Project Front Garden

Thanks, I'm really pleased with it. We won't go OTT with the jet-wash, it's just to remove some of the splashes from the cement mixer. I like the variation in colour of the bricks, though, it has character.
We have to wait two weeks before we can finish breaking up that ugly concrete, but I really can't wait to get started on the garden!
And yes, neighbours are pleased, too. They have little boys who have missed their front garden. And I want to put a gate in place to stop my toddler running out into the road! It's one of those jobs I think the neighbours always wanted to do, too, but whether they'd have got around to it without a push (and a very large pile of bricks arriving on their doorstep), who knows. So grateful for those free bricks!!!

 

The finished job is great TT! It's so nice to see when someone re-builds to the original look of the property.

 

@TurnedThespian

Well done, really looks great.


One question though?
Did the poor Citroen survive?

 

@DIY-Dave Yes! The Citroen is fine. We checked the weight limitations, and spread the load fairly carefully, and it was only a couple of miles away.

 

It's been a while, so time for an update! I now have a front garden!
Breaking up that concrete turned out to be an immense task, and we had to wait for the wall to dry out before attempting it (hence, it's taken a while). I know that logic dictates it would have made sense to remove the concrete before beginning this task, but in the end it made sense - free bricks were on offer and they wouldn't have waited! Having collected them, they couldn't sit in a huge pile in front of our (and our neighbours') house, so the wall was constructed prior to removing the concrete. It turned out the concrete was so thick, that there was a big difference in ground-level, so it's probably as well we waited. We began to create the new garden as soon as the concrete was removed and skip taken away, so we didn't have a huge step-down for long. Here's the process and (nearly) finished results. I want to plant some spring bulbs before putting bark on top of the soil, so the raised bed is not quite finished, but near enough. We also need to put a dividing fence between our own front garden and the neighbours, and put in the garden gate we've bought. I also want to put in a 'bin tidy' - part of the motivation for this project was to get the big ugly bins out of the back garden, and into the front garden where they are less distracting, but I still want to disguise them out front. (I'll update with a finished, finished version when those tasks are completed... meanwhile, I'm pleased we can finally call our front garden a 'front garden!') I had some help from my toddler, as you can see. He loved the whole process.

Before:

Brick Pile:



(We dressed all those by hand!)

Dressed bricks, concrete partially dug up - at its worst!:


Finished wall:


Very thick concrete, broken up in blocks (very time consuming, and very heavy!):




Skip arrives!:


Skip is filled:


Skip is FULL:


Front garden begins to resemble a 'front garden':


Railway sleepers purchased, more bricks used to provide path to front door (laid roughly):




Bricks are laid, gravel purchased, raised bed created. FRONT GARDEN!:

 

Great Job TT ,what a difference

 

For anyone interested in such things, this project cost around £500, which was my target. (Lots of reclaimed materials). Unfortunately, a large portion of the cost was in removing the concrete! Cost breakdown as follows (not including plants):

Bricks: Free (well, we bought him a bottle of Scotch whisky)
Builders: £380 (neighbours paid £200 for their half as we had sourced and dressed the bricks)
Skip hire: £130
Concrete removal tools: £70
Railway sleepers: £12.70 (ebay bargain!)
Gravel: £79
Sand and cement for pathway £20-ish.
Compost: £10
(So, it cost us £200 to get rid of the mess our predecessors made! That was the biggest chunk of the expense).

Plants include:
5 varieties of holly
Berberis red rocket, berberis pow wow
2 Roses (Irish Mist and Intrigue)
2 Astilbe (red and white)
Delphiniums
Hollyhocks
Heather
Ceanothus
Buddleia
Other random shrubs

I want to put in the garden gate and dividing fence, and disguise the bins with some kind of bin-tidy. I also plan to plant lots of bulbs for the spring, and cover the raised bed with bark.

 

Well done it looks lovely!
Like the plant selection something to look at all year round.

 

Wow! That's a grand job TT ! Have you thought about trellis with a climber scrambling over it for around the bins?

 

Yes, I love that idea! Only potential problem is that I think it's going to have to be a mobile bin-tidy, in order to access the bins. We'll need to be able to remove it to get the bins in and out (there isn't a huge amount of space to manoeuvre otherwise). If I can work out a way of having one end fixed permanently, then would love a scrambling rose. Not entirely sure yet how we'll disguise the bins, but if I can find an excuse to get another plant, I will certainly use it!