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Patchy garden thanks to Builders

pv.connollypv.connolly Posts: 2
in Problem solving

Hi All,

First post and a relative beginner so please go easy lol.   So the problem i have had for the last two years, after we had a renovation done, is a patchy lawn.   I have over seeded in the spring, summer and autumn and it flourishes and come the spring its patchy again.   I decided to dig up a patch of garden where it is worst to see what the problem was and found a large plastic sheet where I remember the builders had set their building sand.  I then decide to dig that up and what I have found has shocked me.   Under an inch or two of topsoil their is about 3 inches of builders sand and in other areas there is what I can only decide as some sort of hardened stone mix.   i am currently digging this but need help im what to do afterwards.  i was thinking of a french drain but would it suit my issue?  Do I need to get rid of the sand or just add more topsoil? I don't want to do half a job but at the same time I don't want to do unnecessary work/ cost.  Its a small, 40m2, garden just for me and the clann so just want an relative easy fix.

I am also under pressure from the missus as she wants to have a lawn she can use..

Thanks,

Peter

Posts

  • TopbirdTopbird Posts: 7,898

    Hi Peter - welcome to the forumimage

    Builders are really bad at doing this sort of thing.

    I think the best thing to start with might be to get yourself a stout metal spike and start bashing it in different spots around the lawn. If you keep hitting bricks and rubble you might be better off stripping off the whole of the turf, then digging out the rubbish (you could hire a mini digger for a weekend and it will do both jobs) before importing some topsoil and returfing. 

    If there is just the odd patch of rubble / rubbish you might be able to just work on those spots.

    The grass will never grow properly on top of the sort of rubbish you've already found - sorryimage

    Last edited: 07 May 2017 13:06:01

    Heaven is ... sitting in the garden with a G&T and a cat while watching the sun go down
  • BobTheGardenerBobTheGardener Posts: 11,391

    I agree with Topbird.  This is not at all unusual in new builds and is perhaps is the norm, unfortunately.  It costs money to dispose of building waste so they usually just bury it under a thin layer of topsoil and lay turf.  It's a topic which comes up regularly on the forum.

    A trowel in the hand is worth a thousand lost under a bush.
  • pv.connollypv.connolly Posts: 2

    Is it ok for the sand to be there if i grt a couple mprr invh of top  and turf?

  • BobTheGardenerBobTheGardener Posts: 11,391

    Best to dig the sand into the soil beneath before putting more topsoil on top.

    A trowel in the hand is worth a thousand lost under a bush.
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