Existing Foundations

[sheepie]

Hey folks,.

I'm looking at purchasing a site to build a bungalow the local land owner bought up fields and put PP on them prior to Planning Permission in NI stopping the practice.

 

As a result to keep the PP active many owners built the foundation.

 

The property I'm looking at has a foundation that was put in 10 years ago, would this be at all usable there's moss growing on the outer bricks but the concrete subfloor has no cracks etc.

 

The foundations are trench fill the using builders blocks upto ground level.  There is one parameter brick removed and below is what appears to be type1 stone and on top is 100mm solid concrete in each room.

 

Presumably this is the sub structure that would then have a DPM then insulation.  

 

Given the age I'm not sure what to do is it possible to reuse old founds or is it a demo and if so can the strip foundation below still be used.

 

I find it odd them selling the land with pp and foundations for such a high price.  Given no one has bought it in 10 years.

 

Also the footprint for the bungalow is way too large and since it's an L shape would be costly so I'd be looking to get plans drawn to utilise one rectangle and then just turn the rest into a patio or drive.  Is this possible or is it better to start again?

 

 

[sheepie]

I include pictures of the foundations.  As you can see there is moss growing and the floor looks strange not like any concrete ive seen usually concrete is grey not a blackish colour?

 

Also what type of foundation is this and why is it stepped like this.  Is the lower step effectively were you start the outer skin / insulation.

 

Can I salvage this site?

[Declan52]

You would need to pick a spot and dig down to see what the concrete is like at the bottom. How deep it is. The section with no concrete, meant to be a garage maybe, would be a good place to start. From this you can get an idea of how deep and wide the concrete is. From this info you can then work out if it's strong enough to build whatever you want on it. 

The sun floor concrete is just black due to mould from rain sitting on it. Won't do it any harm. A power hose will soon remove it. 

The lower section where it's stepped down is where they would have started the outer skin of brick or block.  The insulation will be in the cavity. That looks like a standard 300mm build where you have 100mm outer skin, up to 100mm insulation and then 100mm inner skin.

[Russell griffiths]

It would all depend on the price, what is in the picture isn’t worth a lot,

you are actually better of with a bare plot, how high can the house be when finished? As you will need to add 150mm of insulation on top of that concrete plus screed so your finished floor will be 250mm higher than what is there. 

 

As I said it’s down to the price, I would not want to pay any extra for what they have already done, just the plot price. 

 

What about drainage, you will need to take all pipework out the walls if it’s not already in the floor. 

[markc]

Looking at the photos i would say that was thrown in to satisfy the planning application but little more.

If anything it will cost more to use the existing than start from scratch. As Russell said, the value is in the plot.

[dpmiller]

drains are already in. If you can use the current footprint and the footings suit what's going on top, carry on. If not, sadly it's digger and crusher time...

[Gone West]

7 hours ago, sheepie said:

Can I salvage this site?

Do you have any drawings. Is it possible to check back on the LA Planning website to find what was applied for, and check the Building Control website to see if it's been inspected. Have you put any rods down the soil pipes to see if they are connected to anything. It could save some money if the drains are already connected and the foundations are suitable.

[dpmiller]

to have retained planning, the footings must've been inspected by BC. Talking them into getting the files out of storage might take a wee while these days?

[sheepie]

Hey,

 

I can answer some of these questions.

 

I do have the drawings and it looks correct - If you can see in the picture there is several soil stacks and they all lead out to the ground outside.   The excavated land was to meet the reasons of PP which said

• The depth of any underbuilding between finished floor level and existing ground level shall not exceed 0.45 meters at any point.
   
• @dpmiller I have contacted building control at the start of the week who gave me spiel about Data Protection under GDPR and they as such cannot give me the info I require - I have asked the Estate Agent to Confirm with the Vendor that they have a building control 'Pass' certificate and that the property was built within the PP time limit of 5 years.
   
• @Declan52 You are correct that is a space for the garage but I would probably not use to keep costs down.
   
• @Declan52 Whats the deal with the moss growing - Is that just an acid wash job to get that off.  In your opinion is the founds OK.
   
• Finally the land is smaller than your traditional 0.5 acre but the view is over Lough Neigh from a considerable height.
   
• Land Owner wants between 60k and 70k - I have spoken to surveyors and architects who say to put in a much lower amount of 45k.

 

The last question I have is if I wanted the footprint slightly smaller so that its a rectangle rather than the 'L' shape.is it possible to demo the back part of the house .e.g where the garage void is and bring it in so that its a rectangle.  In effect building a new foundation strip + wall.

 

If I wanted to inspect the foundations would the vendor allow this?

 

 

[juncopartner]

Providing the excavations were inspected by B Control I don't envisage any problems with the foundations, it looks like they were  backfilled at the time so there was no possibility of shrinkage/frost damage etc

[Mr Punter]

As it stands that plot would be over half a million round here.

[Declan52]

Moss will wash of easy enough.

If and it's a big if everything was done right and was inspected by building control and passed it will be fine to build on but I would want to see the building control guys notes stating his visit date and what he seen. 

So you then have 2 options. 

Either build on the existing footprint with a design to match what was passed. The back wall should be wide enough to form a cavity to build just in the rectangle shape. If not it's not a big job to either dig it out and start again or if the span isn't too much use a concrete lintel. 

Or dig it up and start again. The risk here is that you won't get permission to build what design you want. 

It all week depend on what the planners will allow you to build. They are pretty strict here with builds in the countryside. You might need to have a conversation with them first to see what leeway you have with regards changing the layout plus changing the materials. Might be passed as a brick house and you want render and cladding for example.

Only thing about a plot beside the Lough is during the summer the place is mental with midges. I live very close to it and you can't leave a window open and a light on at night or your ceiling will be black in the morning. 

 

[nod]

I would start again 

Personally I think the amount of hassle and problems that using Existing may cause further down the line Won’t be worth the short term saving 

[dpmiller]

we bought a plot with planning retained on footings. A change of design took a *long* time.

[Jason L]

to save starting a new thread.

Due to the delays that I'm likely to have with the Land Registry,  I am thinking now that i may do something like this, pour the foundations and build the walls upto DPC level and leave it until LR and the funding is in place.

Is any harm going to be done to the walls when being left like this,  open to the rain for what could be 6 months ?

[Mr Punter]

@Jason L Fine if you cover what you have built with some wide DPC weighed down with some blocks.

[Jason L]

9 minutes ago, Mr Punter said:

@Jason L Fine if you cover what you have built with some wide DPC weighed down with some blocks.

ok cheers ! ty.