Will knocking down this garage devalue my home?

[JadeB1993]

98elise said:

Pheo said:

JadeB1993 said:

Unfortunately I don't know what the overflow is. It was like that when we moved in although it does seem to have gotten worse. I think it's the soil stack? I'm not sure how I'd know if it was leaking or not. Nothing comes out when we flush the loo?

Find out where the pipe is connected; if its the toilet, it means the toilet valve is not shutting off when the cistern is full and the rest of it is leaking out of the overflow (to avoid flooding your house).

It definitely should not be green like that.

Agreed.

OP, is there a small white pipe sticking out of the wall at the top of the stain?

I just checked with OH, he said when we moved in he sorted this out straight away! Just haven't cleaned the exterior properly yet... I'm hoping it's not going to ruin the brickwork staying there until we get the bathroom done.

Also ps yes we tried knocking the wall down by pushing it but it was braced with wood inside and metal brackets too for shelving, some parts did just fall down but the rest needed some force!

[JadeB1993]

I thought knocking down the walls would be the hardest part. Turns out trying to cut through concrete is 100% more difficult.

Our builder was due to come out mid April to build the garage to the side and do a gravel drive. Of course, with what's going on in the world just now, this has been postponed until further notice. We may have to have one more summer of a dysfunctional garden, but the end is in sight! Ps didn't realise how heavy the concrete slabs would be either! Jeez. Lots of work and man (and woman) hours gone into this thing so far.

[JadeB1993]

CharlesdeGaulle said:

Looks to me like the breaking has been done, it's just lift and shift now isn't it?

Well, I say 'just'.

You are correct sir!

We actually bought a medium duty concrete breaker because it was cheaper to buy than to hire for a weekend. Plus, we weren't exactly sure we would even be able to get it done in a weekend... Although we have just about done it! But the concrete blocks are quite heavy so we might have to go back round and cut smaller. We've already done about a dozen trips to the skip with a car full of bricks and I don't think our suspension will take a load of concrete too.

Its a shame the local council permit team are closed otherwise we'd have a skip at the back where the road is and have it cleared hopefully this weekend! As skip hire is down the pan, we've asked some removal companies instead but they're all asking crazy prices or saying no given what's going on in the world (even though we've offered contact free payment - but that's their perogative!)

Not sure how we can progress at the moment, which is torture because all I want to do is sit in a garden 😩

[JadeB1993]

The garage had about 6inches of concrete at one end, then 4 inches at the other with bricks and sand underneath. We started trying to chip away with a pick, but it was taking forever and a day. We are now booking a mini digger and grab van to come collect it all once it's all piled up (awaiting confirmation of delivery), but this is the progress so far. Not found a time capsule or anything just yet. Pretty sure the ground quietly whispered "hurray!" each time we took a swing at the hardstanding.

It will be nice just to have some outdoor green space not looking like a building site to be honest.

Until then, I will continue to imagine:

[JadeB1993]

Nick_MSM said:

Could you hire a grab and go service? One big scope and they'd lift/take away all of that. Probably more expensive than a skip, but a lot easier and it's gone without hard work/knackering the car. Used one before and it wasn't too expensive. Some commercial clearance companies are still operating around my way.

That's exactly what we're doing! It's actually cheaper than a skip for one day, but we need a mini digger too because there is so much broken hardcore and rubble and sand too that need to get rid of, our tip is closed but plenty smaller companies still working! Thank goodness!

[JadeB1993]

Nick_MSM said:

Definitely easier, and you can stand there with a beer watching the big bucket scoop up all of the crap for you

Yep! Bit concerned they knock the brick wall over though but fingers crossed all goes ok! This one has insurance and experience so hopefully it'll all be ok!

[JadeB1993]

Not bad for a days work!

[JadeB1993]

worsy said:

FTFY

Haha thanks Worsy. Not the only assumptions made in Carbon Sasquatch's post...

FYI Carbon: We have a full house renovation on our hands, a low budget, and 2 full time that haven't done anything like this before. It's not a race, and the back garden isn't really a priority in the grand scheme of things (especially when we have a side and front garden and sun all day) so we just work on it when time, motivation and money allows 😊

The concrete etc has all been taken away now and we've levelled the garden. We need roughly 50sqm of turf now though, so busy trying to find the most cost effective solution. Local guy has priced us at 580 for soil preparation and supply and install. Some website we're looking at are 220-300 for the turf only. Not quite sure which route we'll go down in the end! No update yet from builder re. Garage. But given we're in the middle of this pandemic I doubt it will be anytime soon...

[JadeB1993]

Whenever I comment or follow on threads, I always hope I get to see the "after" so for anyone interested, here's some "afters". We used reclaimed decking and bought grass seed to grow grass ourselves instead of getting it turfed. Turned out well, saving hundreds.

We just need to get gravel for the side of the house and fill the planters with flowers, the planters we made from decking remnants. It's been a long process, but we also have a new kitchen and bathroom done too. Not bad for two novice DIYers ??