Advice or ideas on narrow garden landscaping, partitioning and dealing with a raised patio

This is what my neighbour has got, similar size to mine but obviously neater and the steps don't cut into it so deeply.



The house to my left has a small raised patio with a shed on it, and the rest of the width is just full width steps leading from house down to lawn.

Other neighbours have built extensions which takes up half of the patio so they just have steps down to lawn.

There's only a few houses which are raised up like mine because the street levels out further up.

 

Here is a mock up of what I could do with the steps. A new step built out from the existing steps at the base, to take some of the height, and then steps turned into the patio running up the one side of it, with a decent landing at the top.

I would aim for 2 courses of brick per riser, and 450-500mm of tread per step, at a width of approx 1m.

Is this relatively minor change worth the effort?

 

I don't think that looks safe. Think of small people, older people, infirm people, even dogs streaking out of the house and coming a cropper. It will also limit the size of table or seating arrangement you can have on your terrace, assuming you want one.

Aesthetically, that bottom rectangular step makes the curved bed on the left look silly and a central stair will make you garden look small. Setting the steps to the side will make you garden look bigger.

Do draw the whole thing to scale and move stuff around on it so you can fit the features you need. I can offer no further advice.

 

Its not showing the handrailing or trellis I would be putting up, just the modifications to the steps.

The curved bed is just whats there now. I can change that in the future to make everything better as well. Ive not shown any changes to that yet, just the steps because the steps is the first job.

Ive done a plan view, its not massively helpful because the larger aspect to my job is in the height dimension, hence why Im trying to do actual visual mock ups of what it will look like.

I dont have any features, not sure what you mean by that. Pots can go anywhere and I don't have a proper patio table yet, but would only get a small one.


So you don't like the inset steps basically, you think a whole new set of steps, outset from the existing patio completely (much bigger job, even in timber).

 

@Obelix-Vendée something like this?

 

Yes to the steps at the side! Yes to timber cos it's simpler to shape and build, sturdy and safe if you do it right!

Features - garden furniture such as table, chairs, sofa, BBQ, fire pit, trellis, pergola, arbour, shed, pots, pond, compost bins, household bins, anything else your imagination comes up with for both levels of the garden

Do some more googling - https://richardrogersdesigns.com/small-garden-design/

https://fr.pinterest.com/ideas/diagonal-garden-design/954063657178/

The diagonal design creates an illusion of width. - Contemporary - Garden - London - by Georgia Lindsay Garden Design | Houzz UK

Small garden ideas – 35 brilliant ways to transform a tiny outdoor space

GOOD LINES MEAN GOOD DESIGNS


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Ok it looks alright I think. Obviously mine won't be as elaborate as those ones.

Note the top of the steps there though - the neighbouring fence is only going to be waist height so I would need to raise the height of the fence quite alot because I'll be looking straight over it.

 

I like that design Dan. As you say, you might want to raise the height of the fence but that shouldn't be a problem?

As for infilling the void where your existing steps are, do you still have that big pile of bricks, if so, could you use those for infill?

 

The bricks have all been cleaned up and put aside to use on other building projects. There wasn't much left over, only a few broken ones which I needed out of the way so went to the tip. Wouldn't have been enough anyway for infilling the existing steps. That's ok, I can order bulk bags of aggregate.

I'm going to render the existing wall so can just use blocks to build up the existing steps opening.

What would I do about hand railing / screening along the length of patio wall under this scenario? I still want taller screening at the side we were previously talking about to try and add privacy. But id now also need further hand railing across the whole wall now.

 

Trellis panels - both between you and the nieghbours for privacy and as safety barriers across the top of the wall. They don't have to be even heights but should, if possible, echo the wood in the steps so it's a harmonious construct. You can add climbers or pots of upright or bushy plants in front as needed for privacy.

You don't need risers on the steps. Just horizontal steps with gaps will be much more airy and allow light to any shade loving planting you have below.

 

I'm still wondering about reducing the height of the left half of the patio, and using the spoil from it to increase the right hand half....
With a rail and trellis in between

 

I’m going to say that you’re doing really good job @Dan1981 for asking all the right questions and taking on board the suggestions, rejecting those that don’t work for you ( for whatever reason) and this is the beauty of this forum in that there are plenty of posters with lots of experience for you to take away and mull over.This is a good and the right approach to any solution finding.

My spanner in the works works is that I much prefer the steps on your new design, coming down from a different direction just more pleasing aesthetically pleasing.. The side steps I feel, are pretty plain ugly and not very pretty.. just my opinion. They are out of the way, against an outside fence making them an inconsequential addition to nothing.
Your lovely designing of step realignment is totally better, very balanced and pleasing to the eye. Perception is changed when coming down steps from difference angels as opposed to steps straight down. With safety rails up it will be delightful. Best idea yet IMO.
. And the pots round the hand rails can be potted up with some so lovely plants which can grow as tall as you like them . Good luck

 

Sorry for not replying earlier but I'm really not sure what you mean by this suggestion..my patio is high enough as it is without adding additional height to it, I would be creating myself an even greater overlooking problem to solve if I raised it even more.

Thanks for the feedback. Obviously I have a difficult site to work with here and I will need to come to a decision. I don't know which solution is best I really don't. Neither feel ideal but maybe it's impossible to find an ideal solution given the restrictions of the site.

 

So my suggestion, and it is just a suggestion, is that you lower the left side of the patio (remove the flags, reduce the height of the ground underneath, put the flags back,
Remove the flags from the right side, spread the spoil you took out of the left side to make the right side higher, put the flags back.

This would give you an area on the left which is lower, and could feel more protected by the raised area on the right.

 

You would lose even more of the patio with the design below.



I suggested back on my post #95 it would be a good idea to move the steps left or right. I think this will be the best solution for you. If you choose this idea and use wood the surface of the steps will need covering with something, in winter they can be lethal.

But how long will you be looking over that fence? In transit from top to bottom and vice versa - just seconds.