Services/Building services

Garden design and landscaping in West London

Levels, retaining walls, steps, paving, fencing, turf and planting. Finished to the standard of the inside, which is rarer than it should be.

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2–8weeks, typically
Levelsand drainage first
Accesssolved before we price it
Beforeand after, photographed

Listed, vetted and reviewed on

Ogival Ltd, registered in England & Wales no. 15191703 · Public liability insured · NICEIC registered electrical work · Gas Safe registered plumbing and heating

London gardens are small, overlooked, rarely level and usually have drainage nobody has thought about. Get the levels, the retaining and the drainage right and everything above them lasts. Lay paving on a garden that ponds and you'll be doing it again in three years.

What we deal with first

Levels. Most London gardens fall the wrong way, often towards the house.
Access. Everything comes through the house or over a wall, which drives the programme and the cost more than the design does.
Drainage and soakaways, because new paving means new run-off that has to go somewhere legal.

Gardens & landscaping by Ogival in West London

London gardens, from clearance to planting

What's included in a landscaping job

Our landscapers and groundworkers handle the whole of it, so there's no second company to chase and no gap between trades for something to fall through.

Clearance and excavation
Levels and setting out
Retaining walls
Steps and thresholds
Paving, porcelain and stone
Decking
Fencing and trellis
Turf and artificial grass
Planting and beds
Garden lighting and power
Drainage and soakaways
Excavation and muck away

Send a photo of the garden

Two photos — one from the back door and one from the far end looking back. Between them we can see levels, access and boundaries.

WhatsApp a photo Free site visit and written quote · No obligation

At a glance

ServiceGardens & landscaping
GroupBuilding services
Typically2–8 weeks
CoveringWest London
BasedLondon W10

Why Ogival

25 years in London construction
Thirty-one trades under one contractor
Drawings and calculations in-house
A written schedule of works and payments
NICEIC and Gas Safe registered

How we work

Options

What a London garden usually needs first

Levels and retaining

Most London gardens fall the wrong way. Retaining walls and steps come before anything decorative.

Paving and terraces

Porcelain, stone or reclaimed — laid on a base that won't move and drains where it should.

Planting and screening

Raised planters, timber screening and planting that suits a shaded, overlooked London plot.

Lighting and power

External lighting and sockets, run during the groundworks rather than chased in later.

Quickest way to get an answer

Send a photo of the garden.

Two photos — one from the back door and one from the far end looking back. Between them we can see levels, access and boundaries.

No form, no callback queue, no salesman. Emanuel looks at it himself and tells you what he sees — including the times the answer is that you don't need us.

WhatsApp a photo Call 07428 135100

OOgivalonline

Garden's a jungle and floods by the back door. Photos attached.

The flooding is the first thing to fix — the ground falls towards the house, which is the wrong way.

We'd regrade, get a drain in and then pave. Doing it the other way round means doing it twice.

Is there side access, or does everything come through the house? That changes the price more than the paving does.

Message

A typical exchange. Usually answered the same day.

How it runs

How a landscaping job runs, stage by stage

Four stages, and you'll always know which one you're in.

01
Survey levels and access
Levels, drainage, access and what the neighbours' boundaries actually are.
02
Design the garden layout
Where the level changes go, what's paved, what's planted, and how you'll use it.
03
Groundworks and drainage
Clearance, dig, retaining and drainage — the part that takes the time and none of the photographs.
04
Build, plant and clean down
Paving, steps, fencing, turf, planting and lighting, then a proper clean.

London gardens, from clearance to planting

Recent projects

Gardens we've landscaped

London gardens taken from overgrown to finished outdoor rooms.

Maida Vale, W9Read the case study →

Shepherd's Bush, W12Read the case study →

Providence Villas, W12Read the case study →

All our case studies

Permissions

Permeable paving, boundaries and trees

Gardens are lightly regulated but not unregulated. Front gardens paved over a certain area need permeable construction or a soakaway, boundary walls have height limits, and a great many West London trees are protected.

Rules change and every property is different. We confirm what applies to yours in writing at the survey rather than leaving you to guess.

Front gardens over 5m² need permeable surfacing or drainage to a soakaway
Boundary walls and fences have height limits, lower next to a highway
Trees in conservation areas and those with TPOs are protected — check before cutting
Party Wall notice may apply for retaining structures on a boundary
Raising ground levels against a house can bridge the damp course

Budget

How much does a landscaping cost in London?

We don't publish prices, because a number without a survey is a guess and you'd be right not to trust it. These are the things that actually move it.

How much the levels have to change

Retaining walls, which are structural work

Access for machinery and muck away

Paving material and pattern

Fencing runs and whether boundaries need agreeing

Lighting and irrigation

How long does a landscaping job take?

2–8 weeks on site for a typical job in West London, though the drawings, permissions and party wall process before it can add longer. We give you a written programme with the quote so you can see both.

A site visit and a written quote cost nothing, and the quote comes with a written schedule of works so you can see what every stage is for.

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Before you appoint anyone

Four questions to ask before you hire anyone for landscaping work

Ask them of us as well. The answers tell you more than the number at the bottom of the page — and a contractor who can't answer them quickly is telling you something too.

Ask us right now

01
Ask how the levels and drainage are being dealt with before the paving spec
02
Ask how materials and spoil get in and out, and what it does to the price
03
Check whether any tree is protected before anything is agreed
04
Ask what the base build-up is under the paving

What clients say

Word of mouth, written down.

Left by Ogival customers on MyBuilder and TrustATrader

I have used this company for years for many different jobs including painting my whole house, tiling my bathroom, laying flooring, astroturfing my garden and putting up fences. Very knowledgeable, professional and polite. If you want a company that care, I'd stick with Ogival.

★★★★★Repeat client, MyBuilder

Ogival has a friendly and professional team. Our new bathroom looks great and we're very happy with the choice of products used and the quality of their work.
★★★★★New bathroom, MyBuilder

Great communication, polite workers and excellent tidying up afterwards. Definitely recommend.
★★★★★Painting and maintenance, MyBuilder

They were professional, polite, easy to get hold of and easy to deal with. They did a great deal of work for me including building an internal wall, moving a bathroom, carpentry, electrics and plumbing, they re-rendered my balcony, relaid the decking and repainted the whole flat.
★★★★★Full flat refurbishment

I have used this company for years for many different jobs including painting my whole house, tiling my bathroom, laying flooring, astroturfing my garden and putting up fences. Very knowledgeable, professional and polite. If you want a company that care, I'd stick with Ogival.
★★★★★Repeat client, MyBuilder

Ogival has a friendly and professional team. Our new bathroom looks great and we're very happy with the choice of products used and the quality of their work.
★★★★★New bathroom, MyBuilder

Great communication, polite workers and excellent tidying up afterwards. Definitely recommend.
★★★★★Painting and maintenance, MyBuilder

They were professional, polite, easy to get hold of and easy to deal with. They did a great deal of work for me including building an internal wall, moving a bathroom, carpentry, electrics and plumbing, they re-rendered my balcony, relaid the decking and repainted the whole flat.
★★★★★Full flat refurbishment

He replaced eroded bricks and once the wall was dry replastered ready to decorate. Work was delayed because he uncovered wet rot in the ceiling joists. He fixed the cause of those leaks. Throughout this saga Ogival has been professional, reliable, extremely thorough and honest.
★★★★★Exterior leak repairs, MyBuilder

I found them really helpful and honest. They went out of their way to help. They also finished on time and left the place spotless.
★★★★★Renovation, TrustATrader

I decided to go with them as I liked their ideas and Emanuel knew what he was talking about. He made floor to ceiling units, redecorated my room and laid laminate flooring. I have no hesitation in recommending them.
★★★★★Bespoke joinery, TrustATrader

Good finishing.
★★★★★Mohammed D., MyBuilder

He replaced eroded bricks and once the wall was dry replastered ready to decorate. Work was delayed because he uncovered wet rot in the ceiling joists. He fixed the cause of those leaks. Throughout this saga Ogival has been professional, reliable, extremely thorough and honest.
★★★★★Exterior leak repairs, MyBuilder

I found them really helpful and honest. They went out of their way to help. They also finished on time and left the place spotless.
★★★★★Renovation, TrustATrader

I decided to go with them as I liked their ideas and Emanuel knew what he was talking about. He made floor to ceiling units, redecorated my room and laid laminate flooring. I have no hesitation in recommending them.
★★★★★Bespoke joinery, TrustATrader

Good finishing.
★★★★★Mohammed D., MyBuilder

Read them in full on MyBuilder, TrustATrader and Houzz.

Where we work

Gardens & landscaping across West London.

Garden landscaping across West London — small, overlooked, rarely level plots in Kensington, Chelsea, Hammersmith and Shepherd's Bush, where access decides the programme.

Ogival, W10 5DW
Everyday patch, within 10 miles
Regular work, 10 to 20 miles
By arrangement, out to 30 miles

Where we do this most

Outside this? Ask anyway. We'll tell you honestly whether we're the right firm for the journey.

Questions we get asked

The things people ring up about.

The questions that come up on the phone most often, answered the way we'd answer them on site.

Can you get machinery into a London back garden?

Usually, yes. We work with plant hire partners who specialise in narrow-access machines, and where nothing will fit we dig by hand and barrow out — we will tell you which at survey, because it changes the price.

Do I need permission to build a retaining wall?

Often not for a modest garden wall, but anything significant, or anything on a boundary, needs care — and party wall notice if it's on the line.

How long does a small London garden take?

Two to eight weeks depending on the level changes and access. The dig is what takes the time.

Can you do it while we're away?

Frequently, yes, provided we have access and somewhere to put materials. Several of our garden jobs have been finished before the client got home.

The rest of what we do

Gardens & landscaping, and thirty other things we do

Most jobs pull in more than one of these. Having them all under the same roof is what stops a project stalling for three weeks waiting on somebody else's diary.

Interiors & finishingTiling & stone

Building servicesDrainage & rainwater

Construction, structural & civilsStructural alterations

Building servicesDamp proofing

Building servicesWaterproofing & tanking

Building servicesPlumbing & heating

Building servicesElectrical

Building servicesExternal cleaning

See all thirty-one services

Start here

Tell us what you're planning.

A site visit and a written quote cost nothing. If the job isn't right for us, we'll say so and point you somewhere better.

Free, no-obligation site visit and written quote
You deal with Emanuel, not a sales rep
A written schedule of works and payments before anything starts
Covering Kensington, Chelsea, Hammersmith and Fulham

07428 135100 info@ogival.co.uk

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