We had to consider what we are going to do about landscaping, particularly across the front, but also down the sides. The back is no problem, we can leave it as it is.
But the ground falls away to the bottom of the garden, the workshop is lower than the rest of the garden. That is not helpful. This is largely due to successive builders scattering the ground they dug out over the rest of the garden which also means that my garden is higher than those of both my neighbours. This has caused some damage to the fence on the right, which belongs to my neighbour. There are gravel boards, but they have been set into the soil right down to ground level. Bonkers.
So I offered to install some gravel boards under the fence panels alongside the workshop. It would be better for both of us, as it protects their (very end of life) wooden panels, and it allows me to keep the ground fairly level along the sides, with a step down at the bottom, which no-one can see and fewer people care about.
So I started to shop around for gravel boards. We have a Travis Perkins in Kirkby. 22-something + VAT, not discountable. We also have a Keyline, same parent company. £15 inc VAT. Better. Ebay, there are plenty of people selling at £7 and even less, but collection only and none of them are round here. As far as I can tell it is exactly the same product.
But Ray knows what's what and where it is. So he says to go to Cold Comfort Farm and ask there. So I did. £8 each. That will do me, esp as they are the pretty, stone-faced ones and not the plain recessed ones.
So this morning Ray and I went along and picked up 6. But unfortunately the man who made them died a fortnight ago, so there won't be any more. I shall have to measure up what I need on the left, where there is a huge gap where the old garage used to be.
So I got them home and called in my mate Bob to help. They are carryable, but we also have to lift them 6ft into the air to slot them in.
There are no pics of fitting. I could hardly ask Bob and Ray to say Cheese whilst I fannied about with a camera.
For some bizarre reason one of the fence panels is shorter than the others by about 3". So that meant some bespoke fitting.
Although the fence panels are not mine, it did make sense to make some running repairs as best we could. It's a losing battle, to be honest, but I'm hoping it will be good for neighbourly relations.
The result is a firm boundary against which I can lay some blocks. I expected just to lay slabs, but Ray has an enormous stock of red blocks which he is offering me at a very good price. But I have another problem. I have a back yard - it might have been meant as a patio when it was built - but it is far from planar, it's got no fall and so I get puddles of dirty water which results in puddles of mud. There are also a couple of voids which used to be decking and a raised bed in a non-sunny place. So it's a bit of a mess. I didn't realise how scruffy it looked until I took this photo!
So the plan is this. Take up the yard and use the blocks around the workshop, then lay a new patio with the red blocks. They are very red, but I'm hoping they will mellow a bit.
It's quite a lot of work and I think Ray is beginning to wish he'd not suggested it.
Finally, whilst I had another pair of hands, I fitted a length of worktop. This isn't actually the one I found at mum's, this has come out of a kitchen of one of Ray's friends. It's obviously old, the front edge rolls only over the top, there is no roll at all underneath the bottom. But it looks fine and was big enough. The one from Mum's is nicer and I can use that in my laundry room (AKA old coalhouse) in the house.
I've also acquired the sink from the same kitchen refurb, but I can't install that until I have proper drainage...