Wimbledon - London

Before                                                (Tuesday morning).....

and After                                                 (Friday - 4 days later).

This week I built the base for a large greenhouse at the top end of a long, sloping garden in Wimbledon.  It's hard to tell how much material you are going to need when faced with a slope - you just have to keep going until you run out, then get some more!  From six courses at one end the land slopes away so much I laid 11 courses at the other to maintain the level.

In turn, that meant reinforcing the back wall with lots of concrete, a pillar and a few more hidden courses of solid concrete blocks to hold back the force of that extra soil bearing on this inside of this back wall.  I've probably over-compensated as usual but this greenhouse will be made from accoya, which carries a 50-year guarantee, so everything needs to be thought in the long-term. 

Rather than trying to dig out the whole slope I dig down to the clay sub-base of compacted soil and step the foundations down each time.

One I had laid a few courses and could see the level I reinforced the rear end of the greenhouse from within and then dug out and levelled the interior.

I then spread out weedblock sheeting, compacted the interior and laid paving slabs in a 3:1 mortar mix, filling the surrounds with gravel to create a useful run-off when watering inside the greenhouse or for standing pots in.

I'll be back here in a couple of weeks to add the accoya top on this base.

Dear Robin,
Looking really good so far, and I'm delighted.
Regards,
William