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New build raised bed full of concrete.

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  • 08-05-2021 10:02pm
    #1
    Paul Tergat
    Registered Users Posts: 10,741 ✭✭✭✭


    Looking for some advice.

    We have a new build and the garden has a raised bed. Having take out some of the top layer, which was mainly stones and chalk like soil, I can see there is at least a metre of concrete underneath. Is this normal? I assume not and want to get the builders to sort it.

    It appears as though they were mixing concrete in that corner and just left it behind.... There are also blue chunks of stone there which suggest to me they were working there and just put soil on top of it...

    Would welcome some thoughts.

    Edit - have pics but not sure how to embed on mobile??


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    #2
    looksee
    Registered Users Posts: 28,198 ✭✭✭✭looksee


    You have discovered the joys of gardening in a new build. Usually its the horrible patchy lawn that has to be dug up to remove all the rubbish and old concrete that was covered by an inch of soil!

    Not sure how you are able to conclude there is a metre of concrete, but a raised bed filled with any concrete will be useless as there will be no drainage, if the builders are still around you can have a go at getting it sorted, good luck!:)


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    #3
    Paul Tergat
    Registered Users Posts: 10,741 ✭✭✭✭Paul Tergat


    looksee wrote: »
    You have discovered the joys of gardening in a new build. Usually its the horrible patchy lawn that has to be dug up to remove all the rubbish and old concrete that was covered by an inch of soil!

    Not sure how you are able to conclude there is a metre of concrete, but a raised bed filled with any concrete will be useless as there will be no drainage, if the builders are still around you can have a go at getting it sorted, good luck!:)

    Thanks

    Also having big issues with the patchy loan which we discovered only this year having had to wait for it to be seeded and had the builder and gardener in who gave the usual bs that it's down to not feeding it consistently and suggesting that it was us rather than them to blame.

    When I say 1m, it's 1m in length that I can already see having done a bit of digging. My original issue was that there were far too many stones so I was going to take off the top layer (and some) and refill with my own compost but finding this I am fuming.


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    #4
    looksee
    Registered Users Posts: 28,198 ✭✭✭✭looksee


    Ah, that kind of a metre! I thought you meant a metre deep. The 'new lawn' etc of a new build has to be taken like the new paint job on a second hand house, its a 'lets get this sold' manoeuvre that will quickly reveal the short cuts once you have moved in.

    Dig a couple of test holes on the dodgier bits of the lawn. If its nice top soil a few inches down and clean sub soil below, then the builder might possibly be right about it being your fault. This is unlikely to be the case. Don't waste any money trying to improve it, just accept that you might as well dig it over and start again. (Having said that, new lawns do tend to be patchy for the first 12 months; feeding isn't the solution, mowing, and time, is. If it is less than 12 months old you would be better to wait and see).

    The concrete needs to be dug out of the raised bed and the bed re-filled. It might be less stress to just do it, and at least you will know it is done properly. When you refill it don't use just commercial compost, you need at least 50% soil, I would use about 90% soil and just improve it a bit with compost.


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