No sh!t lol. lmao @ tree roots!Quote:
Originally Posted by Mike
Printable View
No sh!t lol. lmao @ tree roots!Quote:
Originally Posted by Mike
.
Seriously look at a "MICRO DIGGER"
Not a mini digger.
http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgur...ed=0CDcQ9QEwBA
30" wide.
And not tall at all.
I know what id be doing, hiring one of those, and a skip on the drive.
Just FFS get the deeds out with the pipes and cables etc lollollollollol
.
.
Good stuff, just need to bear in mind where the external damp course to the main building. If your new floor level is going to be below it you might have fit it out with tanking to stop any possible moisture ingress.
right. LEE. i am now going to put in some important facts...
1. do not use a micro digger in any enclosed space. the exhaust fumes would poison you. they also are only micro size cos they were designed to drive thru a house door, and on to the back garden for access reasons, you still need about 3m of height to actually use one. they are also a waste of time & money because unless you have a lot of digging experience, your workrate would be slower than using a spade.
2. buy a mattockhttp://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:A...9NKQ-yxWNk2Zq5 if i had a lad on the barrows (2 x) i would be looking at shifting 10-15t of clay using a mattock & a spade in a day shift. it is approx 2t :1m3, so you will easily get 2 or 3 skips out of it.
3. dig some test holes first to see how deep the back wall footings(foundation) actually are, you need to know what depth below ground the top & bottom of the concrete are just to be safe.
4. i spent from 1999 until 2009 on groundworks before being transferred into our transport dept. i have been dealing with structural engineers & building inspectors for a very long time, you really can't just start digging & hope for the best, if you alter the structure of the house without regs approval, it will invalidate house insurance and could land you in court. the original footings might need underpinning to strengthen them. this costs a heap of money.
5. people have had whole houses collapse by them digging the cellar out, those original concrete footings when first put in, would have been put in as high up as possible with the minimum height of blockwork walling above simply because walls cost a lot more than footings & all houses are built on a tight budget.
6. just give building control a ring & have a chat with an inspector to see what they think, don't mention the neighbour already doing it though.
7. i'm not trying to put a stop to you doing this.. 3 years ago we ended up helping out a bloke who had wanted to build an underground L shaped garage & employed some cowboys. the advice he'd been given meant he spent £20k on something useless & not what he wanted. there was an rsj so big, he couldn't actually get his car in.... when we told him that everything he'd originally wanted was both doable & actually easier than what he got, he cried, but we had to make the best of what he'd got cos he'd blown £20k already.
.
.