Building a new garden/side boundary - hedge/fence/wall?

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Will

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Hi gang,

I'll try and keep it short and sweet!

Got a hedge that's planted along the boundary running beside the house from front to back - it's about 8 metres long.

Current hedge has to go as it's overgrown and unmanageable.

Rest of the back gardens are walled (6ft tall) to where the hedge starts (at back of house)

Thinking of moving the side gate up to the front of the house and perhaps replacing the hedge with a wall. This would give a solid boundary and secure the area alongside the house. It would also give me a little more space as the current hedge is about 2 metres wide (!)

Any reasons why I shouldn't do this? It's not beside another property or road (just a strip of grass in a residential area). There is a covenant in place but from what I can see it only stipulates no walls/fences etc across the front of the property (open-plan type front gardens where I am). 70's built end of terrace for what it's worth

Existing wall is single skin, 6ft tall with piers every 8ft. Seems to be doing fine.

Other than cost (7.8m long 1.8m high of brickwork/footings etc) can anyone think of a downside to this? I can't see it being a problem aesthetically as if the hedge wasn't there people would just be looking at the brickwork of the side of the house - and I guess the new wall would be about a metre lower than the old hedge - and much neater, same as the rest of the garden wall.

Only other options I can think of would be to replace the hedge - but another leylandi will take as much maintenance as this old one. And most other types will take ages to grow - and unlikely to be as secure/solid boundary as a wall. I guess I could build a fence - but for the cost of a decent fence would I not be better off with a wall - at least it will match the rest of the boundaries and should last me out.

I'm roughly estimating 14 square metres of visible brickwork - plus the piers and whatever is not visible from the footings. So 1000 bricks or so? I can cut the old hedge down and dig out roots/dig (and prepare?) footings which should cut out some of the groundwork.

Any guesstimates of what this should cost in the Surrey area? I'm guessing a brickie plus labourer, 3/4 days work or so? Maybe £750-1000 labour and the same for materials or so. £1.5-2k in my head sounds okay for a 26ft single skin wall built well. I think much more than £2k and I'll have to leave the idea - maybe stick with a hedge or fence as I've other work that needs doing too.

Any advice or suggestions most welcomed :cool:

Will
 
Get a proper footing laid, whatever wall construction you decide upon.
 
Get a proper footing laid, whatever wall construction you decide upon.

Of course! Wasn't planning on any shortcuts, not going to spend ££££ on a wall for it fall over :eek:
 
Of course! Wasn't planning on any shortcuts, not going to spend ££££ on a wall for it fall over :eek:

Yes, I was thinking more about making it clear to whoever you assign the job to.

They did say that when Longbridge closed, everyone became a bricklayer/landscaper :crazy:.
 
From a security point of view I would have thought that a very tall hedge would be more difficult to climb over than a 6ft wall so more of a deterrent on that front.
 
Get some nice bricks possibly reclaimed ones, if it's a long wall they look much better than the ordinary commons and have a bit character
 
Cheers guys.

Hedge would obviously be the cheapest/easiest solution but I'm thinking long term a wall would be less hassle and more suitable for what I'm after - securing the boundary and making some storage space for wheelie bins etc whilst moving the main gate along to the front.

Brick wise I'd realistically try and match what's already there - the existing wall is made from pretty ordinary pastel coloured London bricks afaik.

Mainly after any opinion as to whether I'm realistic with my cost guesstimate? Will try and speak to a couple of people in the week to gauge opinion.

Also everyone seems to go for double thickness walls at this sort of height - all the rest of the walls (circa 30-40 years old) are single skin with piers every 8ft - they haven't fallen over so will I be okay continuing the wall in the same fashion. It's only 2m/6ft approx from the house and not next to a road/footpath etc.

I reckon digging the old roots out will be the main challenge - one every few days in the spring shouldn't be too bad though.

Any other advice most welcomed - I think I'll start by cutting the old hedges right back on my side prior to removal, will make them easier to remove anyway :)

Will
 
If you dig the trench and put the concrete in...a good brick layer will do the wall in less than two days.
 

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