The Terrace – Part 2

The prime objective this trip was to make progress on the terrace and get it into a usable, if not finished, state for the summer.Like the area around the pool it has to be left for a year or two before paving to allow it to settle.

First task was to get the hardcore for the infill organised and a quick trip to the local quarry arranged this and the next morning 19000Kg of 20 to 40 mm stone was delivered. The pile in this photograph might not look big but it went back a long long way!

The problem was how to move it from the front of the house around to the back. The trailer and sit on lawn mower were put into service and immediately the problem with this approach was identified: you can’t easily shovel hardcore! Each half trailer load (any more would overload it) was taking 10 minutes to load (then 11, then 12 and getting slower and slower…..).

So after much discussion on time taken vs cost the solution to this problem was delivered on the Saturday morning:

Clearly as a ‘Big Boys Toy’ I had a quick go at driving it but after a few minutes an executive decision was made that Sue would drive the digger and I would drive the mower and unload the trailer. Despite the rain (and many changes of clothing to try and keep dry) we finished the job in about 8 hours and moved the whole pile!

These three photos were taken over the last two months to show the progress, even we are surprised by the transformation, you quickly forget what it used to look like.