footings

Please see the video attached - it explains everything quickly. This is a 1936 house, with cavity walls. The walls contain rockwool type insulation and the builder thinks the bricks need a coat of water repellent. I also intend to clear the cavity at some stage. However, this post relates to the...

I’ve started a raised patio project and looking for advice regarding the retaining wall and steps. For the retaining wall I’m digging out 450mm wide and 300mm deep trench to put in a 150mm deep concrete footing in clay soil. The retaining wall will be approx 500mm above ground level. For the...

Hi All, It's Pizza Oven Time!! The oven itself is pre-built 1m x 1m and 500kg. It will sit on a 3 sided (1m x 1m x 1m), double skin brick wall 1.2m high. Question is, what should the foundation look like? I'm thinking 1.2m 1.2m x 0.3m concrete slab on 50mm hardcore. The ground is quite soft...

Hello. So currently I am excavating the foundations for a cavity wall garden office. Unfortunately my drain pipe runs at an awkward angle at the corner of where my foundations would be. My initial thought was to excavate the foundations deeper and pour the concrete below the pipe, and then...

Hi everyone, Completed the dig on a 3m single-storey extension today and came across a drain that runs a way we weren’t expecting. Seems to serve as a rainwater waste but not too sure if that’s all it is as there’s another clay pipe behind it that seems to run down (done my best to draw it in...

Hi I am hoping you can help me with some independent advice regarding footings that have been dug for a single-story extension at my sons property. Due to a neighbouring tree roots, we have been advised by the council to dig extra deep footings for the foundations, I'm afraid I don’t have the...

Hi all. We’ve started a single story kitchen extension this week. Footings have been dug, approved by BC and filled with concrete. We have a shared boundary which runs down the garden. My adjoining neighbour (who we’ve had issues with about the whole project) has a 3m extension which is built...

I'm building a deck that's attached to my house (50cm high at it's highest point). I'd like it to last as long as possible so instead of burying the uprights in the ground, I'm looking at putting them in shoes (pictured) which go 20cm into cubes of concrete, 30cm deep and 30cm across, and none...

Hi, I am planning on building some raised beds around a patio using blockwork and then fitting porcelain cladding. The beds will be about 4m by 1m and about 0.6m high. To keep the costs down I was looking to use a single skin of 100mm wide blocks, would this be enough? Or should I use 140mm...

Hello Everyone, I was hoping someone could advise. We have a semi detached property and my neighbour has a patio and sun lounge. We are building an extension but due the trees in her garden (which are less than 3 meters) structural engineers have asked to go for step footings (1.2, 1.7 & 2.1...

I am building a garden pond and going to lay the concrete footings this week. However, I have noticed that the UK is going to be cold next week. Will it be ok to lay the concrete or wait until it warms up? Thanks

Hi guys, Our garden is currently two tiered. Grass furthest from the house then a raised (~500mm) patio made up of 600x600 concrete flags adjacent to the house We need to install a small raised deck roughly 3400x1200x600 (WxDxH) to provide access to the back door. I am struggling for a...

Hi Guys, going to be building up to DPC for my project this week. There will be 2 bridges for water and electric supplies to run under the blocks... what size/rating lintel will i need (assumng i need 4 lintels also)? Thanks

Hi all I’m hoping somone can give me a little more info we recently bought a new house where the garden is very sloped and in need of raising. we are hoping to put a small retaining wall in front of the rear fence concrete blocks laid flat approximately 0.5m high and back fill to this to bring...

Hi all I’m starting a garage conversion and with regards to replacing the garage door with a low wall and window, building control have said I either need to dig a meter deep and fill with concrete to make the footings or use Lintels? The current slab of concrete is 130mm which to be honest is...

Hi all, Embarking on a small extension on the back of the house. No knocking through required, just using existing window and door openings. I've spoken to BC for some of the technical info, and am intending on doing a chunk of the work myself as much as possible. My questions are as follows...

Hi I'm running a drain through the footing walls and i'm stuck on the section of the building regs that states "openings masked with rigid material and around the pipe should be compressible". Rigid Board I've heard people mention cement board but will this not perish after a few years sat in...

I'm sure this has been posted but after searching through all the archives i'm still a little unsure. I'm building a ground level deck 3x6m in a yard surrounded by 4 brick walls, the ground is currently just mud and clay soil under that. I'm just a little unsure of the footings, mainly because...

A local charity has asked my advice about new footings for a heavy iron swing gate on their depot that needs repaired. Due to a very sandy terrain (no rock or clay bed in the Netherlands) I am undecided whether a spread footing (reinforced slab and small upstand ) or two reinforced footing's...

I am fitting a conservatory which will be full length glass no walls. i have already dug out footings 500mm wide and 700mm depth. for a single footing wall to DP level i know most people would advice 1000mm depth but i am already hitting compacted gravel and stones as big as house bricks which...