Front garden excavation for drive

[ProDave]

5 minutes ago, scottishjohn said:

sorry but this has disaster written all over it  for all the reasons others have given 

make sure your builder has insurance and you get fixed price 

 But iwouls still do it with blocks so simple and it is used world wide for tyhis very job

The people in the example I posted a few posts back thought their builder had insurance,

[ProDave]

1 hour ago, Onoff said:

I've heard of instances where councils have fined people for being parked on the parking space they have created in front of their house because they have driven across the pavement where there is no approved dropped kerb.

When I was a boy I remember a case of someone built a garage and created access to it without planning.  they did not force him to take the garage down, but they planted a cast iron bollard in the path so he could not get a car into or out of it.

[Jeremy Harris]

3 minutes ago, Margaret dailey said:

These concrete lego blocks, where can i get these and how many will i need. 

 

The wall will be approx 16ft across.

 

Was hoping to tarmac or slab..

 

 

I gave you a link earlier in this thread to one supplier for three different types of them.  Here it is again: https://www.andertonconcrete.co.uk/range/structural/

 

There are other similar blocks around, but they all tend to be broadly similar and all will take up about the same width at the base, as they are all designed to comply with similar structural standards for earth retaining structures (usually Eurocode 7, now).

[Jeremy Harris]

3 minutes ago, ProDave said:

When I was a boy I remember a case of someone built a garage and created access to it without planning.  they did not force him to take the garage down, but they planted a cast iron bollard in the path so he could not get a car into or out of it.

 

 

There was a case near us where the council planted a lamp post smack in the middle of someone's unofficial drive entrance.  The drive had been in use for a fair time, but the council argued that they had no record of it, and had planned the positioning of the new lamp posts from their plans, which didn't show the unofficial drive.  No idea how it turned out in the end.

[Margaret dailey]

Ill have to do some research and hope to be able to find these blocks cheap enough not to blow my budget 

 

Likeni mentioned before, its 16ft wide so will i still need 25 of these blocks 

[PeterW]

Does the house have a basement ..? 
 

As others have said, that needs structural engineering or you’re going to have half a house that is 15ft nearer the road than it was yesterday ...

[Jeremy Harris]

2 minutes ago, Margaret dailey said:

Ill have to do some research and hope to be able to find these blocks cheap enough not to blow my budget 

 

Likeni mentioned before, its 16ft wide so will i still need 25 of these blocks 

 

 

The number of blocks needed will depend on the design and the type of block.  Each type of interlocking "lego" block system will probably be a different size, plus the lowest blocks may need to be deeper, depending on which manufacturer used.  The design will need to factor in the surcharge load from the mass of the house, and you may also need to use some form of shoring whilst excavating, in order to ensure that the surcharge load from the mass of the house doesn't cause movement before the wall has been completed, as far more of the earth bank may need to be dug back towards the house to accommodate the thickness and batter angle of the wall (these interlocking block walls need to lean back for stability).

 

One advantage of some interlocking block systems is that they may not need drainage, as they aren't mortared together, so can be free draining.  A vertical concrete block wall, like ours (pictured earlier in this thread) will need the lower layer of backfilling behind the wall to be free draining aggregate, with a perforated land drain running through it, leading to a drain of some sort.  This is essential to avoid water build up behind the wall, which could easily cause it to fail, or weaken the foundations.

[Margaret dailey]

No there is no basement.

 

I can see why you say i need a se.

 

Im so confused reading this. 

 

I was just hoping to make a parking space for my mobility car

 And its just got confusing and complicated.

 

Hopefully my builder friend will be able to build this without issue

 

He did mention about puttinf in at least 6 drainage pipes about 1metre off the floor to deal with the water trapped behind the wall.

[Stones]

@Margaret dailey  You need a Structural Engineer. However good your builder is, you still need one to design this properly for all the reasons others have alluded to. You are not going to get a different answer to that point from anyone here. 

 

 

[Mr Punter]

Your neighbour seems to have a car parked in their front garden.  You could do the same as them without so much excavation and within your budget by just parking across the front.

[Thedreamer]

Prehaps this was mentioned earlier but, how many of your neighbours have built a similar parking area?

 

I agree with everybody else who has posted above, a structural engineer should be asked. The foundations are probably quite light compared to modern standards and could risk a serious structural issue is just not worth the risk.

[RandAbuild]

Having looked at the additional photos you have posted Margaret, the change in level between your house and the road is much higher than I thought when viewed from the road.

 

I would urge you to stop listening to your builder and get professional advice. When it all goes wrong, you won't see that builder for dust.

[Margaret dailey]

Ok thankyou all

 

Will need to really reconsider this.

[Onoff]

It may be that someone on the street has had the same thing done albeit properly. They might talk to you about who did it and even still have the written specification/drawings. Unfortunately it doesn't mean you can just copy it. Each job has to be assessed on it's own merits. It might lead you to their SE who's done it before and keep the cost of that element down. 

[Jeremy Harris]

5 hours ago, Margaret dailey said:

Ok thankyou all

 

Will need to really reconsider this.

 

I posted this earlier as a pdf file, but it might make things clearer to see just a typical vertical concrete block retaining wall cross section.  This wall is similar in size to the one you are planning, but doesn't have the added surcharge load from a house on the ground that it's retaining, all it's retaining is the garden of the house behind ours.  Even so, it needed pretty substantial foundations, as in the photos posted earlier, together with steel reinforcement to enable it to withstand the overturning force from the soil pushing sideways behind the wall.

 

[Margaret dailey]

Thankyou so  much 

[Carrerahill]

19 hours ago, Margaret dailey said:

thankyou all for your advise and help...

 

if i can answer some questions,

 

a disabled parking spot is not an option outside so im not considering that at all.

 

in respect of a surveyor i do not have the funds to be able to afford that. 

 

i have a neighbour who has very kindly offered his help to dig out the soil for me for a small amount. so the digging cost is not an issue. 

 

and as for a u shaped wall, my brother is going to build that for me with blocks as he done this before in his own house.   so hopefully costs wont be too much.

Please. Stop the bus, you are looking far too far beyond where you need to be looking right now, this isn't a weekend warrior gardening project.

 

The issue is the removal of a substantial volume of material from the front of your property. So many factors will impact the structural suitability of the house with this material removed. You might have a basement, with deep foundations for the house, sitting on good ground, in which case this is likely to go quite well, your house, probably sits on a fairly reasonable, but not serious foundation, on reasonable ground. Start to remove the mass of material on front of the house, and possibly not next week or the week after, but 6 months, a year down the road after seasonal ground changes, some wet weather some dry weather, things can start to move. Worst case scenario the front elevation falls down, best case nothing happens, however in-between those two extremes is a plethora of outcomes from structural damage, cracking, bay window settlement with large gaps opening up and potentially a house you can never sell.

 

I say this as the partner of a multi-disciplinary engineering consultancy, albeit I am not a structural engineer, I have co-attended plenty of kick-off meetings and site visits to know more than my own professional skill-set allows to a level suitable enough to know at least the basics here and in some cases (concrete) the advanced stuff to.

 

Many many members on the forum are highly knowledgeable, highly skilled folk and from the limited reading of this post I have seen multiple warnings and advise strongly, that you take heed.

 

This is a front page Daily Express article in the making right here!

 

 

[Miek]

5 hours ago, Margaret dailey said:

Ok thankyou all

 

Will need to really reconsider this.

You said it! 

 

Will need to REALLY reconsider this

[Declan52]

When I was doing site investigation work this is the tool we used to dig down at the front of a house to find the concrete base. You can get to at least 1.8m with only opening a hole at the top approx 400mm square. 

https://www.buildingsuppliesdirect.com/clarke-cht770-post-hole-digger-1801770?gclid=Cj0KCQjwhZr1BRCLARIsALjRVQM9AeWXDatcFHfVqlhJ17STfaKC50_6y_yaPmvoKaCg8ShIzKMSGUQaAtTmEALw_wcB

Bung some one young and stupid  with a strong back your builder knows £30 for an hrs work and let them at it. If they don't have that tool is only going to cost you £50 all in and then you will know if it's yes or no. But please don't dig anymore more soil out incase you have to put it back.

[Ferdinand]

1 hour ago, Margaret dailey said:

Thankyou so  much 

 

@Margaret dailey

 

You now need to see a way ahead.

 

The Council do have some sort of duty to help people with disabilities continue to live at home. I am not familiar with the details and I do not know whether it covers disabled parking spaces. You would need a justification in disability access terms, such as "no longer able to walk to where I have to park the car now" for the space, and "unable to walk up from the road" for the steps or lift and handrail. An advisor will help there.

 

It can involve major structural alterations, which is where you may be here. Grants can be up to 30k.

 

Have a look at this document, particularly pages 38-51, which are about adaptations.

https://equalityhumanrights.com/sites/default/files/housing-and-disabled-people-your-rights-england.pdf

 

Page 50 has a list of places to get more information.

 

Your Council (go in either through Building Control or ask switchboard / general email for help on adapting your house for your / whoever it is needs) really will be helpful on this. 

 

(If you find you need to talk to them before you have started,  then profile that bank and sew some grass seed on it, which you id "to improve the garden".).

 

Ferdinand

 

Edited April 27, 2020 by Ferdinand

[RandAbuild]

5 hours ago, Margaret dailey said:

Ok thankyou all

 

Will need to really reconsider this.

That is very sensible Margaret. Come back here when you have more information and we'll try to help you find a solution.

[Margaret dailey]

The builders duck down today to check what type of Foundation is underneath the house and as you can see it goes down and comes out about 2 bricks so they have decided to dig down 1m at the wall and 5ft out and then 2m down, fill with concrete then insert 6-ft 9inchx9inch RSJ and then fill ontop with concrete again. They will do this each corner of the house at the front and at two points in the Middle by the window

[Declan52]

Is there any concrete or just the wide founds of brick???

[Onoff]

7 minutes ago, Declan52 said:

Is there any concrete or just the wide founds of brick???

 

My 1863 terrace was built very similarly on just a widening of bricks as "footings".

[Mr Punter]

So maybe 600mm max to the base of the foundation from existing ground level.

 

They will not be able to dig down 1m adjacent to the wall without risking it collapsing.

 

Can you not just park your car parallel with the house and just dig out part of the garden?