Landscaping
Looking For Hard Landscaping Near You?
Hard landscaping sets the foundation for your garden project, from stone gravel paths and fencing to water features.
It can be easy to get carried away with the more aesthetic aspects of landscaping, but the truth is the structural elements set the stage for your soft landscaping to thrive. Carefully selected flowers, plants and trees won’t be nearly as effective without a high-quality and well-designed foundation.
Hard landscaping provides the crucial bare bones of your landscaping project, and without high-quality workmanship and thorough processes, your garden design might fall flat.
DG Ritchie Joinery is skilled in all things structural and has a specialised team: DG Ritchie Civil & Groundworks. We provide you with comprehensive, start to finish service that will leave your outdoor space looking fantastic.
Available for all domestic and commercial projects on a large or small scale, we’re delighted to provide you with something unique to you. We’re confident we can make whatever your vision is a reality, as can be seen with our long history of customer satisfaction.
What is hard landscaping?
Hard landscaping generally refers to the solid (yet often movable) elements of a landscape garden. Some examples of hard landscaping include:
Outdoor rooms
Pergolas
Pathways and paving
Decking
Brick walls.
In other words, hard landscaping helps to create the basic form of your garden. It is vital that you seek professional tradespeople who will guide you through the process whilst delivering results to the highest standard.
Hard landscaping work completed to a high standard at DG Ritchie Joinery
Our team is skilled in a wide variety of disciplines. From special outdoor rooms to elegant paving stones, we transform your tired outdoor space into a modern and functional sanctuary where it’s a pleasure to relax and socialise.
After years of experience, our tradesmen deliver optimum results catered to you. Our attention to detail, coupled with the use of quality materials, ensure that you’ll be thrilled with the outcome.
Friendly and approachable service
At DG Ritchie Joinery, we provide the personable service of a family run business with no compromise on quality. This ethos has led us to be highly recommended by our past customers and throughout the industry.
Not only do we provide outstanding service, but we’re here to support you through all aspects of your project. This includes landscaping design, project management, advice and insurance.
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Hard Landscaping FAQs
Hard landscaping typically includes features such as:
- Walkways and paths
- Driveways
- Drainage
- Infrastructure
- Electrical components
- Fencing
- Decking
- Patios
- Stairs
- Walls.
These features then serve as the foundation for the use of soft landscaping elements like grass, plants, and other vegetation.
The main difference between hard and soft landscaping is that hard landscaping refers to non-living, structural features, while soft landscaping involves living, natural elements.
Hard landscaping typically refers to non-plant elements such as patios, decks, walkways, retaining walls, fences, and water features.
Soft landscaping, on the other hand, refers to the living, horticultural components of outdoor design such as trees, shrubs, flowers, and other plants.
Hard landscaping features are usually constructed using durable materials such as concrete, brick, stone, metal, or wood, and are designed to provide structure and function to the outdoor space. Hard landscaping elements are typically permanent, and they require more planning and construction work than soft landscaping.
The cost of your landscaping project will vary depending on the type of work being done, the size of the area being worked on and materials being used. Therefore, it is hard to give an exact estimate.
However, in the UK, landscapers charge between £200-400 per day, or between £30-50 per hour. These prices should help you have a rough idea of what you can expect to pay for a landscaping project.
Hard landscaping projects can take anywhere from less than a week to up to a month. It all depends on the amount of work being carried out.
If we take a medium-sized garden build as an example, you can expect this type of landscaping project to take up to two full weeks to complete.
Certainly! A well designed, functional, and attractive garden is a key selling point of any property. If your landscaping project improves the look and functionality of your outdoor space, it will almost certainly add value.
UK planning permission for garden landscaping is generally not required, but it depends on the specifications of your project.
If you only plan to add artificial grass, install outdoor lighting, re-turf your lawn area, add garden paving or create new flower beds you will not need planning permission to do so. However, if you are constructing a new wall or fence, you may need planning permission depending on the size and placement of the structure.
The requirements for building a new wall, fence or gate are:
- If the new structure would be over 1m high when next to a highway used by vehicles
- Over 2m high and situated elsewhere, such as a back garden, side path etc.
- You build on an existing wall over 1m high
We're experienced in dealing with planning permits. If planning permission is needed, we will be here to assist throughout the process.
To properly prepare for a home landscaping project, we recommend:
- Defining your goals and budget before you start
- Conduct research and look for inspiration and ideas for your landscaping project to create a clear idea of what you want
- Choose the right plants and materials
- Consider the practical aspects, such as drainage, irrigation, and lighting
- Communicate effectively and be open to suggestions from the contractors you choose to work with
By following this advice, you can help ensure the success of your landscaping project and create a beautiful outdoor space that meets your needs and budget.
Maintaining your new garden space will require ongoing effort and will change depending on the type of work you have done.
If you invest in a new garden and fresh plant beds, you will need to ensure they receive enough water and sunlight.
When it comes to driveways, and paving, cleaning the stone or concrete regularly with a hose will keep them looking fresh. If you have new decking installed, regularly varnishing the wood and adding protective coatings will keep it in the best shape possible.
We’ll be happy to give detailed instructions on how to best maintain your specific landscaping work once the job is completed.
Of course! Lighting is a key aspect of landscaping.
We would be happy to help you source, choose and install lighting when carrying out your landscaping project.
Hard soft landscaping can certainly be applied to smaller spaces and help you make the most out of the outdoor space that you have at your disposal. Whether it be laying artificial grass, installing new decking or replacing gravel with concrete or paving, hard landscaping can be applied. to improve the look and functionality of your outdoor area,
