CRF Services Ltd
Garden steps, paths and landscaping edging
Plenty of gardens in Rochester and the Medway towns slope away from the house, and a muddy bank or a few loose slabs is not a safe way down. Well built garden steps give you an even, solid route between levels. Edging does a quieter job: it keeps gravel on the path, lawn out of the borders and decking or paving looking finished. CRF Services Ltd builds small sets of garden steps, short garden paths and edging of most common kinds, sized for ordinary domestic gardens.
Garden steps between levels
Garden steps are built on a firm base, with each riser the same height and each tread deep enough to put a whole foot on. Uneven steps are the ones people trip on. Timber sleeper steps suit informal gardens and are quick to build into a bank. Steps with brick or block risers and paving treads are heavier work but last longer and match a patio. Each tread has a slight fall so water runs off instead of sitting on it.
A short flight of a few steps is a typical job. Long flights, steps that also hold back a high bank, or anything needing a retaining wall of real height, need an engineer and are not taken on.
Garden path installation
A garden path needs the same groundwork as a patio, just narrower. The route is dug out, a compacted sub base is laid and the surface goes on top, whether that is gravel, paving slabs or stepping stones set into lawn. Edging holds a gravel path together, and a slight fall stops puddles. Wider paved areas are covered on patio installation.
Do I need landscaping edging?
Edging is worth having wherever two surfaces meet and one is likely to creep into the other. Gravel paths spread into lawns without it, grass runs into borders and needs cutting back each month, and bark or soil washes onto paving after rain. A firm edge also gives the mower a clean line to run along. Where a lawn meets a patio laid slightly higher, edging is often not needed, as the paving already forms the edge.
- Timber edging boards for informal beds and paths
- Steel or aluminium edging for crisp, low profile lines
- Brick or block edging set in mortar along paths
- Edging stones and kerbs for gravel driveways and paths
- Decking edging boards to cover cut joist ends
How do you fix landscaping edging?
Most edging fails because it was never fixed firmly. Timber edging loosens when its pegs rot or were too short, so it is refixed or replaced with longer treated pegs or metal pins. Metal edging that has lifted is reset deeper and pinned again. Brick or block edging that has rocked loose is lifted, rebedded on fresh mortar over a firm base and haunched behind so it cannot tip. Edging pushed out of line by tree roots or a mower is straightened and refixed, and edging that has rotted through is renewed.
Decking edging
Decking edging, sometimes called fascia boards, covers the cut ends of joists and the gap under the deck, giving a neat finished edge. It is fitted on new decks and can be added to an existing deck that looks unfinished. Building the deck itself is covered on decking installation.
What affects the price
The number of steps, the materials, the slope, how much soil has to be dug and taken away and how far materials must be carried all affect the quote. Garden steps and edging sit within landscaping. Send photos of the slope or the edges and rough measurements through the contact page.
This work is part of our Landscaping service.
Common questions
Garden steps, paths and landscaping edging questions answered
Have a job in mind?
Tell Danny what needs doing and get a clear, no-obligation quotation.