Good afternoon.

 

I have a 1950's bungalow and the plan is to add a first floor to it once we get PP.

 

I've been told i should check the foundation depth to check the project is feasible before taking it any further. (dont want to underpin).

 

Can anyone tell me where on the property i should expose the footings? should they be exposed in various places?  Once i have exposed the footings who to i need to inspect the footings and determine they are suitable, structural engineer?  Soil Specialist?  Building control?

 

Thanks!

4 minutes ago, Digger1 said:

Good afternoon.

 

I have a 1950's bungalow and the plan is to add a first floor to it once we get PP.

 

I've been told i should check the foundation depth to check the project is feasible before taking it any further. (dont want to underpin).

 

Can anyone tell me where on the property i should expose the footings? should they be exposed in various places?  Once i have exposed the footings who to i need to inspect the footings and determine they are suitable, structural engineer?  Soil Specialist?  Building control?

 

Thanks!

Id check all 4 exterior walls, no point in guessing now and it'll not take long to fig a few extra holes  but it could be costly to find out something is no good mid way through an extension and it'll be the SE to inspect as he's responsible for design.

 

 

Edited May 23, 20215 yr by Ronan 1

Needs a specialist report. 

 

Typically there's no difference between single story and double story foundation on domestic houses. So even if you had footings which don't meet modern specifications, I doubt there'd be an issue with adding a storey. This can be further confirmed if nearby houses have similar footings but have two storeys. 

 

What you would expect is when the extra weight is adding you get settlement and some issues from that - cracking, broken drain etc. However, underpinning is a major operation and also causes similar issues (which is why I avoid it wherever possible). 

 

 

However you'd need to get a an engineer to sign it all off, which is the harder part. And I think you'd also have to agree to accept the potential for negative effects without the builder or engineer taking liability.