A sloping Oakham garden, rebuilt to be used
A family home on the edge of Oakham with a garden that fell away from the house steeply enough that nobody went out there. The brief: somewhere to eat outside, a lawn the kids could actually play on, and planting that would not become a second job.
What we did
The slope became the design. Two oak sleeper retaining walls turned the fall into a pair of level terraces: porcelain dining terrace at house level, lawn below, linked by sleeper steps with recessed lights. Behind each wall went membrane and drainage stone — on Vale of Catmose clay, a retaining wall without drainage is a future lean.
The upper terrace is 900×600 porcelain on a full mortar bed with falls running away from the house. The lawn level was cultivated, levelled and turfed, with a raised sleeper bed along the sunny fence for the kitchen planting the owners wanted. New closeboard fencing finished the boundaries.
| Location | Oakham, Rutland |
| Scope | Terracing, patio, lawn, fencing, planting beds, lighting |
| Retaining | Oak sleeper walls with engineered drainage |
| Patio | 900×600 porcelain, full-bed installation |
| Duration | 3 weeks on site |
| Guarantee | 5 year workmanship, in writing |
More like this
Got a slope going to waste?
Terracing is the highest-value move in garden design. Walk us round yours and we will show you what it could be.