A Full Garden Makeover in Stone: Our Fillybrooks Project

By Staff4dshire Properties · Published 20 October 2026

This autumn our Staff4dshire Properties team is working on a home on The Fillybrooks in Stone. It started as a rear garden project and has grown to cover the front garden, both side boundaries and a new front porch. Here is how the job has been planned and what it includes.

Garden landscaping by Staff4dshire Properties

Survey first, then a written scope

We began with a site survey in August, then worked up an agreed design into a written scope of works and a bill of quantities. Every part of the garden is itemised, from clearance and dig-out to the last light fitting, so the homeowner can see exactly what is included before any work starts. Each extra that came up later, such as the front path or the new fencing, was priced as its own schedule.

Clearing the garden and planning access

The first stage is clearing the rear garden and setting out the new layout. Machinery and materials reach the back of the house along a side access route wide enough for a mini excavator, using our own plant. Arisings go out by skip.

What the rear garden includes

An insulated timber garden studio for use as an office, with electrics installed to BS 7671
Two porcelain patio areas, linked by steps
An outdoor kitchen under a canopy
A pergola with lighting
A new turf lawn
Curved planting beds finished with resin-bound and decorative gravel
Garden lighting: spotlights on the fence posts, strip lighting to the patio, step lights and uplighters in the beds

Porcelain laid properly

The old Indian sandstone patio is being replaced with 20mm porcelain. Porcelain is hard-wearing and easy to keep clean, but it only stays put if it is laid correctly: a regulated, compacted sub-base, a full wet mortar bed, a primer slurry on the back of every slab, and joints brushed in with jointing compound. Everything is laid to falls away from the house so rainwater runs off. Where the patio meets the lawn and beds, the edges are haunched in concrete to stop them moving. Ducting for the patio lighting goes in under the paving at the same time, because it cannot be added afterwards without lifting slabs.

Composite fencing on a concrete strip

Both side boundaries are getting new composite fencing and a matching composite gate. Rather than concreting each post into its own hole, the posts are bolted to anchor plates on a new continuous concrete strip foundation. The old panels, posts and concrete footings come out first and are taken away for disposal.

The front garden

At the front, the old concrete flag path and step are coming out. They are being replaced with a porcelain path and step to match the rear patio, laid on a compacted sub-base and falling away from the house. A two-sleeper-high timber planter runs alongside the path. Existing rockery stones, a stone urn and the alpine planting are being carefully set aside and put back.

A new front porch

The last part of the job is a replacement front porch, which we have scoped as a building job in its own right. It includes a rooflight, uPVC rainwater goods, a two-coat render finish, a composite front door, a side window and an LED light outside, then a skimmed finish and tiled floor inside. The design matches the porch on the neighbouring house. Small porches are often exempt from Building Regulations approval; we check this for every porch before we start. Dimensions are always confirmed by a measured survey before anything is ordered.

Why one contractor helps

Garden buildings, paving, fencing, lighting and a porch would usually mean several trades. On this job our own teams cover the building, groundworks, landscaping and plant, so there is one programme and one point of contact.

Quick checklist for a garden project

Get a site survey and a written, itemised scope
Plan access for machinery and materials early
Decide on lighting and power before the paving goes down
Ask how the patio will be bedded and laid to falls
Agree what is being kept and protected
Have extras priced separately, in writing

Frequently asked questions

Do you build garden studios and offices?

Yes. Staff4dshire Properties builds insulated timber garden studios, with electrics installed to BS 7671, as part of wider garden projects.

Can you work in gardens with only side access?

Yes. We plan a protected access route and use mini excavators and other plant from our own fleet where the access allows.

Do you build porches as well as gardens?

Yes. We build replacement and new porches, including rooflights, render, doors and windows, and we check whether Building Regulations approval is needed before work starts.

About Staff4dshire Group. Staff4dshire Group is based at Unit 7 & 8 Kimberley Business Park, Rugeley, Staffordshire. Our companies cover building and landscaping (Staff4dshire Properties), roofing (Staff4dshire Roofing Specialists), scaffolding (Staff4dshire Scaffolding), groundworks, drainage and utilities (Staff4dshire Groundworks & Utilities), plant hire (Staff4dshire Plant Hire) and renewables (Margav Energy). We work for homeowners, developers, principal contractors and local authorities across Staffordshire, Birmingham and the West Midlands, and we are a registered supplier with Walsall, Tamworth, Sandwell, Dudley, Birmingham, Telford & Wrekin, Wakefield and Bradford councils.

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