From Micro Obsy to Dual Pier Observatory - via Hard Work, RSI, Back Ache & Melting Credit Card!

[ArmyAirForce]

The soil quality isn't as good as the first stuff we got for the veggie planters, but at £12 per ton, much more affordable than the original £100 per 850Kg bag - especially with 8 tons delivered! There's quite a few big stones and broken glass to pick out, but it's fine for under a lawn. I'll probably do more sieving for the railway embankment area, since we'll be planting in it.

[ArmyAirForce]

July 9th

I got a proper day's hard work out of Lynne on the 9th, not just sitting behind a desk earning money! We continued bagging our front garden Mount Snowdon, filling another fifteen bulk bags with at least four tons of topsoil. Based on the amount of bag filling we've done so far, we had much more than eight tons of soil delivered!

We still have half a mountain out front! All of the bags filled across the 9th, were transported around the back with the Dodge again. I really would be lost without that crane on the back. Several bags were dumped by the lawn with the rest piled up by the workshop.

July 10th

We hired a vibrating plate compactor, to firm up the tons of topsoil already spread out over the new lawn. It was hard going at first, as the clay soil was wet and sticky from the overnight rain. A sprinkling of sand over the area helped it slide without sticking.

[ArmyAirForce]

Once that was done, another six bulk bags of soil were emptied onto the lawn, almost another two tons. This time, rather than going straight from the bag to the lawn, it was all sieved into a wheelbarrow to get the stones, glass, nails, clay balls and pottery out of it.

That left some quite nice soil, which was tipped onto the lawn and raked out flat, ready for seeding. This strip took about five barrow loads of sieved soil.

[ArmyAirForce]

About the last four barrow loads was done in the rain, but by that time, I wasn't going to stop for anything.

Feeling very tired, but really pleased with the way it's looking now. Can't wait to see it turn green. Weather permitting, it's seeding tomorrow.

[ArmyAirForce]

July 11th

Finally, the big day of seeding the lawn. To start with, the sieved soil laid down yesterday had sun then overnight rain to help break it up a little more. This morning, after taking the compactor back to the hire shop, I used a piece of drain pipe to roll the soil out flat, without compacting it too much, so the seed could settle in to the earth. Once rolled out, I started scattering grass seed.

Not an easy job on a day with 15mph winds! I had to work fairly close to the ground around the edging next to the railway ballast and observatory slates. Elsewhere, I was able to walk around stooped over, to put the seed box about two feet from the ground. That gave a reasonable spread of seed without the wind carrying it too far away from the target area.

The big box of seed was just enough to cover the whole area, but we did have an older, already open box that I can use for any areas that need additional seeding, once I see it coming through. Once the whole area was seeded, I started sieving soil again and lightly spreading a layer of soil over the seeds, to both hide them from birds and to help keep moisture around the seed. This shot shows the whole lawn seeded and the front edge covered in more top soil.

That took another two and a half bulk bags of soil. After that, I gave the area a few minutes of watering, to wet it all down and stop the wind from blowing it all away. I was going to give it another watering tonight, once the sun dropped and the wind calmed down, but there was a big downpour early evening, so no need!

[ArmyAirForce]

I took the 12th as a day off to give my body a rest. Around midnight, I hadn't yet shut the lounge curtains, but when I got up to do it, I noticed a display of NLC's. I took the camera and tripod to the patio to get a few pictures. While out, I heard something crawling across the slates and it turned out to be a hedgehog.

The ISS also made a pass while I was out.

[ArmyAirForce]

July 13th/14th

I took a day off from digging on the 12th, but did have a wander around the garden between the showers to get some "Then and Now" pictures. The first picture below is a 2021/2023 picture and gives a general view from the end of the garage, then trailer storage, shed, vegetable planters, observatory, lawn and railway. It shows how much the area has changed in two and a half years.

On the 13th, I did some weeding of the railway embankment area and then pinned down a weed membrane to block any existing growth. The four tree trunk offcuts were then placed along the embankment area, to give some additional height. They can gradually rot away into soil.

[ArmyAirForce]

I then started barrowing soil from the bags near the lawn and workshop to be piled up to form the embankment until I ran out of bags.

On the 14th, I spent most of the day on the drive, bagging more top soil. I've wrecked my elbow and can barely lift a coffee cup, but got another 13 bulk bags filled with earth and finally got to the end of the pile. I was finishing off the last bag as the heavy rain arrived, so quickly finished shovelling and got the rain cover over it before coming indoors.

There's now 16 bulk bags on the drive to be moved. A quick calculation of volume and soil density tells me those 16 bags are about 4 cubic metres and 4.7 tons. What was left of the pile was less than half the total delivered, so it's clear we got much more than the 8 tons of soil we ordered. In total, I've filled about 45 bag loads of earth.

The weather forecast doesn't look great for several days, so there's probably going to be a pause in progress.

[ArmyAirForce]

July 17th

I took the weekend off from digging, but on Monday morning, it was bright with scattered clouds. I'd noticed some big sun spot groups over the weekend and so made an effort to catch them. It was only a 40 minute session before the clouds came, but I got some fairly good results.

[ArmyAirForce]

While the clouds rolled in, it ramained dry, so I took the opportunity to do some odd jobs on the observatory.

Most of the time I'm observing, I close the observatory door as a wind break, but while setting up or clearing away, it would be useful for the door to stay open. The prevailing wind had other ideas! A while back, I painted a hook for the door to keep it open and finally today, I got it fitted.

Another smallish job was to replace four hinges from the front flap. At the time I built it, I couldn't get enough brass hinges, so four of the seven were steel or plated steel. Today, these four hinges were replaced with some solid brass ones purchased recently.

[ArmyAirForce]

July 18th

While working on the observatory on the 17th, my new lawn was bare soil still. Checking again on the evening of the 18th and we have grass! In 24 hours, it's gone from seeds with no signs of life, to blades of grass at least an inch tall. There's a few areas that look a bit thin where nothing has happened yet, but I'll give it time. I can re-seed any thin spots later.

[ArmyAirForce]

July 22nd~August 4th

There have been no updates recently, due to being on holiday in Normandy, France. It's been 18 years since we were last there and re-visited all the D-Day beaches and museums, among a few other things. Just before we left, the grass was beginning to take hold and fill out, though there were a few bald areas where the seed hadn't taken or was washed away by the heavy rain. I did a little reseeding before we left.

We did ok for weather, while back home it rained lots! This was good for my lawn as my neighbour didn't have to keep watering it.

By the time we got back, we had a very green lawn. It's still a little thin in places and has a few weeds coming through from stuff that was in the topsoil, but it's getting there. It's not firm enough to walk on, so I'm going to leave it alone until the roots spread and it dries out, before I do any further reseeding or cutting. The multiple bags of topsoil on the driveway are still awaiting moving to the railway embankment. I'm waiting for a couple of dry days to get on with that.

Edited August 7, 2023 by ArmyAirForce

[ArmyAirForce]

August 7th~11th

On the 7th, it was a full on Dodge day, moving 16 bulk bags from the drive to the back garden. Two were dropped near the new lawn, while the rest were stacked up around the garage, garden wall and workshop until needed.

The following day, the two bags by the lawn were scooped out into the wheel barrow and tipped out into the embankment next to the railway. The drive was also jet-washed to remove the remaining traces of the soil pile.

Between the 9th and 11th, I got another five bags emptied into the embankment, slowly building up the height and width. I also mowed the main lawn, which due to all the rain in July, hadn't been mowed in about 4 weeks. It had got really long and took some effort. With the garden bins being collected wid-week, I also did quite a bit of hedge trimming too.

Over the weekend, we were messing around with a new canvas dining shelter for our 1940s camping. I needed some poles and guy ropes making, so we didn't get much else done in the garden.

[ArmyAirForce]

August 20th

The veggie planters, which saw the first seeds planted in May, are now producing well. For a first time trying to grow veggies, we are quite plased with the results. Since getting home from our holiday in France, I'd moved around seven bags of earth into the railway embankment.

On the 20th, I decided to have a final big push to get it finished. With all the rain through July and early August, the soil in the bags got very wet, despite trying to keep them covered. As a result, the soil was very wet and the further down the bag I went, the more sticky and clay like it became.

It was really hard work digging it out of the bags, into the wheelbarrow, then pushing it down the garden, up the ramp and onto the embankment. It took several hours, but I emptied another eight bulk bags of soil. It was so sticky, I often had to dig it out of the bag, then use a trowel to scrape it off the shovel into the barrow! Based on the volume and soil density, it was approximately four to five metric tons.

[ArmyAirForce]

I'm pleased with the overall size of the embankment. Early on, I was wondering if I had two much soil, but it's worked out fine. I saved one last bag of soil for filling in some low spots in the lawn at a later date. In the top of the embankment, I've placed a spare paving slab to give me somewhere to stand to do future weeding.

I'll probably add a few more large stones randomly along the embankment to use as stepping stones, also to aid weeding. With the right ground cover, the slab should be hidden. Planting may not be until the spring, as it depends on what plants suit the conditions and what time of year suits them best.

[ArmyAirForce]

The new lawn is taking hold quite well, though I did overseed some thin areas after getting back from France. While we were away, I think the heavy rain washed the seed off some areas. Looking back towards the observatory, it's looking quite good. For the next part of the job, I need to order another fourteen sleepers for the final top layer of the sleeper wall and thirty six 900 x 600 paving slabs, for along the hawthorn hedge.

The day ended with a fireball sun setting on the West North West horizon, so I grabbed a few phone pictures over the gate. The last time I did this, there was no ballast or lawn.

[andy fearn]

On 21/08/2023 at 21:52, ArmyAirForce said:

The new lawn is taking hold quite well, though I did overseed some thin areas after getting back from France. While we were away, I think the heavy rain washed the seed off some areas. Looking back towards the observatory, it's looking quite good. For the next part of the job, I need to order another fourteen sleepers for the final top layer of the sleeper wall and thirty six 900 x 600 paving slabs, for along the hawthorn hedge.

The day ended with a fireball sun setting on the West North West horizon, so I grabbed a few phone pictures over the gate. The last time I did this, there was no ballast or lawn.

An amazing transformation, for all the hard work, time and effort that you have put in to it,( not to mention the cost ) you must be very pleased with the end result. I know you haven't finished yet but have really taken an interest watching this huge project of yours.  p.s  i think your truck deserves a well earned rest as well as yourselves.

[ArmyAirForce]

1 hour ago, andy fearn said:

.....you must be very pleased with the end result.........p.s  i think your truck deserves a well earned rest.....

Yes, I'm really happy with the way it has come together. I'm the type of person who can see it all complete in my mind, before I even start a project. It has materialised just the way I saw it, two and a half years ago when we moved here. While not resting, my Dodge and Jeep have a five day 1940s show at Beamish Museum shortly, so they can enjoy some public attention rather than hard work!

Yesterday, I had another fourteen decorative sleepers delivered for the walls, which by the end of the day, had recieved two coats of medium oak shed paint. I found a reclamation company that does very cheap paving slabs, around half new price, but they don't deliver. It's about 15 miles away, so I have to decide whether to make multiple trips in the car, getting perhaps three at a time, or pay full price somewhere else and get them delivered.

As for the cost for the tree felling, observatory, additional concrete hardstand, railway and garden in general - best not to think about it. I could have probably bought a really good Ha solar scope!

Edited August 24, 2023 by ArmyAirForce

[ArmyAirForce]

August 26th

We spent most of Saturday the 26th moving thirty eight, 900 x 600mm paving slabs. We found an architectural salvage yard selling reclaimed paving slabs at around one third to one half the price of new slabs, but unfortunately, they didn't deliver. As a result, we took my flatbed trailer on the 28 mile round trip to collect them ourselves - twice! With a total weight of almost 2,700Kg, we had to split the load, with each round trip to get there, load, get home and unload, taking around two and a half hours. It was back-breaking.

August 27th

The weather was against me on the 27th, but I was determined to push on and get the sleepers fitted. The day was interrupted by frequent heavy rain, so the tools were in and out of the observatory on a regular basis, since that was the closest power supply and under cover shelter.

[ArmyAirForce]

Ten sleepers were full length with another three cut lengths. I ran out of time and dry weather for the last two short lengths, a four feet and two feet length. I hope to get those fitted tomorrow. I can then move onto the hawthorn hedge path.

[ArmyAirForce]

We've been gradually creeping away from the original thread topic, but it was all part of the same overall project, which was the garden landscaping. While I have plans to extend the patio beside the house, the hawthorn path is the last major phase of work in the area that was the woodland. Other than some plants in the railway embankment, the hawthorn path will complete this area.

September 7th~15th

Over the end of August and the beginning of September, I was away at a World War 2 event, so didn't get back to the garden until the second week in September. With the last two pieces of sleeper fitted just before I went away, I was now moving on to the hawthorn path. I decided the best plan would be to pave the area behind the observatory first.

Starting here would give me access from my trailer hardstanding to get materials in. From the end nearest the new lawn, I could then work towards the railway, having a path under me as I worked down to the end. When that was done, I could turn around and work up the garden from the observatory, across the back of the trailer hardstanding and up behind the garage.

I started by clearing weeds and some roots, and cutting the earth back to approximately level. Due to the fall on the ground, the foundations would slowly need to step up towards the garage from behind the observatory. The foundations would need to step down heading the other way to the railway.

I didn't want to dig out and dispose of tons of topsoil, only to buy in tons of hardcore to replace it. Youtube to the rescue! I watch a video on paving which explained what civil engineering projects do, including Heathrow's Terminal 5. Rather than digging out earth and replacing it with hardcore, they use a machine to break up the existing earth, mix cement into it and then pack it down again. The same video then showed the same technique at a small scale for his garden path. His test sample was as hard as concrete.

Our soil has quite a lot of clay in it ( along with tree roots, stones, coal and bricks! ), and it is now quite wet and not easy to dig or mix. So I've spent the morning making a tool for my power drill!

 

[ArmyAirForce]

A quick test in the border near the kitchen showed it to work, followed by a second test in the path location ( seen in the Before & After picture ). It worked well, even in the hard packed clay. Larger tree roots and bricks will need digging out, but that's easier when the surrounding area is broken up.

[AstroNebulee]

13 hours ago, ArmyAirForce said:

We've been gradually creeping away from the original thread topic, but it was all part of the same overall project, which was the garden landscaping. While I have plans to extend the patio beside the house, the hawthorn path is the last major phase of work in the area that was the woodland. Other than some plants in the railway embankment, the hawthorn path will complete this area.

September 7th~15th

Over the end of August and the beginning of September, I was away at a World War 2 event, so didn't get back to the garden until the second week in September. With the last two pieces of sleeper fitted just before I went away, I was now moving on to the hawthorn path. I decided the best plan would be to pave the area behind the observatory first.

Starting here would give me access from my trailer hardstanding to get materials in. From the end nearest the new lawn, I could then work towards the railway, having a path under me as I worked down to the end. When that was done, I could turn around and work up the garden from the observatory, across the back of the trailer hardstanding and up behind the garage.

I started by clearing weeds and some roots, and cutting the earth back to approximately level. Due to the fall on the ground, the foundations would slowly need to step up towards the garage from behind the observatory. The foundations would need to step down heading the other way to the railway.

I didn't want to dig out and dispose of tons of topsoil, only to buy in tons of hardcore to replace it. Youtube to the rescue! I watch a video on paving which explained what civil engineering projects do, including Heathrow's Terminal 5. Rather than digging out earth and replacing it with hardcore, they use a machine to break up the existing earth, mix cement into it and then pack it down again. The same video then showed the same technique at a small scale for his garden path. His test sample was as hard as concrete.

Our soil has quite a lot of clay in it ( along with tree roots, stones, coal and bricks! ), and it is now quite wet and not easy to dig or mix. So I've spent the morning making a tool for my power drill!

 

I am really enjoying reading your thread and how the whole project and garden have progressed. It's brilliant to see and you've worked so hard and it shows in your excellent garden and observatory. 

 

Lee

[ArmyAirForce]

September 18th~20th

On the 18th, we had another five bulk bags delivered, this time containing building sand. I needed space in the back garden for the sand, so I began moving paving slabs closer to the area where the path was to be. I watched a Youtube video about a guy who laid a path with recycled paving. He washed them afterwards, only to find out that some were grey while others were green. Thankfully for him, by chance, they were in an alternating pattern! I decided it would be best to jetwash mine before laying them! So far, I've got eighteen done so far, with one odd light coloured one in the first nine.

Another move to make more space for sand was to finish another bag of river gravel on the railway ballast edging. I laid a strip of weed membrane on the edge of the earth embankment, to create an area free from plants between the proper ballast area and the embankment. This was then filled with river gravel. This strip will be easier to clean of dead plant matter, than digging around in the main ballast.

[ArmyAirForce]

September 25th

On the 25th, I began working on the foundations for the path, using the "Earth-crete" method. Using my power drill, my new tool worked really well to break up the soil. Due to the amount of stones and the remains of a brick wall under the soil, the nails slowly bent and eventually snapped off. However, the remaining part of the tool I made still worked very well on its own, to break up the soil.

After loosening up the clay soil, I shovelled several scoops of building sand into the soil and mixed that in with the drill. This helped to break up the clay further. After that, I mixed in the cement until the earth was a uniform colour.

The next step was hard work. I bought a ten pound tamper to pound down the earth to compact it and flatten it. The earth was sticking to the end of the tamper to some degree, so I ended up with a plastic rubble sack on the earth and tamping it down through the bag.