Mulberry View Posted October 31, 2022 Share Posted October 31, 2022 I've covered some of this on here, but wanted to treat you all to my story so far... Rewind to August 20th 2022 (shortened for convenience). One of my friends owns a Groundworks company. He subcontracts to the large developers. He offered to dig our foundations, which after lots of debate with SWMBO we decided to politely decline and go with the security of paying a company for this very important step. Then, at the final hour, matey steps in and tells us how silly we are paying for the work when he is very willing to do it for nothing. How could we refuse? So, on August 20th, he stuck the bucket of a hired 5 tonne Kubota into the ground and away we went. Over the course of the weekend, I watched in awe as he beavered away at our trenches. Digging to hard chalk, without a defined depth, as per BCO instructions. He went away on the Sunday, instructing me to 'grub the trenches out' and get Building Control in ASAP so that concrete could be put in without delay. However, on the Monday, in the cold light of day and under my own steam, I started to become suspicious. The trenches just didn't look right. They all merged into one another from a depth stand-point, but we have 2 internal level changes, 600mm and 400mm, so how were these accounted for? Truth is, they weren't. My trenches were wildly wrong. So, for the next 4 weeks, I had no choice but to master the 5T digger, climbing over trenches and all sorts of shenanigans in order to reach impossible-to-reach trenches in order to correct the depth errors. The worst corner to get to was 500mm too shallow, I had to have one track either side of a trench and the front bar propped up on Heras blocks, with the cab turned 90° digging through hard chalk and flints. But we got there, the relief of seeing the concrete going in was immeasurable. In went 43m2 of concrete. Well, 41m2 and 2 cube onto the floor, but that was a small price to pay. I'll continue the story below... 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mulberry View Posted October 31, 2022 Author Share Posted October 31, 2022 This picture was taken after the concrete pour on the 20th September, a month after my 'mate' had arrived on site full of promise. I definitely 'levelled up' in that time. This photo shows the 600mm level change and also the £300 puddle that I had to break up with the digger a few days later and remove in 4 loads on my little flatbed. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mulberry View Posted October 31, 2022 Author Share Posted October 31, 2022 Next step was to reduce the material inside the footprint. So, that happened and this is what we were left with... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ETC Posted October 31, 2022 Share Posted October 31, 2022 Why did you reduce the material inside the footprint of the foundations? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mulberry View Posted October 31, 2022 Author Share Posted October 31, 2022 Fast forward a few weeks, we received our first on-site Nudura training day, during which time this is what we got done... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mulberry View Posted October 31, 2022 Author Share Posted October 31, 2022 12 minutes ago, ETC said: Why did you reduce the material inside the footprint of the foundations? Not sure I understand how any other way would have worked? See above, first course of Nudura straight onto the foundations. Next step is to add 225mm of concrete to the walls of the lower section of the building, onto which the Beam and Block floor shall sit... The Beams will only bear on the 2 short outer walls of the rectangular building, along with the 3 sleeper walls. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gus Potter Posted October 31, 2022 Share Posted October 31, 2022 1 hour ago, Mulberry View said: So, on August 20th, he stuck the bucket of a hired 5 tonne Kubota into the ground and away we went. Over the course of the weekend, I watched in awe as he beavered away at our trenches. We have all been there and I hope you are still friends. Have done / started a quick post for all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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