Since my last update on the subdivision of our block once we finished clearing the land we had the surveyor back to measure and peg out the two new sized blocks - our new backyard for the front house and the new subdivided block.
The next step is to build retaining walls and fences around the two new sized blocks and when that's done that will finalise the subdivision and our local council will issue us with new plans and title.
With dividing fences and retaining walls you need to co-ordinate with your neighbors and come to an agreement about cost sharing, materials, etc and this is where it got a little tricky for us .... We have spoken to our neighbors on all three sides of our boundary and wrote nice friendly letters to them, attaching quotes and asking to build retaining walls and new fences and split the cost between us. But unfortunately we haven't had the go ahead from all of our neighbors ...... Bummer!
The next step is to build retaining walls and fences around the two new sized blocks and when that's done that will finalise the subdivision and our local council will issue us with new plans and title.
With dividing fences and retaining walls you need to co-ordinate with your neighbors and come to an agreement about cost sharing, materials, etc and this is where it got a little tricky for us .... We have spoken to our neighbors on all three sides of our boundary and wrote nice friendly letters to them, attaching quotes and asking to build retaining walls and new fences and split the cost between us. But unfortunately we haven't had the go ahead from all of our neighbors ...... Bummer!
We have started work on this over the weekend with the old fence being removed and a limestone retaining wall being built (this is the high side of the land where we built a garage). The retaining wall will join up with the brick garage wall and follow it down to the back fence. A new fence will be installed on top of the retaining wall this week.
The neighbor on our left side agrees we need a new dividing fence but we haven't yet decided on the type of retaining and fence. We are sourcing further quotes and options and hope to come to an agreement soon.
As you can see this fence is really old, made of asbestos and falling down - I can't wait to replace it!
The neighbor on the back fence has a newer cement fence and has agreed we can put in a new fence and retaining but at our own cost and has put some conditions on how we go about it. We have considered this further and decided to leave this fence alone as it's a newer fence, in pretty good condition and in the right position so we don't need to retain or put in a new dividing fence here. This will save us quite a bit of money too!
Because we are perfectionists we will probably paint this fence in classic cream so that it matches our new cream metal fences.
Because we are perfectionists we will probably paint this fence in classic cream so that it matches our new cream metal fences.
For the fences we are going for Colorbond metal fence panels in a cream colour to match the exterior colour pallete of our home. Below is a close of up the pattern and colour.
We have a local company Pillar To Post Fencing installing the fences.
For the retaining wall on the high side we are going to use limestone block retaining to match the foundations of our house and the front courtyard we built - whilst limestone blocks are the more expensive option it will look really good, it's quality and will last a lifetime. We have P+P Stone Solutions who built our front limestone courtyard doing this work for us.
Being able to split the cost with neighbors is really good but firstly you have to agree to what you want. So fingers crossed we can get our neighours agreement soon!
I'll share a progress post on the new retaining wall and fence going in very soon!
We have a local company Pillar To Post Fencing installing the fences.
For the retaining wall on the high side we are going to use limestone block retaining to match the foundations of our house and the front courtyard we built - whilst limestone blocks are the more expensive option it will look really good, it's quality and will last a lifetime. We have P+P Stone Solutions who built our front limestone courtyard doing this work for us.
Being able to split the cost with neighbors is really good but firstly you have to agree to what you want. So fingers crossed we can get our neighours agreement soon!
I'll share a progress post on the new retaining wall and fence going in very soon!
[All images my own]
