Terraces present wonderful possibilities in the garden. They are
outdoor living rooms during good weather and form a transition
from the outdoors to the indoors throughout the year.
The terrace may be either at ground level, below ground level,
or raised above it. The simplest type is ground level, which
requires only the grading we have indicated. There is a wide
choice of flooring materials to use. One may use cement, poured
and levelled with a large board, but in maintaining the drainage
grade or including shallow drainage paths, smooth turf may be
used, in which case the preparation will be the same as for
other lawn areas and various other types of bases.
The use of flagstones is made simple by applying a load of sand
or gravel to the subsoil and digging the flagstones into the
sand or gravel. The niches between the stones can be dug out and
filled with top-soil and grass or other cover planted between
them. This gives a very pleasing effect.
Hollow clay building tiles can be split and laid as units in the
terrace floor, their rough edges in the soil. Another good
surfacing material is "exposed aggregate," which is free from
glare because of its rough finish. For this type of surface,
build a form of 2 x 4's. Pour the flooring in squares, one
square at a time, and level with a straight board. The material
used is a mixture of cement, sharp sand and crushed rock or
pebbles.
Redwood or cypress blocks may also be used for terrace floors
and are very attractive, although somewhat less durable than
stone or brick. You can buy the blocks cut to size and lay them
directly in a bed of sand, which in turn has been laid on
compacted gravel or cinder. Un-mortared brick, laid in a
pattern, on 2 to 4 inches of well-tamped sand, with loose sand
in the crevices for grass, makes a hardy and simple-to-construct
terrace floor. The bricks may be laid flat or on end, and to
keep them from spreading, drive an angle iron against the
corners. Use a pattern that follows the lines of your terrace.
The Sunken Terrace Gardening
A sunken terrace is one which is below ground level. It can be
very attractive, and it does give a feeling of coolness on a
humid day or a hot night. The sunken terrace requires a
retaining wall to prevent soil from continually eroding into it,
and also to maintain the topsoil of the surrounding garden. The
subsoil must be dug to a depth of about 5 or 6 inches below the
level you wish to attain with the terrace itself. The use of
sand or gravel as a base is of importance. The top treatment can
follow your own dictates.
The Raised Terrace Gardening
The raised terrace is generally not fully raised, but starts at
the house level and is raised at its outer edge. Again, a
retaining wall is called for. The principle problem with the
raised terrace is levelling. Once this is accomplished, and the
retaining wall built, construction follows the same procedure as
in any other case. Drainage is supplied either by a central
drain, going into a tile line, or by underground piping through
the retaining wall.
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