The route for our new drive goes straight through the garage for our existing house - so the garage had to go. We've been itching to get started but had to wait for a planning condition to be discharged before starting any construction (or demolition) work.
First job was to remove the 5 solar panels that we put on the garage to utilise its east-facing roof.
Next, get the tiles off and set them aside for resale - we are trying to recycle as many materials as possible, including the timber from the joists and rafters.
The timber will be used in the garden to edge the vegetable beds.
Some of the bricks from the front of the garage will go into the new pillar at the end of the drive and we will sell (or freecycle) the rest.
The steel lintel and the garage door can be sold as scrap metal. Also the copper from the electrical wiring inside the garage.
The block walls came down with a little bit of encouragement from a large hammer.
We plan to use the broken blocks as the foundation for the new drive.
We can clean off the mortar from whole blocks and re-use them down the garden e.g. for the walls of the compost heap.
Personal protection equipment.