Front garden, Victorian terrace
twamleyk
7 years ago
Hi all,
We are dying to do something with the front garden of our Victorian house. Previous owners bricked it over in a really ugly and inappropriate yellow brick. We want to remove bricks and hopefully replace walls... Ideas gratefully received!
We have limited budget (£1000). I love Victorian path tiles, but our street only has them on top step, so we will do that and are replacing PVC door with reclaimed Victorian wooden door (separate budget).
The garden is south facing, around 5.5m wide, including path, and 3m deep. Access to car on drive seen in photo needs to be taken into consideration.
Thanks!
Katherine
We are dying to do something with the front garden of our Victorian house. Previous owners bricked it over in a really ugly and inappropriate yellow brick. We want to remove bricks and hopefully replace walls... Ideas gratefully received!
We have limited budget (£1000). I love Victorian path tiles, but our street only has them on top step, so we will do that and are replacing PVC door with reclaimed Victorian wooden door (separate budget).
The garden is south facing, around 5.5m wide, including path, and 3m deep. Access to car on drive seen in photo needs to be taken into consideration.
Thanks!
Katherine
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louisecampbell09
7 years agotwamleyk
7 years agoRelated Discussions
Help! Struggling to uniform front of our Victorian terrace.
Comments (24)I'm thinking off white or a very light grey for the brickwork including the bricked up porch. Slate roof on the porch and wooden door to save money. Dark grey on the fence. And use planting to disguise the current render around the window and to add colour. Pub side, pleaching trees look like a great idea though would need to ensure they don't grow roots into the house. I feel so much more confident now. Thank you all....See MoreVictorian Terrace Exterior Restoration - bad 20th century updates
Comments (7)Hi Christinaloch I think you are right be concerned with the price quoted. it is far too high, so dont accept the quote. Looking at your bay, it seems that the decision to add the door and the roof probably happened as a result of the removal of the windows caused damage to the piers and resulted in the change. going forward and from my look at the windows above the bay. there might be some movement in the timber bressamer that probably is still in place above the bay. this will need to be replaced as part of the works. quite often the foundations to the front of houses around the bay are inadequate and are mere footings even shallower than the rest of the main walls. you may have to provide a full foundation , especially if you are in a shrinkable clay, which is normal for much of london. the construction of the brickwork and forming the walls is a relatively straightforward process and not 30k. I would probably put work at demolition 2k temp propping 800 new steel 600 excavate fdns 4k brickwork 1.2k former to windows 500 windows 6k render 1k int plaster 800 insulation roof timbers 1k roof/slates/ batten 1k gutter 250 this should cover interior sundries. so a budget of 15-20k all in as a maximum. I have just thrown figures at it without checking but this price is for a high end professional job careie out with proper skilled tradesmen, not a jobbing builder. I have priced windows as a timber sliding sashes with hardwood cills and double glazed units, so v traditional. you can probably get cheaper if you want to cut the budget. hope this gives you a real idea, but please dont waste your money on the quote you were given. best Rowland...See MoreCreate private front garden in Victorian semi (currently open)
Comments (9)Definitely speak to your neighbours first. If they are amenable to any changes then you may have the opportunity to share the costs. It would also be better if you can agree to be in harmony with your changes. It is a striking house that needs to be treated sensitively. For example the image Kingfisher Designs uploaded of railings on one half throws everything off balance. If one house opts for railings then it would be better for both or not at all. Likewise for a hedge bordering the path. It would look better if there was a hedge on both sides. Though in truth I wouldn’t put a hedge there unless it was a very low box hedge. Better still spaced out larger box clipped into balls along both edges of the path up to the front door. They would mark the boundaries without making you feel boxed in, pardon the pun! A Victorian tiled path would set them of handsomely. A big investment but for this house worth considering....See MoreVictorian Mid Terrace Extension Advice & Creative Ideas Needed
Comments (6)Thank you for your comments @drpepe101 and @rosemonde. The kitchen on the new plan is how our kitchen is now, the new plan only includes a small extension to the rear. The kitchen is not actually that dark, the back of the house and garden is SW facing so luckily we do get a good amount of light. It also does not feel cramped but that is due to the fact that it has been badly designed with hardly any cupboards - the fridge/freezer and our food is currently in the 'office' behind the kitchen! So I definitely agree that in order to create a kitchen in that space with all the cupboards we need - it will end feeling cramped. I did really want to take out the wall and chimney stack that separates the current kitchen from the office room behind it. We have had three different architects to view the property and they all felt that whilst not impossible it would be a very difficult job. The wall (which is the original exterior wall) is 2 feet thick and is built from large blocks of local stone, as well as having the chimney stack running through the centre all the way up to the roof. I am now thinking the best solution would be a side return extension either for just the width of the kitchen (sketch attached) which would not require planning i believe as it would be under 6m or possibly a longer side return. I wouldn't necessarily need a separate utility if we are widening the kitchen as i could incorporate a washing machine etc in to the kitchen. I would like a downstairs WC somewhere though. Currently our shoes/costs are stored in the cupboard under the stairs. If we went with this layout i would like to create a better opening between the kitchen and existing dining area and put pocket doors or similar in between the lounge and dining room so we can close off the lounge to make it feel cosier when we want to. Will check out the George Clarke shows! Thank you for the recommendation....See More
Carolina
7 years agoHi,
I hope you can restore the wall. It would be nice to add an iron wall railing on top of the wall.
Keeping your budget in mind, I would keep the path and reuse the rest of the bricks.
I made a design sketch for you that leaves space to get out of the car.
You can adapt the plants to your liking of course, but I gave up you a few ideas too.
I thought you could do a block of evergreen Ilex crenata or box. Do a border with the grey pavers around that.
A topiary tree either side of the bay window, with blue flowering geranium under them.
Lavender with white shrub roses along the wall.
Hope it gives you some inspiration. Good luck with your project.
twamleyk thanked Carolinatwamleyk
7 years agotwamleyk
7 years agoCarolina
7 years agotwamleyk
7 years agotwamleyk
6 years agoFinally got to the front garden! Still more to do, but as you see we took up most of the paving stones - the footpath is still to be tiled. Total cost so far £460 - £200 on plants, £100 on top soil/compost, £80 to get someone to take away the rubble and £80 on the gravel. There are lots bulbs that you can't yet see and hoping to plant a few ever greens still.
Carolina
6 years agotwamleyk
6 years agoJacky Potts
6 years agoCarolina
6 years agoCarolina
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4 years agoCarolina
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twamleykOriginal Author