Deciding to do work on your house, whatever the scale, is an exciting time. However, you may be worried about the effect it may have on your garden. By utilising a few tips, you can ensure that any damage done to your garden is minimal, reversible or better yet – non-existent!
Protect the Ground from any Damage:
When doing any work to the outside of a house, any falling wood or masonry is a big concern. A way of preventing this could be to lay down some wooden boards or better, a durable plastic covering. A solution such as this is an effective, yet temporary and easily reversible way of preventing your patio from being damaged.
Move any Plants or Furniture out of the way:
If your garden contains lots of potted plants and furniture, it may be an idea to remove them from any areas where they could be susceptible to damage. Try moving them inside, either in a spare room inside your house or perhaps a shed, if you have one. If you are only able to keep them outside, then try to remove them from the area where the work is going on, and cover with plastic sheeting to protect them from any dust or paint spills.
Don’t neglect your Plants:
While you are working on your house, it can be easy to forget about your plants altogether. If there are established plants in your garden that you cannot move, make sure that you still take the time to water, prune and generally take care of them. They can be exposed to fumes, dust or spillages, making them vulnerable. By taking the time now to care for them, you avoid the costly alternative – replacing them all!
Put it in a Skip:
It can be easy to let the rubbish pile up in your garden while the work continues on your house. You keep saying to yourself that you will clear it up, but the mess just keeps on building up. A good solution is to hire a skip. This way, all of the waste materials from the work on your house will be easily contained in one place, rather than damaging any plants, marking the patio or leaving unsightly digs and ditches in your lawn.
Keep Spillages to Minimum:
Liquids such as paint and varnish can leave unsightly marks and stains if spilt on patios or paving. When spilt on plants or grass, they have the potential to seriously damage or even kill them. The same can be said for harmful liquids such as turps or white spirits, which will almost certainly kill any plant life, as well as being dangerous to humans. If you see a leak or a drip coming from a height, leave a bucket underneath it to protect the ground before trying to see where it is coming from or what the liquid is. To prevent any accidental spillages from causing any damage, place some plastic sheeting or any old towels or sheets onto the ground so that they can catch any liquids and then be washed or disposed of as appropriate.
Make your Home Beautiful:
If you put any or all of this advice into practice, your garden will thank you for it. It can be easy to overlook the garden when focusing your attentions on the house, but having to replace or do additional work on your garden as a result of damage is a cost that can easily be avoided. Now that you know how to prevent this though, there’s no stopping you making your house look beautiful! So get those paintbrushes out – there’s no reason why not!
Henry Savage is the Managing Director of All Weather Access who specialise in supplying ground protection.