So, zoom forward to early 2020. I'm in a position to put some more effort into the project.
The top of the garden has become overgrown again - While it's not back to square one, its a step backward. A bit of graft required...
I had a renewed sense of purpose on the project now and was keen to get things moving.
I'd spoken to my work (I'm in Construction) about digging the bank out with a JCB - Just about doable but my Health & Safety sub-conscious thought it had disaster written all over it. A hand dig was the way forward and after a couple of weeks, there was progress.
What I would say on this is that it is surprising just how much rock comes out when you do a dig.
The bank that I thought was earth, was actually mostly rock and every cubic meter that comes out ends up taking up over twice that when it's loose. A lot of handballing to shift it from there to the top of the common.
You may notice I've taken a bit more of the bank away than I had first planned - I wanted to get access to the rear and I planned to put a water butt in the space to collect the water off the gutter.
A solid week of digging and things were ready for some steelwork.
We had spare RSJs at work and they found a home...
Each RSJ needed to go in about 3 ft into the ground. Soul destroying work as scooping shale out of a hole isn't the easiest of things