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Help.....again!

taylornicholson87taylornicholson87 Posts: 6
in Problem solving
Hi all, I’m needing some advice please. Firstly on what I should do and secondly who I contact i.e. Builder, gardener, joiner.
when we bought our house we had a lovely decked seating area, however,  the back part was filled with soil and obviously rotted the wood, we’ve just taken it away to reveal what the steps are made of and also what we could put in the place of the seating area......we’ve now discovered a nightmare, the steps/stairs feel safe to walk on but do not look it at all! I’ll attach photos but any help/advise would be much appreciated. P.s excuse the washing 🤦🏻‍♀️


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Posts

  • AnniDAnniD Posts: 11,422
    Bumping this up in the hope that someone can help.  Those steps make me shudder !
  • Andy19Andy19 Posts: 671
    First thing I would do is make sure the walking area is built right and is safe. The steps I would take away and build new ones as those don't look safe at all. Who ever done this job has made a very poor job and not done the main part right the structure base. Might be better to take it all down and start again and once you see it you might change from decking to different landscape it's down to money maybe good luck.
  • Ladybird4Ladybird4 Posts: 36,182
    I am very surprised that your surveyor never spotted those problems before you purchased the house and I wholeheartedly agree with AnniD about those steps - scary. I notice toys in the garden so assume you have a small person/s. I would worry about safety. A good gardener or builder with landscaping qualifications should be able to give advice. I think that the wooden steps need removing completely and replaced with more solid steps constructed from breeze blocks with paving slabs on the top. Thats just a personal view as I have NO experience in building.
    Cacoethes: An irresistible urge to do something inadvisable
  • taylornicholson87taylornicholson87 Posts: 6
    Yes the steps are definitely not staying, they are surprisingly sturdy but the children are now not accessing the back garden until it is complete. 
    There was a decking sort of wall in front covering the mess so until we took that away we couldn’t see the state of the rest of it.
    i don’t think we could “build” on it as there’s no foundations so nothing to lay the brick work on. 
    I’m going to cause problems for my neighbours garden if we dig out all that soil as it’s retaining their soil on the other side if that makes sense. 
    Im presuming it’s going to be a like for like but obviously done right, unless there’s any other suggestions out there
  • AnniDAnniD Posts: 11,422
    It's difficult to tell from the photos (for me ! ), even when l zoom in, but l am not too sure about the state of the wall at the back. There seem to be large areas of mortar missing, but that could just be a trick of the light. 
    Whatever you do, it's going to cost money, and l really feel for the children not being allowed out there in this weather. I would probably get a builder and/or landscape architect to take a look. If possible get someone on personal recommendation,  trouble is for a really good builder, you have to wait.
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