Foundations Day 1

Having removed enough of the wall to make digging a viable option, I marked out the line for the foundation trench - 150mm outside the line of block-work.

I still need to remove the existing brickwork on the foundations by the party wall, but until I could get a good look at the end of the existing foundations I wouldn't know how much to remove or whether or not the existing concrete could be re-used.

So I started with the side next to Jean's house, removing the fence panel I had so carefully erected last year (actually it was August 2013) and having boarded the sides of the remaining bit of lawn I started shovelling the spoil into the barrow to be tipped.

The trench needs to be 600mm (2') wide and 1m deep - that's a lot of soil to dig out if you think about it.

11m long x 1m deep x 600mm wide = 6.6 cubic metres of soil

 So by the end of the energy I had reached about half way and cut the concrete in front of the garage with an angle grinder,  It may be that I have to take all of the existing concrete up, but for now I simply need a trench line to dig to.

 




Additionally the architects got back to me to say that it was not a problem that the remaining wall by the drive was only 10" thick - it can be insulated on the inside - but they were more concerned about the number - or lack of wall ties - but as the window will be in the middle of it I can't see this being an issue so we're good to go.