The enquiry

The client called us – they had already had a local designer create a design for their property. When we visited, we discussed the proposal in detail but we agreed that to suit the client’s budget and to not have too much upheaval in one go to split the work into three phases

The job

We started working on the driveway first, so that the client had an area complete for practical uses, such as parking and being able to enter the home without bringing mud in! This also meant that deliveries could easily drop off materials for the further phases. We laid 250m² of pea shingle, hung a new set of entrance gates (to make the property secure for children and pets) and widened the entrance. A few months later we returned to lay a sandstone paved area in the front garden and prepare the borders for the client to plant up herself. We also built a feature brick pathway up to the client’s front door – brick and sandstone look wonderful together and can be used in a variety of ways to achieve quite an architectural result. Whilst it is more of an investment than other materials, brick is often overlooked for a terrace or dining area, but it creates a wonderfully traditional result and is very hard wearing. It is also easily cleaned with a pressure washer to keep in looking good year after year. Finally, we returned to work on the rear garden, complete with natural sandstone paving to match the front, a pergola and freshly dug over beds for the client to plant.

How long did it take?

6 weeks overall, split into three sessions of 2 weeks

What do we love about it?

We’re always happy to look into practical ways to make a project achievable for a customer, whether by suggesting alternatives in materials that might be cheaper or by splitting a project up. For example, sandstone paving is often more cost effective then limestone with a very similar result achieved! Pea shingle can be a great material to use in large areas as it gives a quick and relatively cost affective overhaul to an area.