Project Info
Project Description
This job in Murieston in Livingston, West Lothian was a lovely 12 minute drive from my house! It was ideal as a winter job because it was so close. After previous winters when I had long drives to the work site only find it was under 3 feet of snow, having such a short drive was brilliant. As it turned out the winter was exceptionally mild and I didn’t lose any time to the cold weather!
The job
The client’s garden was in need of some TLC when he got in touch. There was a grassy slope down to some paving and wooden sleeper steps up to a second level gravel terrace. A skip was filled with the old paving and heavy clay soi that we dug out.
The basic design was for a low curved retaining wall to raise the height of the garden, with crazy paving in front of it. A set of steps would take you up to a terrace around which two low ways (including a planter/bench) would lead up to a small seat at the top of the garden.
The design morphed a bit we went along, but the end result was pretty close to the paper design.
The stone is Alston stone from Cumbria and the paving is Alston crazy paving. Flat caps were used and several tonnes of soil was brought in.
Client feedback
Jason met with my wife and I to agree an outline brief that was a blend of our requirements, and Jason’s suggestions. A concise and clear contract was drawn up with agreed scope, price, and schedule.
As the drystone build progressed the layout and linkages between the patio, steps, mid level terrace and then the steps to the upper level developed naturally.
It was interesting to observe Jason and his fellow Drystone waller, David Wilson, craft and create such a beautiful flowing surface structure. It’s rare to see such skilled artisans bent over their work whilst selecting, shaping and placing each stone.
The end result was a very harmonious arrangement of American style flagstones, delightfull retaining walls and planters with capstones which swept down like cascading ribbons connecting the 3 elevations. Jason also incorporated some existing stones, rocks and artefacts which formed the original garden and added to the story of our new garden.
Fantastic craftsmanship, thoughtful and creative design, well executed as a project and the final cost was happily within our expectations. Working with wholly natural materials has produced a unique finish and look that changes with the light and the weather. We are very happy with his work and his approach to the project and us as his clients.
I fully endorse the finished work ,with its understated artistic flourishes, and wholly recommend him to you.
It’s not just stonework it is the crafting of Art.