HAND DIGGING A FOUNDATION ..EXTENSION BUILD. PART 1

[@christopherc7757]

An amazing neat foundation dig. Although it was very hot, I guess the dry weather helped in some way! I'm looking forward to your next episode. I find your videos most inspiring. Thank you for posting.

[@SteveAndAlexBuild]

Christopher C . Hi Christopher thanks for your kind comments and support , it’s great getting feed back on our work . Definitely better hot and dry rather than muddy and wet ! Check out our vid with the steel beams on the thumb nail to see our last dig NIGHTMARE ! thanks for watching and commenting 👍🏼

[@brando6BL]

Good bit of old school digging there! Puts muscles on your muscles ;-)

[@SteveAndAlexBuild]

brando6BL thanks pal and yes it certainly does 💪🏽😂

[@arkansas1336]

That is a really clean, precise foundation cut. Make it pretty and professional, it'll pay off in the long run! Excellent video! ....13

[@SteveAndAlexBuild]

arkansas13 Thanks a lot pal 👍🏼

[@Carl-yu6uw]

You are true grafter, happy to tackle it all, by hand! Burned a few calories in this heat. And what a tidy job!

[@SteveAndAlexBuild]

Carl Thanks very much pal , I couldn’t have done it without my mate Jason he is always a massive help . Thanks for watching and commenting 👍🏼

[@gordon4228]

Good vid , just shows what 2 men & 2 shovels can do.. No robots or ai in sight.

[@SteveAndAlexBuild]

Gordon . Thanks pal , could have done with a robot for a bit , it was bloody sweltering ! 😨😂. Thanks for watching and commenting 👍🏼

[@jaysgardens4626]

Unbeleaveabley tidy 😀great video can't wait for the next one 👍

[@SteveAndAlexBuild]

Jays gardens Thanks pal we always try to keep as tidy as possible on private jobs . Part 2 same time next week 👍🏼 thanks for watching and commenting

[@leedsutd3413]

Clean and tidy dig mate

[@SteveAndAlexBuild]

leedsutd3413 . Thanks pal 👍🏼

[@bloggs692413]

Some good work there guys an in this heat hard graft

[@SteveAndAlexBuild]

bloggs692413 Thanks pal , very hard graft the ground was awful ! Thanks for watching and commenting 👍🏼

[@itsmewayne428]

Old school graft..no mini digger...:)

[@SteveAndAlexBuild]

Wayne Bailey Hey Wayne , certainly was ! I’m a liability on a mini digger 😂😂

[@richardcole9558]

Bloody hard graft in this heat ! Two things come to mind , you need more tea breaks 😀 and goggles when you use that angle grinder 😎...make that three points ..yep mini digger ..great vid ..

[@SteveAndAlexBuild]

Richard Cole Thanks pal , I did actually wear goggles ( learned the hard way ) . I actually edited out all the brews and rests of which there were many 😏and as for the mini digger used one once and found out I’m a liability on one 😂. Thanks for watching and commenting 👍🏼

[@jimjam1934]

Another great job, well done in that heat!

[@SteveAndAlexBuild]

Jim Jam Thanks pal 👍🏼

[@spencebespokedreams]

I came across this channel today I find it very informative. Keep up the good work

[@SteveAndAlexBuild]

spenceational86 . We are glad to found us and glad you like the channel . Plenty more videos to come 👍🏼

[@chrishowell1948]

Nice clean builders

[@SteveAndAlexBuild]

Chris Howell . Thanks very much pal , we always take extra care when we are working around peoples houses thanks for watching and commenting 👍🏼

[@chrishowell1948]

Bricklaying With Steve and Alex no probs im a carpenter and love watching your vids keep up the good vids there mint

[@SteveAndAlexBuild]

Chris Howell . Thanks very much pal, there are plenty more to come 👍🏼

[@dannywilkins887]

Nice tidy job , ever thought of taking up grave digging as a sideline lol!

[@SteveAndAlexBuild]

danny wilkins 😂 1 dig every blue moon is more than enough 😰😂 Thanks for watching and commenting 👍🏼

[@oldmanfromyork]

Ive been digging post holes for 8ft posts so digging 24 inches down, ground is bloody as hard as iron! Nice bit of graft there, always amazing the junk that is found digging footings.

[@SteveAndAlexBuild]

oldmanfromyork . New builds are always full of all kinds of crap , then the sun has baked it solid ! It was a tough one . Thanks for watching and commenting as always 👍🏼

[@ysanneingham2705]

To set diagonals out steve do you use the site square on the house and run your tape along the square to get the diagnal

[@SteveAndAlexBuild]

Ysanne Ingham we measure the projection parallel off the house then measure the diagonals 👌🏼👍🏼🧱

[@ysanneingham2705]

@@SteveAndAlexBuild the projection i take it you mean how far its coming out from the house

[@SteveAndAlexBuild]

Ysanne Ingham Yes pal that’s the one 👌🏼🧱👍🏼

[@ysanneingham2705]

@@SteveAndAlexBuild thanks pal sorry to bother you on a friday night 👍

[@SteveAndAlexBuild]

Ysanne Ingham not a problem mate any time , I will always get bank to comments 👌🏼🧱👍🏽

[@liamwalters5029]

Once again great video , couple of grafters here people!

[@SteveAndAlexBuild]

Liam Walters Thanks very much Neil , appreciate it , thanks for watching and commenting too 👍🏼

[@liamwalters5029]

Bricklaying With Steve and Alex no worries who’s Neil ??

[@SteveAndAlexBuild]

Liam Walters . 🙄what a muppet sorry Liam 👍🏼

[@liamwalters5029]

Bricklaying With Steve and Alex no worries mate made me laugh

[@naqi16]

Great Job What's the purpose of digging 2 of them deeper holes within the footings itself ?

[@SteveAndAlexBuild]

Ali Bajwa . Those two spots were bad ground so it had to come out . Thanks for the question and for watching 👍🏼

[@naqi16]

Thanks for the reply mate. When you mean bad ground how do you know its bad ground ? Was is too soft or too hard ?

[@SteveAndAlexBuild]

Ali Bajwa what your looking for is ground that’s never been dug up if possible . The shallow bit is solid virgin clay , the stuff we dug out deep was soft black damp stuff that had been back filled . Back fill also generally has rubble and bricks mixed in . 👍🏼

[@naqi16]

@@SteveAndAlexBuild nice one, Thanks for Clarifying

[@SteveAndAlexBuild]

Ali Bajwa no probs 👍🏼

[@xtrofilm]

I hope you get it concreted before it rains lads.

[@SteveAndAlexBuild]

kevin byrne . Ah we dug this 3 weeks ago , we’re up to trestle height now we are off there today , hoping this rain stays away 🙄 Thanks for watching and commenting 👍🏼

[@markspencerfpv]

I'm doing the exact same job in my back garden, but jesus Christ why not get a little digger down that side alley? in this heat your crazy!!!

[@SteveAndAlexBuild]

Mark Spencer FPV . I think your right mate we are a bit tapped 🤪. I hired a mini digger on another job , I nearly demolished the extention I’d just finished with the bucket then managed to tip it into trench I was digging . I play safe now and stick to my trusty spade . Good luck with your extension and thanks for your watching and commenting 👍🏼

[@glenfordspencer2987]

Great video as usual. Any tips on locating facilities such as gas etc before digging? Got to dig my footings and worried what I'll hit when using the digger

[@SteveAndAlexBuild]

Glenford Spencer You can hire a gadget that locates stuff like that , just try you local plant hire shop and even when you are digging take it slow and steady just in case . Good luck with the extension 🧱👍🏽

[@edwardlees2992]

Got to give it to you guys, the tidiest builders I’ve seen in a long time. Couple of ?s, here in Kent most foundations are at least a metre deep dig yours only looked to be 5-600mm apart from where you had to find the existing footings. And what minimum depth of concrete do you have to have for the extension foundation, because we dig to a metre we fill our trenches to within 150-200 of ground level so can have 700-850 of concrete in the trench. I know rules and regs vary across the country so just wondering how yours differ from ours.

[@SteveAndAlexBuild]

Edward Lees . Hi mate on site the regs sound the same as yours but these private jobs seems be different . I’ve never met the inspector myself as I’m on site during the week when they come . We have just gone to concrete minimum depth and will be putting in a course of trench block and 4 teds up to DPC . It worked out at 180 mm in ours and the deep bits were mass filled . They are more bothered about seeing good solid clay . Thanks for watching and commenting 👍🏼

[@edwardlees2992]

Bricklaying With Steve and Alex thanks for the reply, must admit done a few digs by hand over the years but didn’t envy you one bit when you were digging that ground. One more ? It’s a fairly new housing estate what was there before, was it an industrial site?

[@SteveAndAlexBuild]

Edward Lees . Yes kind of , the heart of the estate is a re developed mill on the canal and the house are on the surrounding land which had various building on it . We found an old drain and some kind of steel conduit or duct , quite shallow . 👍🏼

[@oliverhowarth6815]

Hi this may seem a silly question but how do you know how far to pour the concrete, like how far below doc for the footings?

[@oliverhowarth6815]

Dpc* of the top of the concrete compared to the house

[@SteveAndAlexBuild]

It all depends on the ground and how much is specified 🧱👍🏽

[@grahambaker5913]

Like the vid gents. Can i ask a silly question? Did you only dig down to the deapth of foundation where you tie in to the existing house? Is this purely as the extension doesnt require it or is there another reason?

[@grahambaker5913]

Ignore, should have read comments below first 🙄

[@SteveAndAlexBuild]

Graham Baker . No problem 🧱👍🏽

[@jej3451]

Holy shit, what a huge pain in the ass. You guys work HARD.

[@SteveAndAlexBuild]

jej3451 . Yep , certainly was ! Thanks for watching and commenting 👍🏼

[@spencebespokedreams]

How deep was theres footings?

[@SteveAndAlexBuild]

Can’t remember mate it was 3 years ago 😬🧱👍🏽

[@Unknown-si8yx]

@@SteveAndAlexBuild how deep is a typical one storey extension. The builders I currently have only dug 500mm and I'm worried it might fail the inspection.

[@SteveAndAlexBuild]

@@Unknown-si8yx All depends on the ground 🧱👍🏽

[@thomasjones7082]

Hi what was the price of those concrete footings without labour? Thanks

[@SteveAndAlexBuild]

Thomas Jones . Without labour just leaves the concrete so your better off ringing your local concrete company for a price 🧱👍🏽

[@thomasjones7082]

Because I'm thinking about a similar extension

[@SteveAndAlexBuild]

Thomas Jones . Foundations are very tricky to price as you have no ideas what you will come across until you start digging . If it’s a straightforward dig on good ground £300 should be plenty for your concrete . 🧱👍🏽

[@thomasjones7082]

@@SteveAndAlexBuild 300 for that good size foundation?😏to be honest I expected a lot more for that. Thank you for your reply

[@SteveAndAlexBuild]

Thomas Jones . Cool , I’m glad it was good news , good luck with your dig pal and thanks for watching and commenting 🧱👍🏽

[@markfelts1128]

Didn't look to bad a dig considering weather.

[@SteveAndAlexBuild]

Mark Felts . It took us two full days and was tough going , but prefer this to mud ! Thanks for watching and commenting 👍🏼

[@adamstudd28]

Great vid but I don’t envy u digging in this heat 😅

[@SteveAndAlexBuild]

adamstudd28 . It was on the warm side 😰. I always tell myself when I’m digging that this is the last dig , then somebody else asks us to do another job 😬 Thanks for watching and commenting 👍🏼

[@user-to2pf8rb5m]

How did you get away with so shallow? Were I work we have a minimum of 1200 done one recently at 1900 I need an inspector like yours

[@SteveAndAlexBuild]

Boxing Fisherman . Not sure mate , it was inspected though , we use a private firm instead of the council which is way less hassle. Thanks for watching and commenting 👍🏼

[@odbguy5886]

Boxing Fisherman it just depends on the ground. . I currently building a 2 story extension and only dug footings to 1000mm, and the inspector was happy at 800 we dug deeper due to difference in ground from the front to back of property ..

[@TheEMD1995]

Great video. Must be hard digging by hand in this heat 😂 feel for you. Any reason you didn't use a mini digger ? Great video

[@SteveAndAlexBuild]

Elliot dedman . It was a tough weekend. We always hand dig , used a mini digger once and managed to tip it into the tench I was digging so steer clear of them now 🙄 Thanks for watching and commenting 👍🏼

[@seamusfoster]

Burned a few calories off there!!, Nice tidy job

[@SteveAndAlexBuild]

seamusfoster 😂😰 your not kidding ! Thanks for watching and for the kind comments 👍🏼

[@spencebespokedreams]

Can you do a talk over and a step by step and why your doing what your doing?

[@SteveAndAlexBuild]

spenceational86 . Hi pal I can’t find your other comment so I’ll answer both here . Very basic rules ( different around the country) dig minimum 600 mm or till you hit virgin clay . At the house we always try and dig down to house foundation, the 2 steps were just where we dug our all of the bad ground . We don’t have any plans for commentary on the videos , we don’t feel comfortable talking . We prefer to engage with people in the comments . Thanks for watching and commenting 👍🏼

[@spencebespokedreams]

Bricklaying With Steve and Alex have you done a video about how to set out and build a garden wall from fresh? Not off an old wall?

[@SteveAndAlexBuild]

spenceational86 . No sorry pal not yet , we’ve only been uploading for just under 4 months so not had chance to film one . Pretty sure we will have one in the near future 👍🏼

[@TheAudiostud]

Bit confused as the video I watched restarted @ 10:56 !

[@SteveAndAlexBuild]

TheAudiostud That’s a strange one 🤔 the video is only supposed to be 9.05 long . It’s working fine on all of our devices? I hope you got to see it all 👍🏼

[@user-qd6iq7jp7m]

A baby kango 😂😂😂😂

[@SteveAndAlexBuild]

👍🏽

[@christopherwright1100]

Great vid and tidy job. My local building inspector stopped us from using wooden pegs for setting out founds years ago. Guess yours us less anal?

[@SteveAndAlexBuild]

christopher Wright . Luckily yes our inspectors are great ! We use private firms as opposed the council inspector . Thanks for watching and commenting 👍🏼