LANDSCAPE CONSTRUCTION

Learn Methods Behind Basic Landscape Construction

Landscape construction is something which all landscapers should be familiar with, even if they are more focussed on soft landscaping. Construction skills are not only necessary in building hard landscape features, but also in repairing and restoring existing features.

Start your journey into landscaping

This course develops your knowledge of how to construct or build a landscape, rather than to design it.  

Lesson Structure

There are 10 lessons in this course:

1. Tools and Machinery
   • Manual Handling
   • Materials used for Constructing Tools and Equipment; ferrous metals, non ferrous metals
   • Safety with Electricity
   • Engine Troubleshooting
   • Machine Maintenance
   • Types of Machines
   • Chainsaws: safety, buying, using
   • Brush cutters
   • Earthmoving and Cultivating Equipment; rotary hoes, ploughs
   • Tools and Machinery
   • Manual Handling
   • Materials used for Constructing Tools and Equipment; ferrous metals, non ferrous metals
   • Safety with Electricity
   • Engine Troubleshooting
   • Machine Maintenance
   • Types of Machines
   • Chainsaws: safety, buying, using
   • Brushcutters
   • Earthmoving and Cultivating Equipment; rotary hoes, ploughs, cultivators, etc
   • Workshop and Hand Tools; spanners, chisels, hacksaws etc
   • Hand saws, Rakes, Spades, Shovels, Rollers, Wheelbarrows, Sprayers, etc
2. Landscape Plans and Setting out a Construction Site
   • Reading Landscape Plans, Scale, etc
   • Understanding and Using Triangulation
   • Slope, Contouring, Grid Systems
3. Drainage in Landscape Construction
   • Introduction to Drainage
   • Testing Drainage
   • Improving Drainage
   • Improving Soil Water Infiltration
   • Improving Drainage after construction; sand slitting, aerating, sub soiling
   • Sub Surface Drains; types, layout, outlet, gradients, pipe spacing, etc
   • Surface Drainage
   • Soil Testing; testing nutrients, pH, toxins
4. Earthworks
   • Leveling terminology
   • Leveling Procedure
   • Leveling a Sloping Site
   • Earthmoving
   • Earthmoving Machinery; Bobcat, Backhoe, Dozer
   • Use an Experienced Driver
   • Topsoil Considerations
   • Earth Forming: creating Mounds
   • Building Raised Garden Beds
   • Earth Quantity Calculation
   • Soil Degradation
   • Erosion; water erosion, wind erosion, controlling erosion
   • Soil Acidification Management
   • Managing Soil Compaction
   • Managing Chemical Residues
5. Surfaces, Paths, Paving and Turf
   • Introduction
   • Surfaces for Play Areas
   • Concrete; concrete, cement, mortar, variations in treatment and use
   • Loose Surfacing Materials: advantages and disadvantages
   • Bark Surfaces, Crushed tiles, pebbles, etc
   • Paths; concrete, asphalt, etc
   • Paving; laying pavers, setting out circular paving, curved paving, edges to paving
   • Lawns and Turf; shape, design, establishment
   • Garden Edges
   • Playing Field Construction
   • Sand Based Technology
   • Constructing Steps
6. Construction of Garden Structures I
   • Buildings in a Garden; gazebos, verandahs, storage buildings, cubbies, etc
   • Where to build a building
   • Floors and Foundations for Buildings
   • Walls; brick construction, coping, expansion joints, etc
   • Fencing
   • Retaining Walls
   • Wooden Walls
   • Construction with Rock or Masonry; dry walls, wet walls
   • Home Playgrounds
   • Using Timber in the Garden
   • Differences between Softwood and Hardwood
7. Construction of Garden Structures II
   • Compost Bins
   • Traditional Features: gazebos, statues, gates, arches, sundials, bird baths, urns, tubs, pergolas, pleached alleys, etc
   • Wooden Decks
   • Constructing a Deck
   • Greenhouse and Shadehouse; types, construction, installation
   • Water Features; Waterproofing, keeping water clean
   • Landscaping a pond
   • Tennis Courts
   • Spas
   • Rockery Construction
   • Artificial Rock Formation
   • Mulching Rockeries
   • Garden Furniture
   • Lighting in the Garden
8. Irrigation Systems
   • Planning an Irrigation System
   • Types of Systems: sprinkler, drip, automatic, etc
   • Using and Maintaining an Irrigation System
9. Establishing Hedges and Other Plants
   • Factors affecting successful plant establishment
   • Physical Plant Protection Methods
   • Hedges; site preparation, plant selection, spacing, planting, pruning, hedge maintenance
10. Workplace Safety and Management of Landscape Construction Work
    • Risk Management on a Landscape Construction Site
    • Risks
    • Keeping a Work Site Safe
    • Duty of Care
    • Significance of Illness
    • Protective Clothing
    • Safety with Tools and Equipment
    • Safety with electricity and different types of equipment
    • Tool Maintenance ghs, cultivators, etc
    • Workshop and Hand Tools; spanners, chisels, hacksaws etc
    • Hand saws, Rakes, Spades, Shovels, Rollers, Wheelbarrows, Sprayers, etc

Aims

• Manage equipment for landscape construction projects, including tools and machinery.
• Determine earthworks for a landscape development.
• Plan the construction of different landscape structures including buildings, fences, and walls.
• Manage the installation of a simple irrigation system in gardens.
• Determine construction techniques for different building or installing different garden features; including paving, water gardens, rockeries and furnishings.
• Determine techniques for creating soft landscaping.
• Manage work being undertaken on a landscape construction site.

What You Will Do

• Compare the quality and cost of a range of different tools and machinery used in landscape construction.
• Identify tools and machinery used in everyday work by landscape contractors.
• Explain appropriate uses for different tools and machinery on a landscape construction site.
• Prepare landscape plans for a number of landscape sites
• Research and report on marking out boundaries in construction sites
• Describe how to locate contours
• Determine the fall of existing drains, and identify appropriate falls, spacing and depths of drains
• Observe and report on earth moving equipment in operation
• Survey a site and recommend earthworks necessary
• Examine surfacing materials for paths, gardens, etc and determine the appropriate landscaping function of each.
• Assess the construction of a range of different existing landscape features
• Describe preparation of foundations for a specified garden structure, for a specific site.
• Design a rockery.
• Contact a range of suppliers of landscape materials and compare the products available in your locality.
• Identify materials needed to install an irrigation system for a site selected by you.
• Prepare plans of irrigation systems
• Research which species of plants are suitable for hedging in your locality
• Outline how to effectively transplant an existing tree
• Prepare a detailed risk assessment for a landscape construction site
• Identify safe working practices for a landscape construction site
• Determine a list of work tasks to be undertaken on a landscape construction site. Develop a time frame for completion of the entire project

Larger jobs however, require larger equipment.

A Rotary Hoe
These are used to turn over soil, cultivating it using a series of rotating blades. They can range in size from small tillers for regular domestic use, to larger self propelled machines for larger work such as the initial cultivation at a new house site, to tractor driven models for heavier, deeper work, and for larger areas. The larger self propelled units can often be hired for a reasonable cost and generally don’t require a licence to operate. A solid day’s work with one can save you a great deal of work later on by hand, in both digging and weed control.

Medium to large jobs (anything requiring movement of more than a couple of cubic metres of soil) will benefit from the use of some type of earthmoving machinery. These include:

A Cat
A small machine with rubber tyres and a tractor bucket on the front. The bucket can lift and carry loose soil, rocks, sand, etc. It can dig in soil to some extent, but not as much as some other machines. It is more likely to get bogged in wet or loose soil than a backhoe or dozer. Being the smallest, and often the cheapest to hire, a cat is most appropriate in confined spaces around a house on a small block (often it is the only machine small enough to gain access to the backyard).

A Backhoe
Larger than a Cat - with a bucket on the front and a digging scoop on a moveable arm at the back; It can do everything that a cat can do, and more. It is better at digging, it can dig trenches for pipes or foundations and can place rocks easier and more precisely than a cat or dozer. It has rubber tyres like a cat and can easily get bogged particularly in wet soil, but can use its digging arm to pull itself out.

A Dozer
Moves on "tracks" (like an army tank) rather than rubber wheels; it is not prone to getting bogged like a backhoe or cat; is able to work on steeper slopes than wheeled machines. Has a bucket or blade on the front. Good for digging and shaping the ground, but not always for moving materials or for trenching. It is not suitable for small areas, although in recent years a range of mini-dozers, have become available, which are more suitable for small areas.

• Some cut and fill work to terrace a part of the garden.
• Establishing the basic levels for the lawn areas.
• Bringing soil and mulch from where it was delivered at the front and dumping it in different parts of the garden where it will later be used.
• Placing large boulders in position where they might be later used.

• Any potentially unstable soil in the area
• The stability of any exposed cutting/embankments – is the angle of the excavation too steep?
• The effects of wind and rain – will they scour the exposed surface?  Will they deposit silt or sand?
• What maintenance is required to protect the exposed soil surface?
• Will the excavation impact on the appearance and amenity of the site?
• Are there any underground power lines, gas mains, water or drainage pipes?
• Are there any easements on the property?

How Will You Benefit?

• Learn to take a more planned and systematic approach to building a landscape
• Understand how preparing the ground better can enhance or hinder all of the work that follows
• Make better decisions about building the hard landscape
• Fast track business or employment opportunities in landscape construction
• Save money and time -no traveling to classes
• Determine when, where and how long your study sessions are, for yourself
• Enjoy exceptional support from a whole team of horticulturists spread across Australia, England and beyond; accessed whenever you need them, via email, phone or online chat.
• Develop a deeper understanding of designing and building cottage gardens appropriate to any site
• Start networking with others who have involvement or interest the landscape industries
• Raise your awareness of opportunities to work in landscape construction.