Have you dug foundations for extension?

[BucksDad]

Only a few weeks ago a 8 yard skip was £145 where i live and a grab lorry taking 18 yards was £185 , so i had 4 of them as opposed to 8 or 9 skips saving around £600

Lucky you. I've just paid £190 for a 4 yard skip!

 

[Lazurus]

Lucky you. I've just paid £190 for a 4 yard skip!

£255 for a 6 yard here in Norfolk last week

 

[TominDales]

Get a digger in if it anything bigger than a small extension or you are fit and young. if you have not driven a digger before get one with an operator, it will be cheaper unless you don't mind spending time practicing. Driving one is not difficult but getting a trench dug out accurately is more difficult than a proficient operator makes it look.

On depth, I had a building inspector insist that I dug the foundations for a porch out to one metre. I objected that we had reached hard sandstone at 2ft and it was going nowhere. He told me in no uncertain terms that the foundations would frost heave if not one metre deep. I should have taken him for a walk through the village where many of the buildings have their brickwork built on sandstone above and below the ground. None have heaved in the last few hundred years.

When digging out a basement about seven foot deep the last foot had been dug out of solid sandstone, A JCB with a toothed bucket managed about half an inch per scrape. A different building inspector insisted that the concrete floor needed to be reinforced as the walls were to be built on it. The reason being the turning moment the walls would place on the concrete would cause the walls to sink and the middle of the floor to raise. He said if we did not put reinforcement in he would not pass it. He was unable to say how the floor would sink into the sandstone apart from saying there would be a turning moment on it.

I've found inspectors to be very variable in their depth of knowledge. Looking at the JD up on the governments web-site, there is no requirement for an engineering degree or high level qualification - just knowledge. I suspect some just follow the rules very rigidly as they dont have the ability to go outside of it. I very nearly had to fit steel re-reinforcement to an ancient Cotswold cottage until I found an engineer from English heritage who persuaded them that filling in the cracks (some were 4 inches wide) with pointing and lime mortar was all that was needed to get the strength back. On the other hand, I've found some to be really helpful, with deep understanding of the local ground conditions and quite and flexible on what to do.

 

[Reginald]

Hiya,
I honestly think there is some of the countrys wised on here... Especially in the off topic....

So just wondering if you have dug your own footings / foundations for an extension?
I'm considering it depends how much I will save....

Was it worth it?
Do you regret it?

Any issues?

What advice would you give?

Thank you kindly

If it's a Worksop you can probably do a raft rather than digging to Australia I did a raft on my very large brick built workshop planning were fine with it.

 

[Fergie 307]

Having dug out the foundations for my extension, and removed all the soil by hand owing to limited access, I would definitely say never again. Once you have worked out how long you think it will take, and how much spoil you will have to get rid of, double it. Mine all went in skips, and as it was just soil I managed to do a deal with the company and got the skips at half price. Still at lot of back breaking work and aggro. If I had to do it again would definitely get someone in, and confine myself to the tea and biscuits for the workers role. To add insult to injury after I had carefully measured everything when the inspector came round he just glanced at it, didn't check any measurements and said "that looks ok" before buggering off.

 

[heimlaga]

I damaged my back when digging out a foundation underneath an old building at work. Got no compensation (the boss and the insurarce company made up a story about an accident and a total car wreck on my way home) and it took me 18 years to recover a reasonable heath. Many years weith severe chronic pains and not enough strength to really keep a job of any kind.
Be careful when digging!
You only have one body and while hard work may be very healthy it may also be very damaging. It is all about ergonomics and knowing when to quit for the day and having proper tools for the job and never ever hurrying.

 

[Fergie 307]

I damaged my back when digging out a foundation underneath an old building at work. Got no compensation (the boss and the insurarce company made up a story about an accident and a total car wreck on my way home) and it took me 18 years to recover a reasonable heath. Many years weith severe chronic pains and not enough strength to really keep a job of any kind.
Be careful when digging!
You only have one body and while hard work may be very healthy it may also be very damaging. It is all about ergonomics and knowing when to quit for the day and having proper tools for the job and never ever hurrying.

nowadays I often wear a weightlifting type support belt if I'm doing this sort of thing. Makes a real difference, can get a bit uncomfortable if it's hot, but still better than doing your back in.

 

[RobinBHM]

nowadays I often wear a weightlifting type support belt if I'm doing this sort of thing. Makes a real difference, can get a bit uncomfortable if it's hot, but still better than doing your back in.

Do they work then?

I guess they do, I've seen people wear them, but never thought about getting one myself

 

[Doug B]

Do they work then?

I guess they do, I've seen people wear them, but never thought about getting one myself

I use a large elasticated weight lifting belt it makes a hell of a difference I wouldn’t think about moving 9’ concrete posts as I was last week without wearing it.

 

[Adam W.]

Hire a digger and a dumper for a couple of days and skip the muck out straight away, or you'll get a nasty surprise when the spoil heap gets bigger than you thought it would.

Get a readymix wagon and use the dumper to pour the concrete with. Hose out dumper, send them both back and drink gin and tonic.

 

[Reginald]

If it's a Worksop you can probably do a raft rather than digging to Australia I did a raft on my very large brick built workshop planning were fine with it.

I dug my own years ago like I said in my post I did a raft and they were ok with it but nowadays they seem to want a meter or more because they are *** covering my house was built with 3 courses of Milford whites as a foundation and is still ok 70 years later .
It depends on the ground how hard it's gona be but with the money people charge now for ground work if you can do your own I would .

 

[Lons]

As an ex builder I've dug out loads of foundations, it's always hard work, more often than not you'll come across an issue you weren't expecting and with the weather in this country it tends to damn messy. I that latter years I would always hire a digger, 1.5 tonne if access was decent or a Micro if it wasn't, it's amazing how capable those little micros are and had I not been a few years off retiring I'd have bought one in. You'll get one for £80 to £100 for a day which is likely all you need. I used to pay £60 plus vat but would collect and return it myself.

If you do some serious digging and not used to it your muscles will complain for days, is it worth it?