Yard gates and back kitchens: getting appliances into Blackburn terraces

Victorian terraces in Mill Hill, Audley and Bastwell were built with the kitchen at the rear and a yard behind it opening onto the back street. A washing machine can come in either way. Through the front means a step, the vestibule door and a route across the living room, so furniture may need to shift. Through the yard is often shorter, provided the gate is wide enough and the back street is clear for the trolley.

In a Roe Lee, Feniscowles or Shadsworth semi the van can usually pull onto or beside the drive, and the trip to the kitchen is a few metres. Whichever house it is, the driver delivers and positions the machine; he does no plumbing, electrics or gas, and does not take dishwashers or cookers. Tall and American-style fridge-freezers are not moved from Blackburn homes. The old washer stays with you, and Blackburn with Darwen Council's paid bulky item collection is one way to clear it.

Doors, yard gates and hoses: a Blackburn kitchen ready for the van

Measure the narrowest door on the way in, front or yard gate, against the machine
Have the old washer pulled out, unplugged and its hoses off before the driver arrives
Tell us whether the back street to the yard is passable with a trolley
Give a fridge the settling time its maker recommends before switching it on
Where a retailer offers kerbside only, book the van for the store collection instead

Where Blackburn appliances are collected and where they go

Currys, Hyndburn Retail Parkon Whitebirk Drive by M65 junction 6, where an order can be collected
Mill Hill and Audley terracesrear kitchens reached through the living room or the yard
Bastwell and Daisyfieldterraces and semis north of the centre
Roe Lee and Feniscowlessemis with drives, so the van stands close
Town-centre flatsa lift or stair to the kitchen, checked before the day

Appliance runs into BB1 and BB2

Whitebirk Drive → Mill Hillstore to terrace, across to the west side of town
Bradford → Blackburnover the moors and the M65, 37 miles, 60 to 80 minutes
Pleckgate → Higher Crofta second-hand washer bought across town

Weight, carry and steps: pricing a Blackburn appliance delivery

The machine's weight, the steps and doorways between the kerb and the kitchen, and the distance from Whitebirk or the seller make up the figure, settled before collection. See how we quote for the full breakdown.