the sub-base using a watering can with a rose on the end
   • Pour the concrete onto the framed base starting in one corner
   • Push the blade of a shovel up and down in the edges of the concrete to get rid of air bubbles
   • Use a rake to spread the concrete, leaving it around 18mm higher than the top of the frame. Work in sections of around 1-1.m²
   • Compact the concrete using a straight piece of timber that’s longer than the width of the base. Move the timber along the site, hitting it along at about half of its thickness at a time until the surface is evenly ridged
   • Remove excess concrete and level the surface by sliding the timber back and forwards from the edge that you started. Fill in any depressions and repeat until even
   • Run an edging trowel along the frame to round off exposed edges of the concrete and prevent chipping
   • Cover the concrete with a plastic sheet raised on wooden supports to allow slow drying. Weigh it down with bricks
   • Once the concrete is set, you can install your shed and remove the wooden frame with a crowbar

If your lawn edges are overgrown, it can make an otherwise well-cared for lawn look unsightly. Luckily, it’s easy to edge your lawn and make it look beautiful again. You should edge your lawn every spring and trim any overhanging grass you notice after mowing. How to edge a lawn There are different types of equipment you can use for different types of edging:

• Edging shears
• Half-moon edger
• Grass shears with a long handle
• Gardening knife
• Long rope or a plank of wood

Depending on how regularly you’ve maintained the edging of your lawn, you might want to do one of the following things:

• Annually in spring or if you’ve left the grass to get out of hand: Decide whether you want a straight or a curved edge along your lawn. If you want a straight edge, lay a plank of wood along the edge and use your half-moon edger to cut along. If you want a curve, lay a rope along the edge and cut along that. Or if you can still see the existing curve of the lawn, you can stick with that.
• After mowing: Use long-handled shears to trim the grass the mower couldn’t reach. If you want to make it look extra tidy, collect up the cuttings and put them on your compost heap or dispose of them.
• Overgrowing grass onto paths: Use a sharp gardening knife to cut the pieces of turf that are growing over the path and pull them away.
• When your lawn is flush with the path: Snip a clean edge along your path with your long-handled grass shears to make it look neat and tidy.
• If you’d rather a low-maintenance option: Spiked metal sheeting is a good material to use to keep your lawn’s edges at bay. Fix it in the ground along the edges to keep the outline of your lawn and stop it from growing into your borders.

The best way to keep your lawn edges looking fabulous is to keep them maintained. Remember to give them a little trim every time you mow your lawn to be the envy of all your neighbours.

Garden slabs are a joy to behold but only when done the right way. Well, the installation of paving slabs shouldn’t be exceed digging a little here and there, buying a small amount of mortar and pressing down the garden slab, right? Absolutely not! But we must admit how great it would have been if only it were that easy in real life. Let’s be honest, in reality, laying garden slabs does not only require you to prepare your sub-base painstakingly and mix your mortar using the appropriate materials, but you’d also have to work with accurate and precise paver placements to guarantee the patio’s longevity. Consequently, this happens to be a stressful and quite tricky challenge. If you lack the required confidence to pull this off, we’d recommend you hire the services of a seasoned professional who can guarantee the best results and also save you time and extra cash that may result from possible costly errors. In this guide, you’d gain more insight into the garden slabs laying process.

To get started, you’ll need sharp sand, cement, shovel, wheelbarrow, pointing trowel, rubber mallet, spirit level, jointing compound, hard-bristled brush and tarpaulin.

1. Mix a layer of mortar for each paver.
2. Apply the mixed mortar onto the sub base by using the trowel.
3. Slot the first flag in place and ensure not to stain the paver’s surface with the mixed mortar.
4. Using a rubber mallet, carefully tap the paver to the mortar bed. Once done, ensure the surface is even with a spirit level.
5. Take a measurement of the gap between the pavers
6. Repeat the above steps until all pavers have been perfectly laid
7. Leave the pavers to dry for about 1 to 2 days. You can protect it using a tarpaulin if concerned about rain.
8. Use the jointing compound to fill up the paver gaps to bind together the pavers. Ensure to wipe off any excess compound using the hard-bristled brush.

This will depend on the size of the garden and the amount of plants within it. For small gardens, fortnightly or monthly visits by a professional gardener will generally be sufficient. For larger gardens or gardens with a lot of plants, weekly visits are best. Some larger projects such as hedge cutting or tree felling may need additional one off visits.

1. Remove any existing fascia boards Remove the fascia boards and the old felt if you’re re-felting.
2. Measure the shed roof Measure the roof, taking into account that you should leave around 50mm for overlaps at the eaves and 75mm at the gable ends. You’ll probably need 3 pieces of felt, but some smaller sheds only need 2.
3. Apply felt to the roof Once you’ve cut the felt to size, apply the each piece to the roof, pulling it tight. Then nail along the length of the roof at 100mm intervals. For nails at the bottom edge, they can be wider – around 300mm. If you’re adding a piece of felt in the middle of the shed along the apex, fix it using adhesive, then nail it at the lower edge at 50mm intervals.
4. Tidy up the overhangs Fold down the felt at each overhang and nail it securely. Cut a slit in the overhang at the apex using a pen knife, then fold that down and nail at 100mm intervals along the gable. If you like, you can add fascia boards to keep the shed looking neat. Use wood nails to secure them and then trim away any excess felt.

Generally, a paved driveway is always subjected to regular usage and yours isn’t likely to be an exception, otherwise you won’t be here. Regular usage automatically necessitates regular maintenance of the driveway in order to extend its lifespan, make your property safer and add more value to it. This maintenance will involve a frequent inspection of the paved driveway so as to identify and repair divots, cracks as well as rutting. Paved driveways usually have a lifespan ranging between 15 to 20 years, but this can only be guaranteed when backed by regular maintenance activities. Failure to provide your paved driveway with a regular maintenance will lead to a rapid deterioration within just a couple of years after installation.

The issues commonly faced by paved driveways is usually different based on several factors such as the weather, your location, your property’s sub base as well as some other elements. The ability to identify the problems and solve or repair them on time is key to success while it’s also save you some time and money. In this article we’re going to look at how to go about do-it-yourself tasks that involves minor cracks. More intense damages are advised to be handled only by professionals.

✓ Prepare the area. Clear the debris, weed the plants or vegetation (if any).

✓ Use a strong spray from a garden hose to wash clean the cracks

✓ In the event whereby the crack is deep, simply fill it until it reach about a quarter inch of the surface with sand.

✓ Tamp down the sand to make it more compact.

✓ Apply a patching compound to the surface of the cracked paved driveway.

✓ Leave it for some time to cure.

✓ Once cured, you can then apply your sealant.