More Foundations

I'd like to think that I have finished the foundations today, but having marked a set of sticks with the appropriate depth markings and taken yet more sand from the trench I am left wondering whether the Building Inspector will be satisfied.

 I had bought two blanking plugs to seal off the two drains that I would be disconnecting: the old soil pipe from the bathroom and the drain under the outside tap.  I had temporarily used one of them to cap the new soil pipe until I finished it off and attached the final piece and wall bracket.  So before I could cut through the drains i had to finish the soil pipe.  






I don't like being up ladders when it is so windy, however I managed without being blown over and I am pleased with the outcome.






Once I had both blanking plugs I could cut the old drains and fit them to seal the drain chamber.  Fortunately both pipes had been changed from clay to plastic about 10 years ago when we had a broken drain and it was easy to remove the couplers so they came free.

 

The big question is going to be whether the existing foundations are adequate.  I must say they do look remarkably narrow and shallow compared with what I have had to dig out and i can't really believe that the building inspector will be happy with them, but we will wait and see.  My trench is at least half a metre deeper than the existing foundations

I imagine i may have to under-pin the ends of the existing footings to prevent them from moving so we don't get any cracking in the walls.

I really hope I don't have to dig too much more out because I don't know where I'll put it.  I think I may well get a skip before taking up the floor slab since that will produce  a couple of tons of concrete bits and rusty reinforcing bars.  Here's a couple of pictures of the development of the spoil heap during the day.  There is no barrow-access to most of the trench every shovel-full of the soil/sand has to be thrown over the supporting boards from a depth of 1 metre down. 


Note the scaffold-tower sections being used as a safety barrier to stop people falling into the moat and the jury-rigged gutter fro the car-port roof.  Thank goodness for zip-ties,