Hard Landscaping
The temptation will be to deal with the front aspect of your property first. But this could be a mistake because, once you have laid an attractive new hard landscape at the point of entry to your site, you will realise there are deliveries of bricks, soil, sand and cement destined for the back garden that yet need to be brought in that way. By dealing with the furthest reaches of your property first, you will be preserving energy and preventing damage to materials already laid.
Hard landscaping can, of course, involve much more than paths and driveways. There are garden walls, patios, concrete slabs for a shed or greenhouse, ponds and pools to consider. It is also an opportunity to install another favourite garden feature, a rockery, the limited size of which so often makes this focal point pale into insignificance.
It is both economically and practically beneficial to install the main infrastructure as part of the overall self-build scheme. The advantages are that the VAT claim can be extended to include some garden materials, and most lenders will provide funds to pay for them, as part of the total financial package.
Considerations should include outdoor services, for example trenching for the supply and positioning of an outdoor tap and for laying armoured electrical cables to sheds, garages and exterior lights along the driveway or in the garden. These installations need to be in place prior to laying hard landscaping. Advance thinking, good planning and an awareness of the total design scheme will reduce the risk of having to undo what has already been done. It is, quite simply, a labour and cost-cutting exercise, in which the basic infrastructure is installed in a logical order. Once the hard landscaping has been completed, you are then free to deal with the fine detail of your remaining garden design at leisure.
