A BEAUTIFUL driveway gives an important first impression of your home,
and there's never been such a wide range of paving colours, shapes and
textures, all offering that vital combination of strength, durability
and good looks.
If you have room for a garage which will match and enhance your home
at the end of your driveway, then you have the ideal place to keep the
car safe and sound, and to provide additional storage space for freezer,
bicycles and do-it-yourself equipment. If you haven't got space for a
garage, then a carport or canopy will enhance both your garden and your
home, and there are reputable professional firms which specialise in
constructing both.
The top British housebuilders incorporate a pavoir driveway in their
new developments, recognising that the car is an integral part of
everyday life, and that the safest and most convenient place to keep it
is close to the house. Housebuilders have also noted how an impressive
driveway with a garage and carport at the end increases sales by adding
to the appeal of the homes they build.
The garden area is now seen as an extension of the home, and these
days many families take as much time and trouble over planning the
layout and facilities outdoors as they do indoors.
Carports and canopies can add an extra dimension to the garden,
drawing the eye and adding a ''full stop'' to the view, providing shade
and shelter and looking good with or without a covering of plants.
A pergola is one of the most versatile features that can be used in
the garden, giving instant height and providing valuable support for a
myriad of climbing plants. It can also hide unsightly views and provide
some privacy.
As well as providing a practical place to store the car, a carport,
canopy or pergola can create a stunning focal point in your garden.
Built next to the house, the pergola frame makes a good alternative
carport with a concrete, crazy paved or gravel base. Corrugated sheets
fitted to the frame will provide a weatherproof covering. A wooden
garden trellis added to the pergola posts can be used for training
roses, and your local garden centre will recommend climbing varieties
which have been bred to flower throughout the season.
A covered area outdoors, ideally located over a part of the patio, is
a stepping stone between house and garden, providing somewhere to sit,
eat out or sunbathe on sunny days and giving children a firm outdoor
play area. A specialist company will ensure that drainage is properly
taken care of, especially if the garden rises away from the house, and
check that the patio level will be at least six inches below the level
of the house damp proof course.
A raised brick planter, filled with an assortment of shrubs and
flowers, could be incorporated into the patio design, or even built up
against the side of a wall. Here again a professional firm will ensure
that the house damp proof course will not be adversely affected. Just
about every garden, whether large or small, will benefit from a raised
planter -- terraced levels of greenery create an effect that's
interesting on the eye and easier on the back.
The planter must be built on sturdy foundations sunk into the ground,
and if your garden is on a slope, a level foundation area will have to
be excavated. Four horizontal courses of bricks and a top row of
vertical or ''soldier'' bricks will bring the planter up to an ideal
height for variegated plants, but if you plan to plant large shrubs or
tall grasses, you may prefer to have just two or three horizontal
courses. You can incorporate a seating frame with a storage space
underneath where you can store small garden tools into your brick
planter. Site it in the best suntrap your garden has to offer.
You might consider locating some plant tubs or a rotary clothes line
close to your patio and carport, or siting a garden pond nearby. A pond
is an attractive feature in any garden, and once stocked, needs little
attention to keep it lively and interesting. The shape of the pond,
whether formal or informal, can be selected to match the style of the
rest of the garden, and a reputable firm will help you select a position
where it can be drained without affecting the foundations of your home.
Exactly where you put your pond depends to a large extent on what is
already in your garden. Keep it away from overhanging trees and shrubs
-- dead leaves falling in autumn will soon fill up the pond and foul the
water. Shade also encourages the growth of algae, turning the water a
murky green, so make sure the pond benefits from plenty of sunlight --
at least half a day's worth. It is also best to site the pond where it
is protected from cold northerly and easterly winds, using shrubs and
brick planters to protect exposed sides and add visual interest.
Perhaps you would like to add to the amenity of your garden by
including a sandpit or climbing frame in your plans. It's often a
problem finding a safe area for adventurous children to play and
explore. If you have a tree in your garden, you can have the climbing
frame anchored to the trunk, making a climbing frame and tree house in
one.
On the
house
INSTEAD of repairing and repainting the outside of your house every
few years, you might consider a more permanent finish.
Bestex of Bonnybridge has an exterior coating which is spray applied
under high pressure, giving a finish up to 20 times thicker than
conventional paint, and is guaranteed for 15 years.
The company will arrange free inspections. Telephone 0324 815557.
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