The House Projects Thread

[dinny_g]

Yeah, I'm with Rich on this one. You're not going to run Grass right up to the door so I'd have a patio level with the internal floors and then a step or two down to the grass.

this is particularly true if you want to retain the driveway and build another outdoor space.

Where's the sun coming from because ideally, you want the Outdoor kitchen / gazebo space to get the last of the evening sunlight

[hoyleyboyley]

Yes its been a big one!

Full gutting, refit/rewire and plumbing - 2 kitchens, 3 bathrooms and W/C. I'll pop some pics up of the 'finished' article.

Good points both - would like to keep patio largely as is, as space to the front of the house - whether in decking form or hardstanding.
I guess thats the main point really - how do we retain air bricks but also fill in the space - decking is notoriously slippy when wet and it rains here constantly in t'north. Maybe a small step up would do the job.

Sun - patio gets sun from midday till sunset - its a good sun trap.

[Jobbo]

I'd love to use gabions - I think they look great. Some people (e.g. my wife) disagree. So it seems they are a bit marmite. But I imagine they're also pretty easy to put in then cover with planting or earth if you step them back and create a slope - the slope would be very regular though, so maybe visually a bit like a roadside cutting.

Good work with the house though Scott

[dinny_g]

Sun - patio gets sun from midday till sunset - its a good sun trap.

That's perfect so.

I agree, I wouldn't put decking because, as you say, it's lethal when wet. As for the outdoor kitchen / Gazebo idea, you could consider raising it up a step or two from the patio level as it would 2 benefits. a less driveway to retain and b. probably an extra 30 mins of sunshine in the evening.

However, I guess of that puts in you view of people on the road outside your house, you might want to just drop it down as much as you can for privacy

[V8Granite]

Excellent 182

Dave!

[Carlos]

I'm no expert but have friends who have built or redeveloped houses on gradients and that bank between the drive and garden will be holding a big load. I like the look of gabions but poured reinforced concrete retaining walls seem to be the route my mates have gone down i assume through cost.

Definitely a conversation to have with a structural engineer though.