greenbanana

For context: A rear and side extension is being carried out in semi detached Victorian property on a corner plot. In the photo attached you can see a lamp post on tarmac which is on a public footpath. The builders poured concrete last week. The top of the concrete is almost level with the tarmac and not as shown in the engineer's drawing. Is it possible to construct the wall to the side extension as things now are or have things gone wrong?

BC has only advise. I doubt they've had a chance to check the shoring up.

Yes, planning was required and yes it appears that BC has now advised them to shore the trenches up and make the site safe. The trenches were very wide - they have now shored up at the required 600mm width and filled the rest of the gaps with loose soil (I'm not sure if this is a temporary measure). Are we now going down the right path? Does the loose soil need to be compacted? They now seem to have shored them up at the required 600mm width and filled the gaps (around 30cm on either side) with soil. Will it now need to be compacted?

1.7m. I've just messaged you pictures.

Ah the excavation depth is fine. We would just like to understand if there's reason for having a 1.8m wide trench rather than 600mm wide trench that was suggested by the structural engineer. The final side extension will be 1.8m wide.

When building a side extension (for an end terrace Victorian property) is a concrete trench the full width of the extension (roughly 1.8m wide) suitable? The structural engineer's drawing show that 600mm wide trench is needed but the builder has excavated the full width of the proposed extension ie 1.8m. Is there any problem with this.

Hi I've just messaged you some pictures.

BC have said the foundations should have been dug 1m at a time. Instead approximately 20m of trenches have been dug and left open. The trench on the side is about 1.5m wide and right up to the side wall.

An update. The building owner has excavated all the way around the rear (6 m) and side (9m) of the house to a depth of approx 1.7m. No concrete poured. BC (dangerous structures) instructed the building owner to pour concrete the same day or shore up, but he hasn't. The trenches have now been open for around a week. The rest of the above is the same. Johnhenstock83 you sound very knowledgable. would you mind if I message you some pics?

The following work has been carried out to an end of terrace property to enable a rear and side extension: 1. The sub floor has been removed 2. The rear of the house (to the ground floor ceiling) has also been removed. Acrow props have been put in place. Excavations have now started to the side (not the rear). The work is being done by the owner. No building company is involved. Can excavations for a rear and side extension be done safely in the above circumstances?

There are exposed cables. A boiler is connected. Rain is going in. People are living in the house so the electricity is not disconnected. It will take some weeks/months to put a rear back on so it's not secure and there is potentially a fire hazard. There is no building company involved. It's just the owner directing two men.

I thought it best to message you the pics directly.

Hi Iceverge, I've sent you pics. Yes, we are next door.

Yes, but it doesn't look very secure.

We've tried... 🤷‍♂️

Yes, but there is no mention of the rear being removed so early in the process. The works had only been happening for 4 days by the time the rear was removed. We're also concerned by the way that the builders did it. They pounded the wall with a mini digger until bricks loosened.

I'm the adjoining owner. The property is occupied. The exposed rear has been rained on heavily in the last few days. There appears to be exposed cables and a boiler plugged in (presumably in use). We're concerned about fire safety, vandalism (the property is on a corner plot and exposed) etc They are already excavating for the side extension (not the rear yet). They are not informing us of the sequence of works. We have to hope that a lintel will be installed, but we don't have any indications as to when or if this will happen. The acrows are sitting on the soil. Are there any implications for acrows being in place for potentially weeks in these conditions? And is there anything we can do about the exposed rear?

The following work has been carried out to a semi detached property: 1. The sub floor has been removed 2. The rear of the house (to the ground floor ceiling) has also been removed. Acrow props have been put in place. Foundations have not yet been dug. Excavations are due to start next week. Can excavations for a rear and side extension be done safely in the above circumstances?

It's terrace.

My neighbours have just started a rear extension. We are now 2 days in to the project and they have removed the rear wall of the house up to the ground floor ceiling. They have not started digging the foundations yet. Is this the correct order to construct? And are there any implications if they do this before the foundations are dealt with?