We decided we needed to do something with our patio area at the end of summer last year, we thought a deck would be the perfect solution to hide the ugly paving and planned it for spring but have only just gotten round to it (and saved the funds) and we are thrilled with it! I can't recommend Mark from Allsorts Property Maintenance enough!
It's a small area of our garden but has made such a difference to our enjoyment of it, not to mention the twins' ability to get in and out independently! They often fell off the step as they prefer to hold on to the side of the door frame when going down and it didn't stretch across the full width.
Our patio was ugly, grubby and uneven with huge spaces between slabs. It was tricky for the twins to walk on, the table & chairs are unstable and difficult to push back when sitting down or getting up. The step also got in the way of our table and chairs.
Our plan was to get rid of the step, have the decking be at the level just under the patio door and to cover the whole main square of patio with a slant across the corner to spare the tree. We decided to leave the path area along the side of the kitchen because of the drain, tap and hose. We also planned to have it overlap onto the grass about a foot on each side to give us extra space for our table and chairs and we decided to have a step along the front edge and the side of the path.
I asked around for local recommendations for someone to build it for us and booked in a few quotes. Our choice was then easy - only one turned up when he said he would and gave us a quote the very next day, laid out with costs for each and every material, labour and listing exactly what he'd do. The others either never showed at all or showed up late and sent us quotes WEEKS later!! (One was actually a complete joke giving all kinds of excuses for being late and increasing the quote 3 times because he got it wrong!)
Anyway, Mark turned up bang on 8am and got to work without even disturbing us until he needed electricity and he did an excellent job. The whole thing was done in fewer than 3 days to an excellent, sturdy standard and is exactly what we hoped for.
He left the place tidy every evening and made sure it was perfectly level (meaning he had to dig out and level part of the lawn as it's on such a slope!)
The twins manage the shallow steps so much easier than previously. Their confidence has improved massively as they wouldn't go up steps before without being on all fours or holding on to something/someone.
Although we'd opted for pre-treated wood, we decided it just looked unfinished in the raw wood so decided to paint it. After much deliberation/searching for inspiration, we opted for Cuprinol decking stain in Silver Birch. Nik did a fab job painting it with a couple of coats and it looks great!
Perfect for early morning Duplo in pyjamas!
It looks great with my pots and hanging basket back up and we have so much more space for our garden furniture without the step getting in the way!
We already use the patio area a lot more now and have enjoyed a great BBQ with plenty of space for the high chairs too.
I love my melamine plates (not least because they go in the dishwasher which a lot don't) which I got from M&Co with a gift voucher I won on Instagram!
We are so happy with Mark's work, we've already booked him to come back and build the twins' playhouse for us! (When it arrived it became apparent that it was going to take us days to complete! Not your standard flatpack!!) It's their early 2nd birthday present from both sets of grandparents which we're hoping they'll get to enjoy this summer before the weather turns colder again. (Although that is now looking unlikely thanks to quite a few issues with it but that's a story for another post!)
It's a small area of our garden but has made such a difference to our enjoyment of it, not to mention the twins' ability to get in and out independently! They often fell off the step as they prefer to hold on to the side of the door frame when going down and it didn't stretch across the full width.
Our patio was ugly, grubby and uneven with huge spaces between slabs. It was tricky for the twins to walk on, the table & chairs are unstable and difficult to push back when sitting down or getting up. The step also got in the way of our table and chairs.
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| We had to keep folding the chairs out of the way to get around the table. |
Our plan was to get rid of the step, have the decking be at the level just under the patio door and to cover the whole main square of patio with a slant across the corner to spare the tree. We decided to leave the path area along the side of the kitchen because of the drain, tap and hose. We also planned to have it overlap onto the grass about a foot on each side to give us extra space for our table and chairs and we decided to have a step along the front edge and the side of the path.
I asked around for local recommendations for someone to build it for us and booked in a few quotes. Our choice was then easy - only one turned up when he said he would and gave us a quote the very next day, laid out with costs for each and every material, labour and listing exactly what he'd do. The others either never showed at all or showed up late and sent us quotes WEEKS later!! (One was actually a complete joke giving all kinds of excuses for being late and increasing the quote 3 times because he got it wrong!)
Anyway, Mark turned up bang on 8am and got to work without even disturbing us until he needed electricity and he did an excellent job. The whole thing was done in fewer than 3 days to an excellent, sturdy standard and is exactly what we hoped for.
He left the place tidy every evening and made sure it was perfectly level (meaning he had to dig out and level part of the lawn as it's on such a slope!)
The twins manage the shallow steps so much easier than previously. Their confidence has improved massively as they wouldn't go up steps before without being on all fours or holding on to something/someone.
Although we'd opted for pre-treated wood, we decided it just looked unfinished in the raw wood so decided to paint it. After much deliberation/searching for inspiration, we opted for Cuprinol decking stain in Silver Birch. Nik did a fab job painting it with a couple of coats and it looks great!
Perfect for early morning Duplo in pyjamas!
It looks great with my pots and hanging basket back up and we have so much more space for our garden furniture without the step getting in the way!
We already use the patio area a lot more now and have enjoyed a great BBQ with plenty of space for the high chairs too.
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| She was hungry! |
I love my melamine plates (not least because they go in the dishwasher which a lot don't) which I got from M&Co with a gift voucher I won on Instagram!
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