James Whitaker
Why a Little Garden Preparation Goes a Long Way
Before a single spade goes into the ground, your garden will quietly become a building site. Mini diggers need room to turn, bricks arrive by the pallet-load, and excavated soil has to go somewhere. A few days spent preparing the space beforehand will save you a great deal of stress, protect the plants and lawns you want to keep, and help the job run to programme.
The best time to do this is the fortnight before your contractor's start date. By then, the drawings are agreed, the building control application is in and you have a clear idea of where the foundations will run.
Protecting the Plants and Features You Want to Keep
Extensions rarely take out the whole garden, so decide early what stays. Mature shrubs, climbers and hedges are the hardest things to replace, so mark them clearly with canes and flagging tape before machinery arrives.
- Trees: roots extend well beyond the canopy. A tree protection order or conservation area designation may apply, and the council will expect a root protection area to be fenced off. Even without one, a simple barrier of scaffold boards or Heras fencing keeps diggers and material stacks off the root zone.
- Lawns: the cheapest protection is a layer of old scaffold boards or plywood sheets laid over the route where barrows and boots will travel. It also stops the ground turning into a mud bath in wet weather.
- Borders and beds: lift any plants in the footprint of the build and heel them into pots or a temporary bed in a shaded corner. Water them well and they will usually survive the season.
- Hard landscaping: note the position of paving, drains, garden taps and lighting cables. Anything that needs to come up should be lifted, labelled and stored rather than skipped.
- Wildlife: check hedges and sheds for nesting birds and hedgehogs before work starts. Disturbing an active nest is an offence, so timing matters.
Planning Access for Machinery and Deliveries
Access is where most home extension projects come unstuck. A standard 6-yard skip lorry needs a clear road width and a safe stopping point; a concrete wagon needs even more. Walk your route with a tape measure and be honest about the tight spots.
Think about what will actually be coming down the path: a 1.5 to 3 tonne mini digger, a tracked dumper, pallets of blocks, lengths of timber, and possibly a telehandler for roof trusses. A garden gate of 900mm is rarely wide enough. Removing a fence panel or two for the duration is often the simplest fix, and it makes fencing the site off at the end much easier.
- Agree with your contractor exactly where vehicles will park, turn and unload.
- Consider a temporary hard standing of compacted Type 1 or trackway mats if the ground is soft.
- Check whether a dropped kerb or pavement crossing is needed, and whether the council requires a licence.
- Talk to neighbours before day one. A short note explaining dates and working hours prevents most disputes.
Agreeing Where Materials and Spoil Will Live
Foundations produce a surprising amount of excavated soil. A typical single-storey extension can generate 20 to 30 tonnes of spoil, and it has to sit somewhere until it is taken away or reused. Raised beds, level changes and new borders can all absorb clean subsoil, so ask early whether any can stay on site.
For materials, aim to allocate one clearly defined storage bay — around 3m by 3m is a sensible minimum — on firm, level ground close to the build. Stack bricks and blocks on pallets, timber on bearers, and bagged cement off the ground and under a tarpaulin. Keep a separate spot for the skip, ideally hard standing rather than the lawn, and agree how often it will be exchanged.
It also pays to agree a site compound area: somewhere for the welfare unit, a water butt or tap, and a dustbin for waste. A tidy site is a safer site, and it keeps the working area separate from where your family still needs to live.
Services, Drainage and the Practicalities Underfoot
Before digging starts, confirm the run of any services crossing the garden: water main, gas, electricity, broadband and drainage. Your contractor should have service plans, but old properties often have surprises. Mark runs on the ground with spray paint or pegs and photograph everything before it disappears under hardcore.
Check where the existing rainwater and foul drainage run, and whether any manhole covers will need raising or relocating. If a soakaway or new connection is planned, the garden will need a clear route for the excavator to reach it. Also consider a temporary water supply and a power point for the trades, so nobody is trailing extension leads through your kitchen.
Day One: A Simple Checklist
On the morning the contractors arrive, do a five-minute walk-round together. Confirm the storage bay, the skip position, the access route and the protected zones. Photograph the whole garden, including the neighbour's boundary, so there is a clear record of its condition. Point out the outside tap, the bin store and where the kettle lives.
Get this groundwork right and the build will feel far less disruptive. Your plants stand a better chance, your contractor can crack on without delays, and you will still have a garden worth returning to when the scaffolding finally comes down.
