Big Jimbo

EXACTLY.........

Adisbob. Only you can decide if you want to keep your existing builder or not. You will, i have no doubt be aware that you may have to delay, will have to pay more (builders hate taking on other peoples unfinished work) It is very busy out there, and you may even stuggle to get a decent builder to quote you. I'm sure you will be aware, that if they can start "in the morning" they will prob be shite. Your call. Your engineer however needs a massive kick in the arse.

And can we just ask if you consider that this guy has got a good engineer ? £100 and a mornings work for a trial hole..... Are you really trying to say that you think a good engineer, or even a pretty shit one ain't going to say "Im putting a shite load of extra stresses and load on the existing foundations. I'd better find out what the fudge they are" So according to your expert opinion Adisbob had no way of knowing if his existing footings could take the new loadings, and no way of finding out. So poor old adisbob, had a fab new extension designed and priced up by a builder. It's £200k, all the money he has got, but it will give him the house he has always wanted. The building work gets underway, the patio is ripped up, the rear roof removed, lots of pockets cut into the existing rear wall to take some fancy new steels etc. The building inspector pops along and sees that there is a lot of load being applied to the existing rear wall, and subsequently say to the builder, " Has the SE calculated the loadings on the existing foundations" Oh shite, everybody says. A short while later.....Shite some underpining needed to take the extra load. Adisbob, says to the builder " How much for my underpining fella" £15 k says the builder. But i aint got £15k !!!!! Well you should have had a £100 trial hole dug. Did the engineer not suggest that..........

News flash...Etc has been appointed to run a major new infastructure project for the Gov. It's not quite finished yet. It's 22 years over the expected timeframe, and we are on the 782nd set of contractors, but it won't be long. Oh, and the budget. Yeah, we won't mention that.

Yeah, but it took him that long because he is a top engineer, so obviously he is very, very busy....... Busy doing calculations for adding tons of extra loadings to some existing foundations without having a clue if they can take the additional loadings....You could'nt make it up.

Etc. Your not a contracts manager by any chance are you ? People who have worked in the real world, on site, with tool, have all met plenty of them over the years.?

So, it's the builders fault that nobody bothered to check that the existing footings could take the new loadings ? That's the best laugh i've had all night.

No, your not going mad Adsibob. You are just trying to get your building work done so that you can move on with your life, and you are finding the process stressful. That is understandable. Sometime however, you do need to take a step back. Your builder might be great or poor. A great guy, or a pain in the butt. But the people who i would be super pissed off with is the architect, and the engineer. Jeez, if you are going to do alterations to a building that is going to put more stress on the existing foundations, You check out if the existing foundations will be man enough to take the new stress and loadings. That really is basic stuff i'm afraid. If neither of them flagged that, then i would be putting both of their business cards in the filing cabinet in the "Shite, don't use again" You should be sending a couple of right arsey emails to those two chancers.

OP. your architect designed an extension to your property. He is a professional. Is he any good ? I mean he designed a structure that was going to put an extra load on your foundations. Did he flag that up with you ? Your architect then passed the drawings onto his engineer mate. He is a professional. Is he any good ?. I mean he could clearly see that the new stucture was going to put additional loadings onto your existing footings. Did he flag that up with you ? Your builder messed up a ceiling height. His fault. He put it right. Have i got that bit correct ? You seem to be looking to blame the wrong person here. What do you think ?

Well said Tony T. .....Take the easy route and blame the builder. Always the same.

Adsibob. You want some extra work done. Underpining. So give some thought to the fact that your builder is now going to advise his next client that he will be late starting (That could have been You) Because you, and your engineer did'nt investigate the existing foundations you have now found out that you need additional work. That's hardly your builders fault is it ? However, that f up may now affect his work schedule for the rest of the year. So we could lay the blame with you or your engineer could'nt we ? However, if between you, you are able to work more as a team, you are going to get a better result. I'm sorry, but the only people that need to get on site is your engineer and your builder. No need for a tea party. Get it sorted and move on. If you want to get on with your builder, deal with the problem quickly. Involving only the people that need to be there. Go out and buy him a case of beer, and apologise for the extra work, and tell him that you understand that this might cause him problems with his work schedule going forward with his other clients.

If your engineer is localish, might also be worth asking him if he knows any local contactors

I have worked as a site manager, on several expensive new builds of £2 million +...... It's difficult. One the One hand you need to keep things moving along, and i'm telling you now, you can have all the drawings in the world (I've had over 400 for a 4000sq ft house). At some point, on a practical level the drawings just won't work with the actual building taking place. The skill is the speed at getting it sorted quickly. Hold-ups cost money. I did Two houses in 2014. If i had had to refer back to the Client, Architect, Engineer everytime somebody waved a bit of paper at me, and said this don't work, I'd still bloody be there. I looked at a job for the Saudi Royal Family, and just at the quote stage i realised that every single time there was the slightest issue,it would have to be held untill the weekly site meeting, so that everybody could sit around and debate it. I knew that this would end up costing the client money, and me money. I'm not saying you are wrong, but wanting to discuss everything with the whole team, builder, architect, engineeer, interior designer, etc, etc, will be costing your builder money, because it's all a delay to his schedule. If he tells his guys not to come in for a few days, he still has to pay them. If he is organising any sub contractors, he will have to advise them that the site won't be ready for when he has them booked. There is then the risk that when he wants them they won't be available. From the sound of your post, you are having to get some underpining done. Get your engineer to get his butt to site pronto and talk it through with the builder. What is the architect going to bring to the party ? Another nice bill for you, that's all. builders build and engineers make sure it won't fall down. When your builder says to you, that detail, in that corner, don't work, but i can do it like this is that ok ? Be ready to make an instant decision, so that he can get on, and you can get your project finished. Listen, i'm not saying your builder is perfect. I'm just saying that it doubt it is all his fault

Cheers gang members. I did think so due to the size, but was not 100% sure.

I have just been asked by somebody who is building a double garage if they need to involve building control ? It's going to be about 40 sq m i'm told. Truth is, i'm not sure, due to it being over 30 sq m. anybody got any idea ? Thanks in advance.

Sorry in advance, i know it won't help but, Slop bucket will be your friend.

Can i just point out that, "The access to neighbouring land act" has nothing to do with somebody being allowed to dig up your path...Sorry Timedout, but that is giving the poster the wrong impression. The "Access" act would allow them to enter your land to re-point there wall, of cut branches of trees etc........NOT dig up your land..... I feel that your post, although in good faith, will now be frightening to poster, and should be corrected....

In my opinion the only things that look good in those pictures are the properly built ones, that are designed to look like they are part of the original house. Sorry but that lean to looks hideous. If you are working on a tight budget, Put a simple pair of wooden doors and frame across the driveway. Have them opening out into the drive, and behind them put a simple cheap shed. You might be able to get One off freecycle etc. From the road you will only be able to see the smart new wooden gates.

You are under no obligation to allow your neighbour to come onto your land and dig anything. If you chose you could just tell them to F off. If you do want to be very nice, and would like them to be able to sort it out, then insist on a PWA. They have to pay for the surveyor. If you don't like what the surveyor says, tell them so, and they will have to appoint a second surveyor, which again they have to pay for. If the Two surveyors don't agree, they have have to appoint a Third surveyor, and he will draw up the PWA. He would have to pay for all three of them. If your path is about 1m higher than the bottom of his garage wall, then frankly, no digging out, pea shingle, etc, is going to give him a damp free garage. Don't be bullied......Good luck in your new house. When you start renovating we can be quite a useful bunch, We may have some good ideas for budget improvements. Not everybody on here is building a mansion.....

A grand or £250 euru Nod ? and can that include labour please.? and basecoat and mesh

Providing you are not digging deeper than your neighbours footings, and the wall is on your land. Crack on. Don't forget to allow for any facia, guttering etc. Don't be overhanging the boundary.

I got quoted about a grand for the same thing from the UK. My render artist was from Iran i think. so some of the things were a bit lost in translation. I did get to alter things twice, and for the price i was happy with the result.

I think from memory that a staircase of 1000mm or more needs a handrail on both side ?

I have had a couple of 3d renders done of my planning permission. What do you think. I can pass on where I got them done. Both cost me a total of 250 euro. They might not be perfect, but a whole lot better than my back of an envelope efforts. They even got my posh shed in.

Try telling my Mrs and kids that......"Oh it's so hot, lets open all the bi-folds, windows etc