Would you risk pulling footings at the moment?

[flanagaj]

We are due to commence development tomorrow, but the weather forecast is looking wet and now I'm wondering whether to just get started and deal with the consequences should any arise, or do I push it back and accept more delay.  Just not sure what to do.

[Mr Punter]

If you have got the next stages planned in, with contractors lined up, and building regs / warranty people giving the OK to your proposals, you could go ahead.  It is not monsoon.  It has rained in this country before.  You are not made of sugar.

[Oz07]

Yeh I think I would if everything was scheduled for tomorrow. Ideally starting in a month or 2 would be better to let the ground dry out but cant wait for goldilocks weather. Have you got concrete booked in for day after trenches are dug? Perhaps hire a dirty water pump or have a local place ready to hire you one. 

[flanagaj]

4 minutes ago, Oz07 said:

Yeh I think I would if everything was scheduled for tomorrow. Ideally starting in a month or 2 would be better to let the ground dry out but cant wait for goldilocks weather. Have you got concrete booked in for day after trenches are dug? Perhaps hire a dirty water pump or have a local place ready to hire you one. 

I haven't got anything booked in so no big deal if we postpone 

[BadgerBodger]

No time like now. 
 

The amount of jobs I start in the ground in the depths of winter is far higher than those which start in summer. 
 

It generally pans out ok unless there is a significant seasonal water table. Even that is generally manageable if less than ideal. 
 

 

[Oz07]

1 hour ago, flanagaj said:

I haven't got anything booked in so no big deal if we postpone 

I thought you meant tomorrow as in digger and muck away booked. In that case I'd crack on with stripping site and marking out any prep work. If your weather has been like here recently maybe give it a few more weeks of doing out before digging founds. We've had floods round here the ground will be quite full. 

[flanagaj]

1 hour ago, Oz07 said:

I thought you meant tomorrow as in digger and muck away booked. In that case I'd crack on with stripping site and marking out any prep work. If your weather has been like here recently maybe give it a few more weeks of doing out before digging founds. We've had floods round here the ground will be quite full. 

Sorry.  I am due to start tomorrow and have 2.7t excavator arriving in the morning.  

[Tony L]

Perhaps it may be OK if your ground type drains quickly, your water table is low & your foundations are not so deep as mine, but having had experience of problems digging foundations after wet weather, I definitely wouldn't be doing it in my locality this week or next.

 

Here's a picture from just after we started pulling the foundations.  Shuttering was required to prevent the trenches from collapsing.

 

2nd picture is the same trench, with the picture taken from the other end.  it didn't rain in between - it took the water 2 days to come up to water table level.

 

Perhaps you should dig a test hole, then wait two days to see what happens.

Edited Sunday at 19:22 by Tony L

[Tony L]

[Russell griffiths]

29 minutes ago, flanagaj said:

Sorry.  I am due to start tomorrow and have 2.7t excavator arriving in the morning.  

Cancel that. 5tonner or bigger get it ripped out quickly and re filled quickly. 
I thought you had your own machine. So getting something the same size is pointless. 
dont fook about with those silly 1 ton dumpers either 3 tonne hydrostatic drive dumper. More stable, carry more, and cost similar money. 
 

unless the site is tight which I didn’t think it was. 
 

Edited Sunday at 19:28 by Russell griffiths

[flanagaj]

16 minutes ago, Tony L said:

Perhaps it may be OK if your ground type drains quickly, your water table is low & your foundations are not so deep as mine, but having had experience of problems digging foundations after wet weather, I definitely wouldn't be doing it in my locality this week or next.

 

Here's a picture from just after we started pulling the foundations.  Shuttering was required to prevent the trenches from collapsing.

 

2nd picture is the same trench, with the picture taken from the other end.  it didn't rain in between - it took the water 2 days to come up to water table level.

 

Perhaps you should dig a test hole, then wait two days to see what happens.

Ouch.  That looks like a world of pain.  

[flanagaj]

6 minutes ago, Russell griffiths said:

Cancel that. 5tonner or bigger get it ripped out quickly and re filled quickly. 
I thought you had your own machine. So getting something the same size is pointless. 
dont fook about with those silly 1 ton dumpers either 3 tonne hydrostatic drive dumper. More stable, carry more, and cost similar money. 
 

unless the site is tight which I didn’t think it was. 
 

I've got a 3 ton dumper.  Hadn't considered a 5 ton machine as that would make quick work of it.

[Nickfromwales]

Extend the trough into a deeper sump, and whack some pumps in!?!

 

We've been self-building for a long time people........

 

8 hours ago, flanagaj said:

I haven't got anything booked in so no big deal if we postpone 

You need a rocket firing up the back end  Get stuck in and crack on; there's no free lunches, and the sooner you're not sat in the wings 'considering things' the sooner you'll be living in it  

[flanagaj]

On 09/03/2026 at 00:17, Nickfromwales said:

Extend the trough into a deeper sump, and whack some pumps in!?!

 

We've been self-building for a long time people........

 

You need a rocket firing up the back end  Get stuck in and crack on; there's no free lunches, and the sooner you're not sat in the wings 'considering things' the sooner you'll be living in it  

😂we've got quite comfortable in our static caravan

[Nickfromwales]

16 minutes ago, flanagaj said:

😂we've got quite comfortable in our static caravan

You'll be saying the same thing in 2030.....

[mjc55]

IMHO it very much depends on your ground type.

 

We managed to get our footings dug and filled last October, any later and it wouldn't have happened.

 

The ground where we are building is clay and once wet is like porridge, it soon dries but once dry is like stone, you certainly wouldn't shift anything with a shovel.

 

It has started to dry out now and already has formed a pretty hard crust, but, as I found out today when i walked where I shouldn't have, I got completely stuck with wellies nearly overflowing, the only way out was to release my foot from welly and with the help of my wife get out of the mire!

 

I'm hoping that by the end of April we will be able to get on with the build but that is very much dependant on how much rain there is going forward.

 

So, as I said, depends on your ground.