Compost Heap to Rabbit Residence. FINISHED

After looking at some of the sheds, and finding out Mums plans for the new house, I decided to keep the bunnies at the back of the garden, away from any future extension. After looking at all of the sheds in the garden, I realised none of them were suitable for the rabbits to live in, and at some point in the next few years will probably need tearing down. So, I decided on a hutch and aviary to make it easy for me to clean, but also to ensure they have plenty of space. The coolest corner with the most shade is between a Hawthorne bush and 3 Apple trees. Unfortunately there is also a HUGE compost heap right where the aviary is going to go, and only part of that area is level and paved. I thought I would make a thread on its progress..

15/7/2014.
Thir new 6x3x3 Happy Hutch arrived this afternoon. We have also cleared one shed, which will be used for storage, have removed some fencing to open up the area and started moving the compost heap. Theres still a fair amount of earth to shift, but weve saved the best of it for future use and put it into barrels. Pictures to follow...

This will be the storage shed for their hay and bits and bobs.



This is where the aviary will be, this space is over 10ft, the compost heap is mahoosive. This was before we made a start.



Another shed. There are 5 all together, excluding the greenhouse! Their setup will be between this shed and the very back one.



After. We removed the rotten fence to make a walk way. The ferns will be moved to the front garden.


After. Its hard to really see a difference in the amount of soil in this photo, but there isnt a great deal left here now.


You wouldnt believe the amount of junk the previous owner left behind. We have had to get a large skip, and we have almost filled it in less than a day!

Can't wait to see pics Hun - all sounds fab - they are going to love it!

KatieB wrote:Can't wait to see pics Hun - all sounds fab - they are going to love it!

Their up! ^^^^

Ooh I will be following this thread with interest

Their new set up sounds fab! Can't wait to see xx

Wow Sophia, I say this will be a stately home to some buns! Please keep us updated. And sleep well after al the hard work!   

Post deleted.

...Poor Dad hasnt done too badly afterall

It's looking good!   

Looking great hun, wow, the old owners must have left a lot then to fill it up that fast. How rude of them not getting rid of it.

Sounds like a wonderful plan, I hope it all goes well hun.

     

Well this is where we are up to this evening. The area is ready for paving. You can see a massive difference when you compare it to the second photo. Its hard to believe its the same spot, actually! We also put the hutch together, and painted it. Im really not happy with the hutch, but Ill wait until Ive spoken to the company before i go complaining about it to you all!

Can't wait to see it all when done !

I havent been very well over the last couple of days. So everything has come to a complete standstill. Im just doing too much. Mum made me cancel the joiner that was coming to do my aviary for me, because a bloke at her work can do it cheaper, but I dont know what its going to look like now! I didnt mind paying the money if it meant i got what i was after.

Anyway, Im not impressed at all with Happy Hutch. Its stapled together, ive had to buy panel pins and redo all the panels as you could see daylight between them and the frame! The felt on the roof only folded over the edge by a mm if that. So we complained and asked for a new roof. They sent it out, the felt is better, but it looks terrible and....it didnt fit!!

BUT. My little brother tonight, God love him, has been out there, doing the back panels for me, sorting the felt on the roof and reattaching and painting the trim - albeit the wrong colour, but never mind I have a hutch! The lino just needs sealing and some proper locks need putting on, and the legs need painting too. Its 6x3x3 and Marley and Dolly will look completely dwarfed in there, i think ill add some shelves at some point. Ive also taken the divider out, because the space was too big to keep cosy, so ive opened up the space and will put a wooden hidey hut in there for them.

Wow that is lovely hun, I am not usually much for blue but that is gorgeous.

Hugs
JO xx

Love the colour!   

Can't way to see it all finished !

Its not that colour anymore. The tin decided to change Seriously, both me and Dad gave it a good mix. We shook it and stirred it the first time around. Then second time i used it i gave it a good stir and it was the same colour. Third time around when Nick stirred it, it went light blue and has remained that colour! Ive had to repaint it all again, but it still looks nice, just more of a light greeny/blue!

marleyNfriends wrote:Its not that colour anymore. The tin decided to change Seriously, both me and Dad gave it a good mix. We shook it and stirred it the first time around. Then second time i used it i gave it a good stir and it was the same colour. Third time around when Nick stirred it, it went light blue and has remained that colour! Ive had to repaint it all again, but it still looks nice, just more of a light greeny/blue!

Aww I thought it was a lovely colour as it was   

I did but I would love to see the new colour sweets.

Hugs
JO xx

I thought I would also update this thread too. Its still a work in progress, but we're finally getting somewhere. Everything came to a halt for a while, because we ended up with some cowboy builders come in and make a complete hash of it. I had to save up more money to be able to finish it, and Im still not sure how much its going to cost, but I havent got much choice other than to finish what weve started. Its also taken a lot longer because I havent been very well.

The outside of the shed is done, the inside is insulated, and I have the lino. The insulation ust needs boarding over. This weekend though, the wonderful Andy came to build the frame for the aviary. The mesh is on its way, and next Sunday he is coming to do some more work on it. When we do finally get there, its going to be wonderful, and make my life so much easier. Here is where we're up to now. Notice the horrible back fence has also been replaced.

So they have the shed now instead of the hutch?

KatieB wrote:So they have the shed now instead of the hutch?

Yes, its a long story. That shed was bought for storage. The people that were supposed to be building the aviary, and replacing the rotten shed in the back corner made a complete mess of it all. You couldnt really call it a shed, it was disgraceful - nails sticking out all over, the floor wouldnt fit, it didnt have a proper door, the whole front panel was just a big hinge, and it was made from crappy ply. The same people also laid the slabs for the aviary, but made it too small, so although the hutch will fit, I wont be able to get the doors open properly! This is also why its taken so long to get things done. Because they made a massive balls up! Mum called him out to have a look at what his so called joiners had produced, and he was really rude to her. He said he would put it right, but we just told them to come and remove it, and not to come back again, as we wont be paying them. The same people block paved the drive, which will need to be redone, as its falling apart, and isnt straight, it comes above the damp course too. Complete cowboys. Mum knew them through work too, so she trusted them.

As Mum is on her own, shes having a real hard job finding people she can trust to do work properly without having her eyes out. Everyone just sees to see a single woman and automatically take us for a ride.

Ergh, sorry you had such a rubbish time with those con-artists!

It's looking fab though. Marley and Dolly are lucky buns

I know. Its been a long, and stressful wait, and its cost me an awful lot (id hate to sit and work it all out properly, but its in excess of £600 after putting things right. ) BUT its exactly what I wanted, will last an awful long time (or at least the aviary will!) and makes things so much easier when Im not v well.

The builder got tied up last weekend, but he came back yesterday...You know whats funny, I call him a builder, turns out hes a jack of all trades as he renovates properties into social housing for the same charity that Mum works for, BUT hes actually a butcher Lovely guy though, works hard and has done a fab job. Hes been so patient too. Anyway, here is where we're up to. Yesterday we got the roof and the solid sides on, painted the roof timbers, fitted the catflap and hes almost finished constructing the tunnel to get the buns from the shed to the aviary. Today were hoping to finish the tunnel and patch up a few areas with the paint, get the door and mesh on and line the inside of the shed. I think im going to wait until next weekend to put the lino down, as I want to paint the inside, and Im fantstic at splattering paint everywhere.

Wow that's looking really good Sophia. And it will be worth the money in it's longevity.

Wow, it's looking fab

Marley and Dolly will love it

Bunny deluxe! Love this and hope they will too.