UKH

We've got an area of our lawn which is, to be frank, a pain in the bum.

It's about 12square metres in area and in the middle are two iron manhole covers with concrete edges. Together with an irregular surface it's a pain to mow the grass. I think I have two options (a) cover the area in paving slabs and bring up to an optimum level or (b) - preferred option - somehow bring the level of the grass area up to an optimum level.

Option (b) I assume means buying in a bulk quantity of soil. I've seen ads for "topsoil" and for the quantity I would need(circa 2000 litres) looks a bit pricey.

Can anyone advise please?

Thanks

In reply to mypyrex:

Ask around for someone with a big manure heap? I get as much as I want from a guy locally, loaded into a trailer with a tractor. 

In reply to Baron Weasel:

Manure or soil?

In reply to mypyrex:

How about lowering the manhole covers? This is not an attempt at humour, but a serious suggestion.

In reply to mypyrex:

You can grow grass on well rotted manure, plenty of people will give it away too. 

In reply to mypyrex:

Topsoil is often advertised for free on Facebook (marketplace) if you can take it away...

In reply to Baron Weasel:

Thanks, didn't realise that

I'm wondering if I could get soil from a building site where they're digging foundations

In reply to mypyrex: Likely, but it may well be rubbish quality, and you still have to move it.  Manure is great but compresses like crazy so you'll need to put a fair bot down.  

How much do you need to go up?  Just put turf on top of what you have now?

In reply to mypyrex:

Just go along and ask. If they are having to pay to dispose of it (entirely possible) then "hey you can dump a load in my front garden 100m down the road has got to look attractive.

In reply to mypyrex:

Be careful what you "import" in topsoil.  You *really* don't want Japanese Knotweed, for example.

In reply to mypyrex:

Can you put a layer of turf over the existing turf to bring it up to the correct height? You can get that delivered by truck and is easy to move and lay.

In reply to dread-i:

A possibility. Is there any limit to how many "layers" you can put down?  Some parts might need two orr three (or four) thicknesses

In reply to mypyrex:

Option C;  wild flower meadow, possibly with a Buddleia or two to arch over the manholes that u prune to the ground each autumn.  My front garden is virtually all insect loving plants and it’s ace. 

In reply to Baron Weasel:

Anyone giving away grass can be directed towards me please. 

In reply to mypyrex:

Lift the manhole cover and construct an ornamental well.

Obviously two wells would look daft so turn the other one into a fountain.

In reply to mypyrex:

I might have made a mistake in my calculations (or rather I might have used the wrong online calculator) but 2000 litres sounds a lot of soil.

2000 litres =2 cubic metres.

2 cubic metres would cover an area 12 square metres to a depth of about 165mm, which is a substantial and would have an impact on the manhole covers.

Someone tell me if I have miscalculated here.

Dave

In reply to Tringa:

I probably have

In reply to Tringa:

My miscalculation - should be 750Litres

In reply to mypyrex:

If it was mine, and I wanted to do it properly, I'd strip off the old turf, loosen up the base with a fork, grade it level with extra top soil, firm it down and re-turf. A bulk bag of top soil (about 800 litres), delivered should be about £55 and 13 square metres of good quality turf should be around £80ish, inc delivery.

If you wanted to do it on the cheap then you could just put top soil in the hollows to bring it up to the right levels. The existing grass will grow through the shallow soil, reseed the deeper sections. 

In reply to flatlandrich:

^

this.

In reply to arch:

How's your wife and daughter doing? 

In reply to mick taylor:

There was some rolls of turf on the local free cycle this morning, should I ask if they are still available for you? 

In reply to mypyrex:

Maybe cover with a number of plant pots and leave a grass border around it when you mow.  

Don't forget that you need to keep manhole covers accessible, theremay even be some sort of planning/services bylaw that states this (caveat: I may have accidentally made this up)

In reply to Baron Weasel:

Its not turf I'm interested in, its the grass man, you know what I mean, the sort of grass you roll via a rizla

In reply to mypyrex:

Decking ?

In reply to David Riley:

Hate the stuff

In reply to Baron Weasel:

Missus is struggling a little. She's booked in to the Doctors for a blood test next week with a view of having to have an Iron infusion when her results are back. She should have had one a while ago, but the specialist said she couldn't go the the Hospital at that time because of the Covid cases there.

The Daughter has 6 weeks to go. But some good news, she can have a home birth, so doesn't need to go to Hospital if she doesn't want to. (She doesn't)

Thanks for asking.

In reply to arch:

Good to hear you and yours are all OK mate! 

In reply to wbo2:

Agree. I'd go a bit further and suggest that because manure and composts are organic they will eventually completely decompose. Thus a high proportion of new soil needs to have mineral particles. I suppose the organic humus in the soil is continually replenished from dead plants and other life, and mixed by earthworms, but surely it still needs the inorganic material that is part of a normal soil.

The water board replaced the lead piping in our side alley and the contractors laid turf over existing grass, the new turf didn't last.

In reply to mypyrex:

Why not do both? Bring the half of the lawn near the house up to manhole level with paving, and just level the remaining grass (often people gradually level the surface by brushing soil in any depressions). The paved area will probably be more useful than grass in the wetter winter.months.

In reply to mypyrex:

These days new hard standing of over 5sqm is supposed to be permeable surface. 

Subs regulations

In reply to Rog Wilko:

It might well be easier than levelling the entire garden. Depends on the manhole construction, if it has regulating  brickwork it's fairly easy. However mypxrex isn't a young bloke, and breaking out the concrete and removing the cover and frame intact (he says iron covers) will be hard work.

Mypyrex, as has been said, a 800l dumpy bag of topsoil won't break the bank, but it will compress down. You could get a couple of bags for £100 or so, it always comes in handy for topping up the beds.

Edit: Paving it is a lot of preparation to do a half decent job, and it'll be harder work and cost more than either of the above options.