My father-in-law and I have been buillding for the last two weeks. We have done everything ourselves, we got a truck with a crane to deliver the materials in the street, and I moved the lot myself round to the back of the house, through a narrow passage way about 60 yds long and 3 ft wide.
460 bricks to make a wall, concrete fence posts, and new higher fence panels to make a decent fence along our border with our neighbour, higher for more privacy, but lower at one end to allow for trellising for climbing plants. We have a lean-to shed in a corner of our house, against two walls, and we put an extra high fence panel there, we are going to fully enclose it. It might look a little enelagant, but it works! It's so much nicer now, we no longer have crumby broken fencing, don't feel like I'm spying on my neighbours everytime I look out of the window. The type of house I live in is quite small my American standards, and it's good to make the most of all the available space.
Here are some pics, but I am afraid they have not been re-sized or rotated.
One of the dogs, and his dog kennel (home made 3 years ago);
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/thx1138/DSCF0015.JPGThe dog again, and the gate that I made, along with one of the two walls we built, this one we did last November. (we are terrible for getting cement all over our bricks) But we are going to have climbing plants there next spring so it wont matter;
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/thx1138/DSCF0013.JPGOur new wall, finished yesterday, plum tree tied back until the cement dries, metal encing to keep the dogs off the two flower beds. Thin apple tree next to it got a battering, but should be okay;
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/thx1138/DSCF0011.JPGThe new fence and fence posts, had to cut through concrete by hand for three of those posts. Mrs.THX and another hound bringin the laundry in.
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/thx1138/DSCF0010.JPGSome of the plants Mrs.THX bought today;
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/thx1138/DSCF0008.JPGTurn your head sideways, that leanto at the end of the passage, is going to be my shed.
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/thx1138/DSCF0007.JPG With windows both sides, I don't need lighting, I can light it from the house, and run an extension lead out. Once we build a door frame and 6" door, we will have see through plastic everywhere else to let the light into the house
A better shot of the finished walls. My father in law layed all of the bricks, I mixed the cement, altough I did do the concrete on the tops of the pillars
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/thx1138/DSCF0001.JPGhttp://homepage.ntlworld....om/thx1138/gardenolda.jpgThat fence down the side passage you see here, only just got rid, putting in concrete posts means it's simple to replace a panel as and when.
that's the plum tree when it was just planted, helens gran bought it for us before she died, not fence behind, now a wall
http://homepage.ntlworld....om/thx1138/gardenoldb.jpg