If your garden slopes, you're probably losing a load of usable space. I see it all the time in Devon – people with massive gardens that are basically just a hillside. A retaining wall lets you carve out flat areas from that slope, so you can actually do something with the space.

This is one area where having a construction background really matters. The forces on a retaining wall are serious – all that wet earth pushing against it, especially in a Devon winter. Get the foundations wrong, skip the drainage behind it, and you'll be watching it lean over within a few years. I've fixed plenty of walls that other people have built too light or too shallow. It's always cheaper to do it right first time.

We build in natural stone, concrete block, rendered block, and gabion cages depending on the look you're after and what the site needs. 

Most of the time a retaining wall is part of a bigger job – you build the wall, then lay a patio on the flat area you've created, maybe add some steps between levels. We can handle all of that as one project.

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I've lost count of the patios I've seen that were laid on a couple of inches of sand and started moving within a year. It doesn't have to be that way. When we lay a patio, we dig down properly, put in a decent sub-base, compact it, and lay on a full mortar bed. It takes longer, costs a bit more in materials, but the result is a patio that's still flat and solid ten or fifteen years down the line.

We work with all sorts – Indian sandstone, porcelain, limestone, slate, block paving, and good old concrete slabs. Each has its pros and cons and I'm always happy to talk through what makes sense for your particular garden and budget. 

It's not just about the surface either. Getting the falls right so water runs away from the house, making sure you're below the damp-proof course, dealing with any existing drainage – these are the bits that get overlooked and then cause problems later. We sort all of that out.

If you want steps, raised planters, built-in seating, lighting – all of that's on the table. Or if you just want a nice flat area to stick a table and chairs on, that's fine too. Not every job has to be complicated.

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Fencing is one of those jobs that looks simple until you actually have to do it on a slope, around tree roots, or along a boundary where nothing's quite straight. We deal with all of that – the awkward stuff is just part of the work for us.

We fit closeboard, panel, picket, post and rail, and slatted screens. If I'm being honest, for a back garden boundary I'll nearly always recommend closeboard over panels. It's built on site from individual boards, so it flexes in the wind instead of catching it. Panels blow down in storms. Closeboard doesn't. It costs a bit more but it lasts a lot longer.

Whatever type we're fitting, all the posts go in concrete at a proper depth. We use gravel boards along the bottom to keep timber off the wet ground, which stops it rotting from the base up. Sounds basic, but you'd be surprised how many fences skip this and then wonder why the bottom's gone within five years.

Slatted screens have become really popular lately and I can see why – they look sharp as a garden divider or privacy screen. We build these on site to whatever dimensions you need, in a range of timbers and finishes.

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A good driveway needs to do two things: look right for your house and handle cars driving over it day in, day out without falling apart. Everything we lay gets a proper excavation and a compacted sub-base first. That's the bit that carries the weight, not the surface material.

Block paving's probably the most popular option and there's a good reason for that – loads of colours and patterns to choose from, and if you ever need to dig up a section for a pipe or a cable, you just lift the blocks and put them back. We lay on a compacted sub-base with a sand laying course and finish with kiln-dried sand brushed into the joints.

Tarmac's a great choice if you want something clean and hard-wearing without spending a fortune, especially on bigger areas. Resin-bound is the premium option. It looks smart, it's low maintenance, and because it's permeable you usually don't need planning permission, which matters if you're paving over a front garden.

We do natural stone driveways as well – granite setts, Indian sandstone, porcelain. These go on a full mortar bed over a concrete base because they need to take vehicle weight. More expensive, but the result is something really special.

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