Three terraces from one slope

The before

David and Meg had lived with the slope for nine years. The children played on the only flat-ish patch by the back door; the bottom third of the garden was visited, in Meg's words, “about as often as the attic”. Every previous quote they'd had proposed decking over the problem. Nobody had priced actually fixing the levels.

Our survey found the subsoil was solid glacial clay — awkward to dig, superb to build on. That meant we could terrace with confidence: two retaining walls instead of three, and every wall doubling as something (a bench, a planter, a slide anchor).

The story of the build

Weeks one and two were earthworks: 60 tonnes of clay cut, half of it re-used as fill behind the new walls rather than paying to cart it away. The neighbours were warned before the digger arrived.

Weeks three to five built the bones — sleeper-and-steel retaining walls, Welsh slate paving on the top terrace, and wide oak steps down the spine of the garden, each flight offset so the view from the kitchen zig-zags through planting rather than staring down a staircase.

The honest bit: August rain cost us four days, and a drain we found (unmapped, Edwardian, mildly heroic) needed re-routing around the middle wall — £900 of the contingency, agreed with David the same day we found it. We finished two days inside the seven-week programme.

The after

Top terrace: slate, dining table, and the evening sun. Middle: a proper flat lawn — trampoline recessed to ground level, which every parent who visits now covets. Bottom: the “wild third”, with a mini-meadow, log store, den corner and the rebuilt shed (no crampons required). Borders of grasses, salvia and achillea knit the three levels into one garden.

Numbers that might help you budget

• Earthworks & retaining walls — roughly 40% of the budget on a sloping site
• Paving, steps & lawn — about 35%
• Planting, meadow & lighting — about 20%
• Contingency actually spent — £900 of a £2,000 allowance