Buzzfan

Hi all, great to find this selfbuild forum after eBuild's demise & congratulations to those who started it. Are there any other self-builders here in Camden, London? By way of intro, I'm trying to add a roof extension to a building in Camden London, and am bogged down with the need for Camden Council for approve my "Construction Management Plan" - for any who don't know what this is, it's a heavily documented system for controlling every aspect of the build - a system thats probably normal when building a major office block, school etc but seems way overkill for a modest urban extension. I'll post separately in more detail about the problem in the relevant section on this forum, but in a nutshell, today I'm looking for affordable consultants to help me on the sections relating to 'Construction Noise, Dust & Vibration (Monitoring & Mitigation Measures)" and also "Training all Site Staff to BS 5228;2009"

SandyMiller, unless you already know, I'd dig a quick trial pit to see where any clay/sand/gravel is - and ask your building control officer if you can avoid trench foundations entirely - the small job size will probably exclude the rig hire cost of solutions such as bored piling, but an economic low tech solution near trees may be a mass concrete pier (pile) at each corner with a raised ground floor supported on beams. If building control won't help, then I'd ask a structural engineer to have a look for you - if one's local they may be willing to meet you on site without charge to assess the job & comment on any solution together with their fee quote. Look too at helical screw piles as yet another alternative.