Recent Projects

Murrayfield - retaining wall and steps

The garden at this property in Edinburgh is in the process of undergoing a major revamp. The original lawn ran down a shallow slope from the patio area at the back of the house to a border area at the bottom of the garden. The client was keen to level off the lawn area in order to make better use of the space.

Local landscape gardener Charlie Munro and his team did an amazing job of removing several dozen tons of soil, lowering the level of the garden by some 1.5m. Stone Inspired then came in to build a high retaining wall and two sets of steps. The wide staircase was built immediately outside the back door as the main feature of the garden. A second narrow stair was built to one side to provide an alternative access point between the high level patio and the low level garden.

Alston stone, with its buff colour and square blocky shape, was chosen as a good match for the sandstone used in the house. The main staircase measured 1.3m at the top, opening up to 2.5m at the base, and the retaining walls were 1.75m to the top of the copes. The subtle curves of the wall were used to contrast with the square and regular stonework of the house behind.

Further images will be added once the patio has been completed and the lawn area turfed.

The Bennetts, Murrayfield

"I just wanted to say a huge thank you for all of your efforts - the end result has exceeded my expectations and we are delighted with how the wall, the raised border and both sets of steps have turned out. It was fascinating watching the process and your efforts and attention to detail was second to none."

Wallers - Jason Hoffman and Richard Love.

Landscaping - Charlie Munro

Alston stone supplied by Border Aggregates

Free estimates and consultations

We provide free estimates and initial consultations for all walling and landscaping work. If you are interested in redesigning your garden using natural stone, please contact us.

Balvenie Masters of Craft Awards

I am very pleased to announce that I was one of three people short-listed in the stone category for the inaugural Balvenie/Sunday Telegraph craftsman of the year 2011.

This new award aims to celebrate heritage and hand-built crafts over seven materials categories including stone, wood and glass. The judging panel was TV presenter and author, Kevin McCloud, Chairman of the Heritage Crafts Association, Robin Wood, expert crafts photographer, Nick Hand, Editor of The Sunday Telegraph Life, Anne Cuthbertson and the whisky industry's longest standing Malt Master, David Stewart

Further details of the winners are on the Balvenie web site