Foundation

After the busy weeks before and during carnival, in March I got the itch to get started.

Informing the neighbours

Even though we’re building without a permit, I consider it an unwritten rule to inform the neighbours about our plans. We’ve known our next-door neighbours for years and they’ll hardly notice anything. Our back neighbours, however, will see a building rise about 1 metre above the roughly 2-metre fence, and a few rotten fence panels on the boundary between us and the road behind will be replaced. They’ll always be looking at these fence panels, and because I want to make them so they can open if needed, I was keen to let them know.

Since December 2025 we’ve had new back neighbours, and after a brief introduction and some chat back and forth, I invited them round for coffee. Getting to know each other a bit better and, well, pitching the idea straight away too. It’s a bit of a shame to have to bring something like that up on a first visit, but that’s just how it is. It would be stranger to wait a year with your plans because you don’t know the neighbour well enough yet!

Tree and slabs out

Having already removed quite a few small trees from the garden, I set about taking out the hawthorn. It always takes longer than you think before you’ve freed enough roots and get some movement in the root ball. I always used to tackle the root with a spade and trowel, but soon switched to a handsaw and then an old jigsaw! I’ve never asked how my friend the landscape gardener does this, but every time I think it’s the last tree I’ll be pulling out. In the end I bent quite a few saw blades, but it’s the last time anyway…

I then levered out the concrete slabs with a shovel. They slide very easily onto your shovel and straight into your wheelbarrow. I stacked them all up, knowing that a number of them would definitely come in handy for the foundation. You can smash them up and use the pieces as spacers for your reinforcement mesh. A lot cheaper than paying for spacers.