Will knocking down this garage devalue my home?
Discussion
Will remember not to keep phone in pockets!
Well, company is currently here removing asbestos. They also do larger demolition jobs. The owner of the company happened to mention that he quoted the council to knock down all of the garages at the back of our house (which form the back wall of our garden) and that the council proposes to replace this with a shorter fence. I'm enraged! The existing garages get graffiti and burnt out (infrequently, but it still happens) and I'm not prepared for our home and garden to be exposed like that... I feel a letter or long phone call coming on. There is a request in the planning portal from last year but it's now expired, so I'm hoping they don't go ahead! In the meantime I guess we'll just plow on!
Well, company is currently here removing asbestos. They also do larger demolition jobs. The owner of the company happened to mention that he quoted the council to knock down all of the garages at the back of our house (which form the back wall of our garden) and that the council proposes to replace this with a shorter fence. I'm enraged! The existing garages get graffiti and burnt out (infrequently, but it still happens) and I'm not prepared for our home and garden to be exposed like that... I feel a letter or long phone call coming on. There is a request in the planning portal from last year but it's now expired, so I'm hoping they don't go ahead! In the meantime I guess we'll just plow on!
Carbon Sasquatch said:
Is that an old stain on the wall or is your overflow still leaking ?
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?JadeB1993 said:
Fermit and Sexy Sarah said:
I bet that was great fun!
It very much was at the start! Using a sledgehammer and kicking brick walls over was invigorating to begin with but then it became exhausting very quickly!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.
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.
OP, is there a small white pipe sticking out of the wall at the top of the stain?
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.
OP, is there a small white pipe sticking out of the wall at the top of the stain?
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!
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.
If you can find anywhere open hire a breaker, EG - https://www.hss.com/hire/p/heavy-duty-breaker-hilt...
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!Well, I say 'just'.
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 😩
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