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Adam2

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  1. Adam2

    1 floor done

    By Adam2,

    It's been a wile since the last blog entry and I didn't expect to have gone through yet another contractor by this stage but that's the way life goes!
     
    We had some good progress with the basement floor walls going up and getting poured without a hitch. We moved on to the basement roof which is a terrace for the lower ground floor so was propped with acros (decided to buy 50 as can re-sell later). That also went well - aside from some issues identified by the structural engineer. Due to a delay in the concrete pour (don't ask), managed to get a local firm in to make up the shuttering for the exterior stairway so poured them at the same time as the basement roof - not really saving money just getting it done a bit earlier.
     
    With that done we could get no with some  backfilling on the sides of the building, brining up the drainage pipes from the soakaway and building some planters between the side the basement and the boundary - reusing some of the sleepers from the retaining structure we built along the boundary. Also meant we could get some blocks in to the other boundary wall and close in our neighbour - she's been great and very understanding!
     
    After applying the waterproofing and a few weeks we were able to properly backfill behind the basement. The engineer required more granular fill than the beautiful sand we had removed so that hurt a bit but never mind we cracked on with that and backfilled against the eps sheets we laid against the double drain which was against the waterproof membrane. This took a lot of time compacting in 150mm layers but we had a big excavator on site to help and a few bodies.
     
    With the backfill done we could start on the ground works for the lower ground floor. Unfortunately a ground worker though a boundary wall should come down (I wasn't on site) so that made a lot more work - was the remaining part (about 8m) of a 20m long wall so more to get rid of and more to rebuild (he didn't last a lot longer). As this floor is below street sewer level we installed a1.5m x1m pump station for foul water/sewage - the upper floors go direct to the sewer so we can last a while if this get blocked up - though it does have 2 pumps, an alarm etc. Issue really was that it had to be pretty deep due to the distance from the furthest bathroom - though the groundworks guys did a great job with that. We found that a large tree we had felled (with permission) had it's stump in the way so a day was spent getting rid of that -managed to find a neighbour to take it + some off-cuts of timber!
     
    You can see in the pics some decent size I beams we installed to make a king post wall retaining our neighbour's new fancy house - the beams were 9m long so 6m in the ground and 3 out to retain the excavations. Luckily I could call upon the firm I used for the  earlier retaining king post wall who happened to have hired in a great new machine which they used for 2 days to make the holes and we then used the 13T excavator to drop the steels in place - this was completely heart in your mouth stuff. The steels were too long to be lifted so the guys cut a wedge in them 1m down from the top to wrap the lifting chain around to get more height - worked great. A bit of concrete later and we had 4 solid steels which we could install the sleepers in to.
     
    Rest of the ground works just took its time, we're 3.5m below ground level so all materials had to be sent down a home made chute but more problematic was the removal of 160T of additional excavations from the trenches and final levelling. how do you get that up 3.5m? We hired a long reach HiAb with a clam shell bucket and paid extra for a tipper to be loaded at the rate of 1 per hour. Took it's time but we got there eventually. We still had some final trenches and drainage right at the front of the site which of course resulted in 30T more excavations which we put in dumpy bags and got the HiAb back to lift out and put in a tipper - though kept 10 on site as a safety barrier and to reuse for backfill later.
     
    And the long boundary wall - well we re-built that much stronger than it was and also a little higher to fit with a future stairway - not looking forward to the rendering cost for that !
     
    So we're now ready for the concrete blinding layer and then we get the steel fixers in for 10T of rebar for the next slab. I hope it gets easier after that! and hope we keep the current team for the duration....
     
     
     





















  2. Adam2
    Seeing as we were going to be using the whole plot width and the overgrown garden would then be impossible to access (sensibly) with machinery we bit the bullet on a big clear-out. Getting our soakaway in also meant this was a good thing to tackle before the house so we've spent a few months of stripping things out so we could create the soakaway area, building a lot of gabion walls and laying artificial grass. Oh and we built a shed - a very fine shed indeed ?
     
    The soakaway is deep under the ground in the foreground - which helped to elevate this end of the garden to create quite a nice level area with space to the side for us to run drainage down and to plant some trees & other screening plants.
     
    The gabions are part filled with rubble and faced with local gabion stone. Gabion steps are a great idea but they aren't very durable left unfinished so we'll be designing a top surface for them later. 
     
    We managed to redistribute a lot of the very sandy ground from the main plot area to level up the ground down here.
     

     
    Everyone needs a shed and every shed needs a base. Unfortunately there was a misunderstanding somewhere and the orientation of the slab didn't match the shed footprint hence the add-on on the right! 
     

     
    we have some large over-hanging maritime pines which endlessly drop needles - grass would not last so after much research decided on artificial grass. This is mid-way through installation over a bed of 50mm compacted sand on top of the mainly sand base.
     
     

     
    From the top looking down
     

     
     
     

     
  3. Adam2
    Not sure but I couldn't add any more images to the other blog post so this is a continuation.....
     
    The interesting plot has 2 downhill aspects ? One is the main garden and the other is to the left/front of the house where we will have an elevated parking area - there is an earlier entry describing the build of the metal structure and helical piles etc. This pic is after the beam & block & rebar just before the concrete went in.
     
    Back in the garden w finished the lawn and built a shed. About a day to build and same again to paint, sticking some lawn on the roof means it will hopefully blend in well with the garden when seen from the house (& our neighbours!)
     
    On our boundary we hoped the ground would be stable enough to leave exposed for a while but unfortunately not as it was all made ground and not the lovely compacted sand we expected! So a little extra bit of work for a retaining king post wall - steels 6m in the ground. The excavated level needed to go down about a meter from what is shown here
     
    Moving on up we could finally start in the basement floor excavations - here is the 1.5m deep trench getting dug. The basement is a reinforced concrete raft 300mm across the centre with edge thickening to 450 and a LOT of rebar. Next pic is the deep trench filled and ground almost ready for a concrete blinding layer. 
     
    We had a beautiful concrete pouring day!
     
    Blinding layer poured no problem - you can also see in that pic some of the 10T of rebar for the basement floor and walls + the start of the waterproof membrane install. 
     
    We've had a few dramas on the project already - abrupt change in groundworks company, unexpected retaining wall, covid delays, other delays, missing steel in rebar delivery and we're only just getting started. But we're still smiling and still saying it's about a year away whenever anyone asks when we'll be done.
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     








  4. Adam2

    Driveway Progress

    By Adam2,

    Following the screw pile install this week we had the steel framework installed. Lovely job. Only 1 issue where 1 beam which is below current ground level was blocked by a large concrete slab that we didn't expect - solution was to fit it about 50mm higher than the rest which will be fine if we cover in concrete. 
     
    Now that's in, we can order the beam and block. Just waiting on SE to confirm a slight change to that. So probably 2-3 weeks until the area is ready for storage etc but great progress. Even got a hornbeam installed to provide some screening for the neighbours. 
     



  5. Adam2

    Piling Time

    By Adam2,

    As our house is on a steep hill and limited space for materials etc up top, one of the first things after demolition is to build out the new driveway. This runs out across a slope and near some trees so the best option seemed to be screw piles. After much research and calculation (is it cheaper to manage the separate parts of this vs getting a contractor for the whole job) I went ahead this week. By having an excavator on-site with the ground workers (currently building garden walls etc) it saved hiring one in so total cost for the piles/ steel structure + the beam and block + the concrete top should come in about 60% of the quote received from a contractor for the whole job.
     
    Piles were delivered on a pallet 5 piles at 2m long each + 2 x 2m extensions for each should they be needed + the excavator attachment with torque readout.
     
    No dramas - all installed in half a day with each pile OK for a 375kN loading. Didn't need 5 of the pile extensions as hit the torque needed at 2.5 to 3.5m so that's some cash back ?
     
    Next bit is tomorrow when I have the steel fabricator out to measure/design - all being well the frame should be in place in 2 weeks and a week later all ready to use.
     
     
     



  6. Adam2

    Down it came

    By Adam2,

    After doing the usual services disconnect and CIL forms, stripping out various materials etc it was time to bring it down (... and back up  )
    Amazingly that didn't take long
    house_down.mp4
  7. Adam2
    Wow - time goes fast! I guess I'll say that again....and again!
     
    We submitted the revised planning app - free as within a year - and that was approved with no comments. The revised design removed a couple of windows which has pleased the neighbours. Engineer co has been working with the architect so we have made a lot of progress in design terms while we did the planning app so had building regs design approval ahead of revised planning approval!
     
    In prep for the demolition I (with my helpful neighbour and his digger) sorted the services which included stripping out the front garden and some trees (these ones without TPOs!). We managed to have a lot of the house re-used by people building near by - internal doors, UPVC patio doors, kitchens and bathrooms - trading for some labour later. Plus my neighbour fancied the 20+m of balustrade - he's got the digger so that + some of his time and experience is a good trade! We have a pump station serving the lower 2 floors, sadly the location needs to change but the pumps and control system will all be reused so need to get the pumps out - pretty sure the tank will be wrecked coming out but that if that's all we need to replace that will be a good result.
     
    Demo firm engaged and they are fantastic (so far anyway) who have stripped out the inside while I worked frantically to get the pre-commencement conditions satisfied. My helpful (seriously) planning officer confirmed by email that we could do trenches for services, strip out internals etc without being classed as having "commenced". this week we had a meeting with the tree police to inspect our tree protection measures and check the working arrangements - I prepared a nice report for them and that went well so we can officially crack on with the demo. Time lapse camera installed on neighbour's roof (Brinno - seems a great product).
     
    Currently harassing engineer to provide reinforcement detail for floor so I can get quotes in for steel and ground works.
     
    Next week the demo then will be underway and I'll be trying to finalise the drainage design + spec for the floor slabs...
     
    Oh - CIL rules changed so our liability would have tripled! But all sorted now and next form for them will be after we finish.






  8. Adam2
    So we had planning approved and were feeling good about being able to link up our engineer &  architect to get started on the details....and then.... had a re-think. We started out planning a re-model and changed our minds as the compromises were too many and the costs were getting high so a rebuild (esp with VAT bonus) was making more sense. But, we didn't really go completely back to the drawing board - we should have. Post-planning we had a good look at the plot, house position and neighbour's new house and realised we were losing an opportunity to improve the view, the plot usage and potentially aesthetics. Turning the back of the house ~15 degrees would open up the views and make the house run more parallel to the plot's rectangular shape which will mean a new planning app - based on feedback from the drop in session with the planning dept.
     
    So, to avoid wasting too much time we're now linking up the architect and engineer so they can work together on the modified plans and also on detailed design/structural plan so we can move forward quickly post the next approval (fingers crossed).
     
    But we have made progress of sorts - had the ground investigation holes today. It always seemed a shame to pay for holes and a report when you know (based on the house 7m away) what the ground is. Today proved that the ground is surprise surprise..... compacted sand which the drillers could only get 3.5m deep into despite a lot of machine noises! I'm hoping this bodes well for a concrete raft without needing too serious strip foundations. The trial pits and smaller sampling rig also uncovered the same ground across the site.
     
    Probably not a lot to see happening the rest of this year ? 
     
     
     
     
  9. Adam2

    Before...

    By Adam2,

    So a few snaps from Google Earth of the before images - these may be the current images also for a few months. of course Google does mangle the views and the walls are straighter than they appear!
     




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