As we entered the garden, from the back patio doors, we looked down to the first section of the garden which is being worked on. If you’d like to see our first post on this project click here. The old patio and steps that were here have been removed, so we make our way down via a ladder. We could see how the rain water had filled up the area overnight.
I was amazed at the large, old, flagstones that the boys have dug up from this garden. Some will be reused within our design, but the rest will be cut up and carried out through the house, along with all the other waste. We looked at the space and decided on our plan of action for the day.
Newest member to Secret Garden at the moment is Alfie. He is a family friend of Sam and Jerry, and is hard working and enthusiastic. He and I started off by shifting red bricks out through the house.
Whilst he and I were doing that, Jerry started removing corrugated, asbestos sheets from the roof of the old, concrete shed. We were careful whilst removing it to make sure that it didn’t break apart and release any particles or dust. This will be taken away by an accredited Bristol asbestos removal company, so that it is buried in a segregated cell in a landfill site. As it was raining, the roof sheets were wet, which limited any dust.
Whilst I was collecting bricks from around the garden, I could see the pathway, where the boys had removed the large, flagstones from. This is such a long garden, so we will have quite a few stages as we go through the landscaping.
Whilst the bricks were being taken out, we brought in tubs of ballast at the same time, that were added to the base around the footing of the new concrete wall. We also, started infilling the negative space with any bits of rubble or bits of broken bricks.
We removed internal bits of shelving from the shed and then the glass window panes, along with the rotten timber that had been supporting the roof. Alfie and I then set to work smashing up the shed, breaking out block by block, then smashing those and adding them to a big pile for removal at the next stage.
We had to keep removing the downpipe from the house, as it was in our way. But, every time it rained we quickly put it back on, so that the area didn’t fill with water. Whilst we were having fun with this, Jerry was continuing to build the concrete retaining wall.
Alfie and I got the walls off the shed and then turned our attention to the concrete base. Alfie smashed this up using a breaker bar and sledgehammer, whilst I carried all the pieces away. He then used the disc cutter to cut a clean line around the two walls that are part of the house and neighbouring shed, to ensure that we could remove the base without altering the structure of those walls.
Jerry’s wall grew higher whilst we worked. I enjoy seeing the progress that is made each day on a project, it is a good motivator.
The majority of the smaller pieces of rubble were used as infill behind the wall as we worked, with the last section being moved across towards the new wall, as this area will be underneath new steps. We then started digging out the soil. A new concrete base will be built here for a new shed, which will have one side next to the steps.
This is a physically demanding job as the access isn’t good, but I really enjoyed working with the boys and to see our achievements by the end of the day. Check back in soon to see how this landscaping project is going.
