Paving & landscapes in Saddleworth, Oldham and around

Make the most of every inch

Driveways, patios, walls and gardens, designed and built by Ben Wood and the team. However big or small the job.

Ring Ben on 07950 315180 See recent work

Round patio of rainbow Indian sandstone flags with black resin pointing and a dining set on the lawn — **Rainbow Indian**Black resin pointing

Terraced garden with large-format paving, sleeper-edged lawn, new fencing and lit steps, with the hillside behind — **Terraced garden**Large-format paving, lit steps

Dark block-paved driveway with a pale stone border running along its edge — **Block-paved drive**Pale border, dark blocks

Stone-faced steps and planters with olive trees above a rainbow Indian sandstone patio — **Stone steps**Dry stone planters

We design the space, dig it out and build it: driveways, patios, walls, steps, fencing and the lot. Mostly back gardens and front drives in Saddleworth and Oldham, plus the odd pub garden.

Driveways: Granite, tegular and hexagon block paving, on no-fines concrete bases
Patios and paths: Indian sandstone, porcelain and York stone
Walls and steps: Dry stone, retaining walls, sleepers and stone steps
Fencing and decking: Feather edge fencing and composite decking
Garden buildings: Pergolas, cedar-clad outbuildings, built-to-measure sheds
Lawns and play areas: Turf, artificial grass, play areas and flower beds

Recent work

Photographed on site. Tap any photo to see the rest of that job.

Terraced garden

Large-format paving, sleepers and lit steps

A sloping garden split into levels: a big paved terrace, sleeper-edged beds, a lawn above and steps with lights set into the wall. New fencing all the way round, with wall lights to match.

Used: large-format paving, sleepers, feather edge fencing, LED lighting

Golden paved terrace with a seat wall and steps up to a new lawn, fenced all round — **Day**Terrace, seat wall and lawn

Built-in seat wall along the back of the terrace under new fencing — **Built-in seat wall**

Ladders, blockwork and tools on site mid-build — **Mid-build**

Garden at night with wall lights on the fence and a lit seating wall above the lawn — **Night**Wall lights and seat lights

Family garden

From unusable slope to a garden the kids can use

Rainbow Indian sandstone with black pointing, stone-faced steps and planters, a play tower and a stone-built tunnel through the bank. Terraced up the hillside, with a lawn at the top.

Used: rainbow Indian sandstone, black resin pointing, stone walling and copings, timber play tower

Rainbow Indian patio stepping up the hillside with a fire pit and valley views — **Patio up the hillside**

Stone-built tunnel in a raised bank beside a patio — **Stone tunnel**

Timber play tower with a climbing wall beside the patio and stone walling — **Play tower**

Long garden with a porcelain path between striped lawns leading to a stone outbuilding

Stripped back to bare ground

A long garden with one straight path

The whole garden was taken back and rebuilt around a porcelain path that runs to the stone outbuilding. Sleeper-edged beds, striped lawns, and an outdoor kitchen terrace by the house.

The garden before: a stepping-stone path across a plain lawn — **Before**

Greenfield, Saddleworth

A patio and decking floating over the stream

A new-build garden that didn't work for the family. Now it has a modern patio and infinity decking that float over the natural stream, steps down through the trees, and a big play area for the kids.

Composite decking floating over a natural stream among the trees — **Infinity decking**Over the natural stream

Dark porcelain patio outside bifold doors, with a timber retaining wall — **Modern patio**

Stepped slabs and a curved retaining wall running down through the garden — **Steps and retaining wall**

Lawn with a children’s play house and a new timber fence — **Play area**At the end of the lawn

The garden before: bare ground beside the stream with timber retaining — **Before**Bare ground beside the stream

Greenfield, Saddleworth

Sunken seating and a covered bar

Rendered walls, dark slatted cladding and a sunken seating area below a lawn. The weather made it a hard battle from start to finish, but the result is on another level.

Sunken seating area with steps, pebbles and clipped box balls beside a rendered wall — **Sunken seating**

Rendered terraces with topiary and a dining table on dark porcelain — **Terrace**Dark porcelain, topiary, rendered walls

Wide porcelain steps up to the lawn between rendered walls — **Steps to the lawn**

Covered bar with a dark slatted ceiling opening onto the terrace — **Covered bar**

Driveways

Block paving with a border that frames it, and a base that's built to last.

Curved block-paved drive with a dark border and a new retaining wall in front of a new house — **Block paving, curved wall**New retaining wall, dark border

Narrow dark block-paved drive with a pale border running up to the garage

Hexagon block pavers meeting a porcelain path, with a clipped tree in a dark planter — **Hexagon pavers**Porcelain path

Drone view of a large resin drive wrapping round a house, with lawn borders — **From above**Drive wrapped round the house

Granite blocks, side wall rebuiltPale border round dark blocks, finished in Saddleworth.
Tegular blocks, charcoal key kerbGrey tegular block paving with a dark grey border.
Two days, start to finishA granite block drive turned around in two days.
No-fines concrete baseNo sand, so rain drains straight through the base.
Room for the family carsThe old drive was too small, so the front garden was dug out and a retaining wall built.
Hexagon blocks and porcelainA hexagon block drive with a porcelain path to finish it.

Beyond the back garden

Pub gardens, play areas and a bowling green.

Bespoke timber castle climbing frame with a ramp and climbing wall — **Grains Bar Hotel**Bespoke timber castle climbing frame

Grains Bar Hotel

A castle, a fire pit and a bar area

A bespoke timber castle climbing frame, and a bar and fire pit area under a timber shelter. One of the best jobs we've had.

Timber pergola shelter with a brick fire pit and built-in bench seating — **Fire pit shelter**

Pub beer garden with picnic tables, festoon lights and a timber play castle — **The Roebuck**New beer garden

The Roebuck

A beer garden with room to play

The original garden was extended with extra seating and a bespoke play area. New fencing around it, and a stable for the local pony.

Materials

What we lay

Every job starts with the surface. A few of the materials we work with most, photographed as laid.

Rainbow Indian sandstone flags with black resin pointing — **Rainbow Indian**Black resin pointing

Buff Indian sandstone patio with black resin pointing and a raised deck behind — **Buff Indian**Black pointing makes the flags stand out

Wet gold Indian sandstone flags with gold resin pointing — **Gold Indian**Gold resin pointing, aluminium drain

York stone patio with a dry stone wall, stone copings and steps — **York stone**

Grey porcelain beside a grey composite deck and a slatted fence — **Porcelain**Beside composite decking

Close-up of granite blocks with a pale stone line and brick edging — **Granite blocks**Pale line, brick edge

Cedar cladding on a garden outbuilding with an Indian stone patio beside it — **Cedar**

Dry stone wall with stone copings beside a gold Indian patio and a fire basket — **Dry stone**Stone copings, gold aggregate

No-fines concrete laid inside timber shuttering with a paved edge — **No-fines concrete**A base that drains

Sleeper steps and raised beds beside grey porcelain and composite decking — **Sleepers**Seats, steps, raised beds

New feather edge fence 1.8 metres high along a freshly dug border — **Feather edge**1.8m for a clean, modern look

Also: composite decking, artificial grass, turf, stone copings, cedar cladding and built-to-measure sheds.

Before and after

Drag the line to see the same garden before and after.

After: a level lawn with terraced stone walls and steps up to the house

Before: the garden as bare, dug-out ground with the house behind

Before After

Before: a back garden of waist-high grass behind a semi-detached house

After: a raised porcelain terrace and new fencing, with bifold doors to the house

Before: a curved patio of stained and mossy Indian flags

After: the same curved patio relaid in rainbow Indian flags with a new border

Bare ground to a family garden. The lawn is level, the banks are walled in stone and the steps lead up to the house.

Overgrown, then porcelain. And below it, stained Indian flags cleaned and relaid with a new border and resin pointing.

Called in to put it right

Loose flags. No full bed. The wrong materials.

On one job the team were brought in to fix someone else's paving. Every flag was loose. There was no slurry on the backs of the tiles, none were laid on a full bed, and the retaining walls were built with the wrong materials. We put it right and built it to last.

Be careful out there.

The underside of a loose porcelain tile, with only dabs of mortar holding it down — **A loose tile, lifted**Dabs of mortar, not a full bed

Blockwork and levels set out for the rebuilt retaining wall — **Wall, rebuilt**

The finished garden with a pergola, porcelain terrace and a view over the valley — **Finished**

A smiling member of the team in a B.WOOD cap in front of a finished driveway — **The team**Finished drive, same day

Who's on the job

Ben Wood and the team

B. Wood Paving & Landscapes is Ben and a small team. Most of the work is in Saddleworth and Oldham: family gardens, front drives and the odd pub garden. Customers tend to say it best.

Two of the team spreading no-fines concrete from a wheelbarrow — **On site**Spreading a no-fines concrete base

A handwritten note left on a hob: Thank you aka Ben Wood, The 3 Musketeers. Our garden looks Top!!! — **A thank-you note**"Our garden looks Top!!!"

A double rainbow over a new pergola and lawn, photographed by the customer — **Sent in by the customer**The end of a good job

Enquiries

Ring Ben

07950 315180