Garden Wall Project - help required

[spiidey]

Thanks.

Just to make sure I've got this exactly right, for the mortar that's being used to bond the underside of the tread to the riser, the mortar must be between 10mm and 50mm thick?

 

[r896neo]

yes anywehere between those will be fine as you may need to adjust it to get your step heights right.

if it doesn't matter about heights then aim for 20mm

 

[spiidey]

Thanks.

For the bed for the risers, we'll use 50mm mortar. What type of sand should we use in the 3:1 ratio?

 

[r896neo]

building as it will stick better.

 

[spiidey]

Thanks again.

Back to the 10-50mm mortar bed for the treads, we'll aim for 20mm as you said.

If our heights mean we need to use the lower range (i.e. 10mm), is there a risk that the mortar could crack over time due to footfall etc?

 

[r896neo]

No it won't do the mortar any harm it will just be very hard to get a good 10mm bed as there is no room for it to spread as you tap the flag down onto it.

There is no give in it compared to a thicker bed.

 

[spiidey]

We now need to "slug" proof the garden.

We have a vertically slatted fence separating the back of our garden and a "young woodland" ("young woodland" according to the factor company, but in reality, an overgrown forest).

The slugs come through from this woodland in the gap between the bottom of the fence slats and the ground.

When we had our wall bricks initially laid out (prior to levelling the site / excavating all our earth from the site), some of these were at the back of the garden where the slugs come through and they managed to leave some horrible slime marks on the bricks that we cannot get off.

What is the best way to slug proof the back of the garden:-

• Metal/wooden barrier (but wouldn't they just climb that?)
  The "shock" tape (and if so, what would we attach this to)?
  Something else?

 

[wrathkeg]

You can't slug proof a garden in the sort of way you envisage. If you could we would all be doing it. In my experience gravel goes some way to dissuading them.

 

[spiidey]

You can't slug proof a garden in the sort of way you envisage. If you could we would all be doing it. In my experience gravel goes some way to dissuading them.

So we couldn't install say a 4" height board on the back of our fence (i.e. on the woodland side of the fence), and then fit copper tape onto that the full length of the garden?

I know they'd still come in from the neighbour's garden, but they'd have to travel further to get into ours

If we went with gravel, what overall width should the gravel be? Should it be laid mounded or just simply flat? Also, what kind of gravel - washed/unwashed, 10mm/20mm?

 

[wrathkeg]

All I can say is that since I put my coldframe on a base of pea gravel I have had virtually no slug damage in there. They are rampant in the rest of my garden and I just accept that. As you suggest, whatever you do they will get in somewhere else anyway.

Before you invest in timber and copper, you might want to look at this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3CuWtYK0xQ

or this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iEda-kzbgiM&list=PLoEJ_Pj7y9ocqFoD7u0rXy0i6Eqwo40VF

 

[spiidey]

All I can say is that since I put my coldframe on a base of pea gravel I have had virtually no slug damage in there. They are rampant in the rest of my garden and I just accept that. As you suggest, whatever you do they will get in somewhere else anyway.

Before you invest in timber and copper, you might want to look at this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3CuWtYK0xQ

or this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iEda-kzbgiM&list=PLoEJ_Pj7y9ocqFoD7u0rXy0i6Eqwo40VF[/QUOTE]

Wow, that is interesting!

What type of pea gravel so you use? Or is there only one type/size of this type of gravel?

 

[wrathkeg]

http://www.wickes.co.uk/Wickes-Pea-Shingle-Major-Bag/p/220128

I spread it about 2" thick, on landscape fabric. But I was trying to achieve something very different from keeping them out of the garden entirely. I have no idea how effective it may or may not be in your situation.

 

[spiidey]

-----

 

[spiidey]

http://www.wickes.co.uk/Wickes-Pea-Shingle-Major-Bag/p/220128

I spread it about 2" thick, on landscape fabric. But I was trying to achieve something very different from keeping them out of the garden entirely. I have no idea how effective it may or may not be in your situation.

Is this

http://www.jewson.co.uk/building-ma...L016/jewson-pea-gravelpipe-bedding-handy-bag/

the same product?

=======================================================

Or can we simply use the "washed gravel 20-10mm" product as shown on page 2 under "AGGREGATES & SANDS PREPACKED BAG" on the attached link:-

http://www.thistlebuildingsupplies.co.uk/pdfs/price_guide/Price List A5 April 2014 Web.pdf

(we already have this product and expect to have some left over).

 

[wrathkeg]

I would use whatever I had available so long as it looked right. Gravel's gravel after all.