Large footprint

I took this photo mostly because I love the frame of scaffolding at the front and the other assorted items associated with the construction of the new 16 Sandy Lane. Looking through the clutter it is just possible to determine the footprint which extends across the whole plot, as they all do these days, and extends back further on the right side.

It is going to be a very big house, even by the standard of its neighbours.

Building something

Something substantial is being built in the access lane off Broughton Avenue that runs behind houses in Lock Road. It is hard to tell yet whether it is a garage at the end of the lane or a building at the back of a garden.

Rebuilding 16 Sandy Lane

A week or so ago when I first posted a picture of the rebuilding of 16 Sandy Lane I was thwarted by the green mesh across the front of the property so I was pleased to find on my latest visit, as expected,  that a hole had developed in the mesh allowing me to take this picture of the whole site.

Digging up Craig Road

While the recent road works on Petersham Road and at Ham Cross have caused the most disruption those in Craig Road are quite substantial with various holes having been dug along the length of the road. 

This seems to be a continuation of the pipe replacement work that has been going on intermittently across the area for the last few years. Oddly, neighbouring Lock Road was done way back in 2022.

Petersham Road resurfacing

The closure of Petersham Road over night for resurfacing has caused a few problems with access, which is why I ended up taking this photo at 1:30am while walking home from Richmond because there were no buses.

I presume that this work is necessary but that does not make the regular closures and restrictions on this road any less annoying.

Incidentally, Petersham Road was fully resurfaced in 2014. It may have been done again since then but without me recording it.

Sandy Lane foundations

Sandy Lane has seen a lot of change in recent years as houses in large plots have been extended or even, as in this case, demolished to make even larger properties.

Annoyingly there is a green narrow mesh screen across the front of the property which my camera gets confused by, focusing on that rather than the works behind, and so all I could get this time was the view from one edge.

Exceptionally lovely bricks

Having commented on some nice bricks yesterday I thought I would follow that with a return to The Cottage on Ham Common.

On my previous visit, not long ago, the extension was defined by blocks and these have been clothed with bricks, and exceptionally lovely bricks they are too (a zoom in is recommended). The mix of colours and the rough texture give them character that is completely lacking in the building on the left.

Murray Road extension

I make a point of visiting quieter places like Murray Road regularly just to see if there is anything new and this time it was an extension being built. As always, I like to mark projects like this in case the change is dramatic and also because I like all the physical things associated with these building projects. 

In this case I also very much like the end wall of the house, the bricks are a lovely colour and the contintion of the motar suggests that it was well built.

The Cottage grows

The extension to The Cottage on Ham Common seems to be substantial, from the limited amount of it that can be from the road.

The eyes have it

With very little of the house still visible it is hard to judge the nature of this project in Sandy Lane but I do like the way that it seems to be looking at you.

New door and windows

This picture is similar to the one I took of this property in Craig Road three months ago though a careful comparison reveals some differences, notably the new door and windows and also the scale of the rather modest extension at the back.

Ladder and skip

It is hard to miss this building project as the house sits prominently on the corner of Dukes and Dysart Avenues and also because the work is at roof level so it can be seen from some distance.

The Manor House in Petersham

The Manor House sits on a prominent position on Tommy Steele Corner (I still call it that) and the only way to appreciate it properly is to cross the busy road to stand by the main entrance to Montrose House.

It looks as though the work being gone is just minor maintenance but I will cross the road against once it is finished to see the end result.

Working on Beaufort Court

I take work-in-progress pictures like this because I want to record thigns that change and the materials of the works are a change, even if temporary, and they also hold the promise of future change once the works are completed.

Whatever is being done to Beaufort Court looks substantial with scaffolding towers on all of the blocks that I could see,

Red steels

I like to use the path that zig-zags though the Locksmeade development from Riverside Drive to Fisherman Close as there are usually interesting things to see and on this occasion that included a set of red steels.

The temporary ramp suggests that it is the house straight ahead that is being worked on though there is no other sign at the front of a project that requires this amount of steel.

Extension iin Buckingham Road

This was meant to be one of those posts about a construction project hidden behind sheeting where I speculate about what might be to come but by the time I got around to posting this "before" picture the "after" had already been revealed!

The revealed extension fits in quite well with the original house and neighbours thanks to the careful choice of bricks. The grey windows do mot match though, and they rather spoil an otherwise good job,

Not so Little Orchard

The size and shape of the new Little Orchard (on the south-east corner of Sudbrook Lane and Bute Avenue) is becoming more apparent as it grows above the wall. 

It seems, to me, to have a similar footprint to the old house and it is still effectively a chalet bungalow so the reasons for the rebuild are not that obvious, perhaps they will become clearer once the work is completed and I can see through the gate.

Standing out

This refurbishment in Martingales Road is all but finished and to me it looks like one of those Spot 5 Things Wrong With This Picture puzzles. 

The removal of the hoardings has exposed the most obvious of the wrong things, the weatherboarding is brown when it should be white in the character of the street.

Clifford Road trench

I like seeing things as they change, the jumble of construction sites and walking late at night all of which come together in this picture of below ground works in Clifford Road.

Yellow frame

The Little Cottage site, on the south-east corner of Sudbrook Lane and Bute Avenue, has been hidden behind hoardings for several months but no longer as the frame of the new house busts into view in a surprising display of yellow metal.