Find a Landscaper you can trust in Witham.

Most responsible contractors will dispose of the old fencing via an approved commercial waste site. Do check that the cost of taking rubbish away is included in the quotes you receive, otherwise you might find you get stung when it comes to paying for the work.

1. Start in one corner of the sub-frame and position the first board across the inner joists. You want the deck board in the opposite direction to the inner joists, ensuring that it’s flush with the frame. Position any end-to-end joins between the deck boards halfway across an inner joist so you can screw both boards into the joist for stability. Make sure you keep a gap of between 5-8mm to allow for expansion of the wood.
2. Begin to screw your deck boards to the joists. You’ll need to secure the deck board to every joist is covers along your deck frame. Use two screws for every joist. Mark where you’re going to add your screws, ensuring that they are at least 15mm from the end of the board and 20mm from the outside edges. Drill pilot holes for the screws, being careful to only drill through the deck board and not the joist. Then screw the decking screws into the holes.
3. Continue to screw in the deck boards, ensuring you leave the correct expansion gap. You can stagger the deck board joins across the deck for more strength.
4. Sand down any cut ends if you need to before applying decking preserver to protect the timber from rotting.

• Paving slabs – old or cheap ones are fine
• Timber for the frame and legs
• Type 1 MOT hardcore

1. Mark out the area as we explain in ‘How to lay decking’. Then, dig to 200mm below where you want to surface of the decking to be.
2. Add a 50mm layer of hardcore and make sure it’s compact.
3. Build the decking sub-frame as we describe in ‘How to build a deck frame’.
4. Lay out paving slabs along the edges and in the centre of the area. This will help to spread the weight of the decking.
5. Set the decking frame on the slabs, checking for high or low points and adding off-cuts of timber where needed. Don’t forget to sand and seal these off-cuts with decking preservative.
6. Add your joists and then the deck boards, leaving the recommended gaps of expansion of between 5-8mm.

Is there a hole in your asphalt driveway you feel you can repair yourself? If it’s something you know you can confidently do then this step by step guide is just for you. If otherwise, then we’d recommend you hire the services of a reliable professional who can guarantee the best results while also saving you some time and extra money that could result from possible errors. In this article, we’d go over the reparation process of an asphalt driveway with a hole in it.

✓ Get the necessary tools. You’re going to need a broom ( to clean the area), caulking gun ( to fill the hole), a hand tamp a plate compactor or a hammer ( to level the filled in hole) and a weeding glove (just in case there are weeds growing in the hole).

✓ Prepare the area. Do this by weeding the plants or weeds that might have grown inside the hole and identify your asphalt filler.

✓ Wet your soil, if necessary. It’s important to note that this is only necessary if your soil is dry to help the filler stick properly.

✓ Fill in deep holes. If the hole goes down about 3 to 4 inches or more, simply fill it with any material like rocks, clay etc.

✓ Apply the asphalt filler. Fill the hole with the asphalt filler to about half an inch higher than the surface of the driveway.

✓ Level the filler. For a large hole, make use of a plate compactor or a hand stamp, but a hammer will be sufficient for smaller holes.

✓ Cover the hole, if necessary. If your home isn’t level, covering your hole with a piece of plywood is advisable.

✓ Clean off the seal. After the asphalt looks done and in place, simply brush away the debris from the seal to finish off the project.

Whether you’re starting a garden from scratch or adding plants to a garden that needs a big of work, the biggest step in planting a garden is preparation. We’ll give you a few tips on how to plant a garden whatever your garden’s size. Check your soil The most important thing to do before you start to plant a garden is check your soil type. Different plants suit different soils, so you should choose ones that will like the soil in your garden. If your soil is sticky and muddy, it’s referred to as clay soil, but if it runs through your fingers when you pick it up it’s known as sandy. Ideally, you want something between the two to help your plants’ roots spread easily. If you have heavy clay soil, you’ll need to add well-rotted manure or compost to improve the structure, but if it’s sandy you’ll need to add organic matter to improve its fertility. Make a plan Don’t just start planting wherever – make sure you’ve got a plan of where you want everything to go. Do a simple drawing or cut out photos from magazines or the internet. How to plant bare root plants and trees When you’re planning what to plant in your garden, make sure you choose the correct amount and size of trees you’re going to plant. In a small to medium garden you only want one or two trees, and you don’t want anything too large that might spread too far. When you’re ready to plant, make sure there’s enough room for the roots to spread. Look for the soil ‘tide mark’ near the base which will show the depth that it was planted before, and use that as your guide. Dig your hole to the correct depth and width and fork the sides so it’s easier for roots to get in. Add some well-rotted manure and place the plant in the hole so the roots are spread out and fill the hole with soil. Planting potted plants Dig a hole deep enough for your plant – put the pot in the hole to check whether you’re there yet. You want around 2cm around the outside and don’t make the hole any deeper than the pot. If your plant has a tight root ball from outgrowing its pot, gently tease out the roots – it won’t harm the plant. How to plant plug plants in your garden Plug plants are usually mail-order plants that you get in spring and are a great way to start planting a garden. You must handle them carefully and water them before planting. Fill a small pot with compost and make a well in the centre, then drop the plug in. Gently pat the soil around it. You might need to pot them again to the next size up later on, and harden them off outside before planting them in the ground after there’s no risk of frost. With these few tips you can easily get started with planting your garden. But if you need some help and advice, get in touch with local gardeners who will be happy to give you a quote.

The cheapest fence to install is, generally, a pressure-treated pine wooden fence at around £20 per linear foot. This includes the materials and labour costs. Wire fencing is technically cheaper at around £5 per foot, but it’s not a great material to use in homes as it looks unsightly and doesn’t provide any privacy.

Aeration, like scarification, is another vital step to keeping your lawn looking healthy and vibrant. It involves making small holes in the soil to allow air, water and nutrients to get into the grass roots, helping them to grow deeply, and produce a much stronger lawn. It also helps to relieve compaction from the soil, which stops nutrients and air from circulating. But how do you aerate your lawn?

Before you start to aerate your lawn, it’s a good idea to scarify it first to get rid of any moss, dead grass and thatch. This involves vigorously raking your lawn to get all the organic matter up, then transferring it to your compost heap or disposing of it. Light scarification is best in the spring but you can heavily scarify it in the autumn.

If you’ve got a small lawn, you can use a hand-held hollow tine aerator or even a normal garden fork. Dig deep into your lawn’s surface with the fork, or push the aerator into the ground which will pull plugs, or cores, of soil out of the ground to create air holes. You can let the cores dry and then go over them with a lawn mower or rake to spread them evenly across your lawn. This will recycle all the nutrients in those parts of the soil and stimulate bacterial activity to break down unwanted thatch. Don’t leave them, because they will make your lawn look bumpy over time.

If you’ve got a larger lawn, you might find it easier to see if you can hire a petrol aerator. But there are also rolling aerators that have spikes on a cylinder and you just push along, or even aerator sandals that you can wear and just go to town on your grass!