Browse Forums Landscape & Garden Design Re: Lilydale/Tuscan /CastellaToppings 2Jul 27, 2008 8:58 am the sub ground needs to be relatively flat small bumps etc are fine
after you have layed down topping rack it out with a lawn rack and give it a slight squirt with hose and run a plate compacter over it then the compacter lines use the back of the lawn rack to scrub these out after that use a large broom over the entire surface to even the finish out Da Vinci Outdoor Living Architectural landscaping http://www.davincioutdoor.com Re: Lilydale/Tuscan /CastellaToppings 3Jul 15, 2010 1:52 pm Hi all, Im laying some tuscan topping this weekend over a base of roadbase that i have previously laid. Having never done this before, I want to make sure I do it right. Weve hired a plate compactor. Im planning on a 50mm depth of tuscan topping. Is it a good idea to water the topping and mix in some cement dust before using the compactor? With the cement dust, should it be mixed in before laying or just sprinkled over the top before compacting? Re: Lilydale/Tuscan /CastellaToppings 4Jul 17, 2010 1:42 pm Lylidale toppings make a great mulch, I have a peppermint gum across the road and the leaves blow over my garden, the toppings are slightly alkaline and the gum leaves slightly acid. The 2 mix, nutrients are released from the leaves, trace minerals from the toppings. The soil underneath is black and soaking wet. I just flip it around from time to time and re apply a washed top coat to finish off after weeding and turning. It looks great, Gypsum stops it binding and no need to go deeper than an inch. Your plants take off like crazy... Re: Lilydale/Tuscan /CastellaToppings 5Jul 17, 2010 2:12 pm pommybloke Hi all, Im laying some tuscan topping this weekend over a base of roadbase that i have previously laid. Having never done this before, I want to make sure I do it right. Weve hired a plate compactor. Im planning on a 50mm depth of tuscan topping. Is it a good idea to water the topping and mix in some cement dust before using the compactor? With the cement dust, should it be mixed in before laying or just sprinkled over the top before compacting? You don't need cement. Some rain (or a sprinkle with the hose if you have tank water or some other way around water restrictions) will water it in well and the toppings will pack down nice and hard. Laying toppings for our paths was one of the best things we did - and so cheap! Re: Lilydale/Tuscan /CastellaToppings 7Jul 17, 2010 10:29 pm There's no road base under the front paths, or along the side of the house, and those have been down since early last year with no problems. The paths out the back, with the stepping stone pavers set in them, were done a bit differently though - the photos are in my landscaping thread. Roadbase: http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i18/kerrynw/IMG_5881_4_1.jpg http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i18/kerrynw/IMG_5909_5_1.jpg Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Re: Lilydale/Tuscan /CastellaToppings 9Jul 19, 2010 10:09 am Well I think i messed it up ! Got part of the topping a bit too wet and when i compacted it all of the sand colouring etc has come to the top, its compacted well but theres just the coloured sand all over the top and still looks wet. Im hoping it will come good once its dried out a bit, otherwise looks like I may have to get a small amount of topping to put over the top....... Re: Lilydale/Tuscan /CastellaToppings 10Jul 19, 2010 2:49 pm pommybloke Well I think i messed it up ! Got part of the topping a bit too wet and when i compacted it all of the sand colouring etc has come to the top, its compacted well but theres just the coloured sand all over the top and still looks wet. Im hoping it will come good once its dried out a bit, otherwise looks like I may have to get a small amount of topping to put over the top....... Dont worry it will come good, just let it dry out... then attack it with a hose (or just wait till you get some decent rain) and all the finer partials will wash down and she'll look as good as gold Cheers Cozmo ______________________________ Building a PD Heywood 29 http://fromevetoeternity.blogspot.com/ Re: Lilydale/Tuscan /CastellaToppings 11Jul 21, 2010 10:23 am Cozmo Dont worry it will come good, just let it dry out... then attack it with a hose (or just wait till you get some decent rain) and all the finer partials will wash down and she'll look as good as gold Thanks Cozmo. I tried the hose last night and it wasnt working too well. There were big patches where the sand has joined together which was making it look worse. After trying the hose, i used my boot to rough up the sand in these patches and then hosed them down again and it seems to have done the trick. Now just going to let it dry out (and have a proper look at it in the daylight!) and might just hire a roller to smooth it down a bit again. |