When Cornerstones was built, there was a particular building regulation rules [I'm sure it has a proper name] that said all the front gardens had to be 'open plan' with no high walls or fences, to give the impression of spaciousness.I believe that even now, you are not supposed to have a front fence more than 1 metre high. Not that many of my neighbours seem bothered by this - after 50 years we have high fences, ginormous hedges, and sturdy walls in the close and neighbouring streets.
But the bin men knocked down that end pillar some year ago, and just before Christmas took the next few bricks out.
We realised the wall was in a very weak state. Furthermore, it requires careful parking to put a car down the side - the driver door has to be opened carefully, and it is incredibly hard to get a child in and fasten their carseat whilst avoiding banging the wall with the open car door. So we decided to get rid of the wall completely. Next door is up for sale - we thought it wise to do it before any new neighbours arrive. Bob hired a skip, it arrived at 10am yesterday morning. [and there was me thinking post holiday club I could rest!]
By 1pm our skip was neatly packed, and we went inside for homemade soup. I think it looks much neater now the crumbling wall has gone, and obviously more accessible.
The other front wall was modified by a previous neighbour with two large crazy dogs. She added a fence on her side, well over 1m tall, all round her garden. Subsequent tenants have never removed it.
A satisfactory morning's work. Now I can rest!
That's great! Well done to you!xx
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DeleteThere's something SO satisfying about bashing down a brick wall isn't there, even more so if it looks dramatic but is actually relatively easy. Well done Angela, you wield a sledge hammer well. :-)
ReplyDeleteConfession: after the photograph, I gave Bob the sledgehammer with the long handle and used a smaller, lighter one!!
DeleteI love to see a properly packed skip, and yours is beautifully done!
ReplyDeleteIt'll make a huge difference to you getting in and out of the car now the wall's gone. We took eighteen inches of our front lawn away and widened our drive, now we have room to open all doors of the cars wide when on the driveway, it's a huge improvement! Even though we have 360° cameras and sensors front and rear of both cars, it was still a game of skill reversing in and out, it's far simpler now! X
Thankyou, other neighbours have quite untidy skips and I wanted to keep ours neat, especially as it's been windy, and I didn't want bits of wood etc blowing about
DeleteWhen I looked around the last house I bought in Billericay, I loved the open plan front gardens and the look of the road swayed me to buy the house. The first thing we had done here in Wales was to have the 6ft front garden hedge cut down to 4ft.. to me it was like being in a prison!
ReplyDeleteA 6 foot hedge sounds very high to me (being only 4'11")
DeleteGood job! Loved the picture of you demolishing it. lol
ReplyDeleteI'm not really that aggressive
DeleteWell done both. My daughter and her husband were doing something similar at the weekend. Sil came out to scrape his car yesterday morning and stood on a nail which went right through his shoes into his foot! Quick visit to A and E for antibiotics and a tetanus jab-ouchie. Catriona
ReplyDeleteOw!! That can be so painful . He was wise to get the meds, such wounds can easily turn to sepsis if untreated
DeleteThese seemingly small things can really impact on the look of a place can't they.........well done both of you for tackling the demolition job 😍
ReplyDeleteAlison in Wales x
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DeleteI'm glad the wall came down easily and you didn't need to call on Joshua and his horn section to help.
ReplyDeleteHugs!
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DeleteYou do look very determined ,Angela! I think our bungalows were built at about the same time as yours. Most of them have shrub 'fences' and there are certainly no metre high fences.
ReplyDeleteI remember many of the front gardens in your road were so attractive when we visited you a few years ago
DeleteWe never know what you are going to get up to next. That's why we keep coming back!
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DeleteWell done taking down that wall! Look at you, all dressed for the job with a sledgehammer and all!
ReplyDeleteSafety gear is important!
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