Removing the Garage: The Turning Point
This patio project completely changed how we use our garden – and it all started with removing a 1930s asbestos garage.
For years, we didn’t actually have a patio at all – just a patch of garden that had been completely claimed by the kids as a football pitch.
It did its job brilliantly at the time but once the children grew bigger, the space slowly turned into a forgotten area. A few abandoned plants clung on and the fruit trees that once dotted the garden had sadly died away over the years. There were a few overgrown shrubs that had been planted by the previous owners but there was nowhere to sit comfortably and relax.
Part of the reason we hadn’t tackled it sooner was the enormous 1930s asbestos garage sitting right outside the kitchen window. It dominated the whole garden — a big, ugly, immovable obstacle that made any kind of patio or seating area impossible. To be fair, it did earn its keep as storage. We crammed it with everything we didn’t know what else to do with: inherited tools we couldn’t name, thousands of tiny plastic balls from long-lost play-pits, abandoned bikes, scooters… and even the tumble dryer. It was a mess and we really needed to do something about it.
Until that thing was gone, the garden was always going to feel like a leftover space.
The first job was removing the garage, and once that beast was finally gone, the whole garden changed overnight. Suddenly it felt open, bright and full of possibility. We could actually imagine sitting out there with a coffee instead of treating the garden like a corridor we rushed through on the way to the bins!
Because it was a 1930s asbestos garage, we had to bring in a properly licensed contractor to take it down…and honestly, watching professionals dismantle something that had dominated the garden for decades was extremely satisfying.
We went back to the contractor who had replaced our fencing – someone we trusted and who already understood the space.
Together we planned a simple, practical patio that would finally give us somewhere to sit and enjoy the garden rather than just admire it from the kitchen window.
Watching it take shape felt like reclaiming the garden all over again. Amazing what happens when you remove the one thing that’s been holding everything hostage.
