Digging pad foundations & pouring concrete

[@hsingh3111]

Brilliant work. Can't wait for the next video.

[@Lord-Brett-Sinclair]

Great progress , a lot of mess to work around , be nice to see the beams installed.

[@NigelDurman-sx7ec]

Hi, I am planning a single storey timber framed extension (like yours) nearly up the party wall boundary. I am interested in why you used pad and Naylor beam foundations rather that trench foundations? I am an office boy DIY enthusiast also!! Many thanks. Nigel

[@OfficeBoyBuilder]

So it came down to a few factors - the primary ones being cost and speed. Because it was a 4.5m deep extension, by using the Naylor beans, we technically weren't digging within 3m of our neighbours foundations, which meant we didn't need a party wall agreement. It also meant less money on in-ground concrete and less time digging. In reality I think the savings were marginal because of how quick the ground-workers were, but for a single storey building, beams and pads are perfectly strong enough with timber frame.

[@Tom_Prendiville]

Looking good matey 👍

[@amarvirdee8147]

The pic you sent me the other week of the walls up, tells me you have a lot of editing still to do haha!

[@OfficeBoyBuilder]

Yup! There's roughly a 12 video backlog!

[@Carl-yu6uw]

Interesting channel! More of a builder than office boy! So, that concrete pad on the side next to bamboo...is the bamboo there "clump forming" or the more invasive variety? All types their roots are very powerful will push on structures but latter also travel extensively laterally so where you have the beams running over the ground to the house, maybe worth running a vertical in-ground barrier sheet along side to stop the root prying into your substructure over time.

[@OfficeBoyBuilder]

Good point mate, and we checked with the neighbour and the structural engineer. The neighbour said it's clump forming, and so far hadn't travelled across/under our patio (after being in place for over 15 years) so we felt comfortable with it.

[@dannymurphy1779]

Wow that was full on! I was expecting to see you all on the barrows lol. Only thing to mention is those concrete lorries can crack drains, a guy I know who did same as you kept it on the road and barrowed. Also I know of someone who got their drive cracked up when the lorry went to their house instead of next door! Hope you were ok but something to consider for anyone else watching this. Just wondering why the first fence panel is still there? Surely the building will become the boundary effectively, that is what a lot of people end up doing at least. Or you could build it and then supply a new fence.

[@OfficeBoyBuilder]

Yes we deliberately left the drain runs until after the concrete had been poured (the existing drains were nearly 1m down from the surface, in clay, so pretty well protected. The new extension is going to be 800mm from the boundary so that I can get wheel barrows and other bits down the side, without coming through the house/garage. It also means we have side access through the utility room if we've been on a muddy walk in the woods.

[@Oncewasdonka]

Hi why not a traditional footing. Thanks

[@OfficeBoyBuilder]

Great question! The design was done so that we could build right on the edge of our party wall, without needing to dig and pour concrete on our neighbors land. In the best case scenario, it works out around the same cost as a standard trench fill, in the worst cast scenario (where you have loads of trees nearby, or the ground is bad and you need to dig now 2m), it can work out considerably cheaper as you're only required to dig down 2m at the pads, because the beams don't change...hope that answers your question. In the next episode we do a traditional trench footing because it's a two storey side extension.

[@Oncewasdonka]

@@OfficeBoyBuilder Thanks for clearing that up. Are you ok building over the sewer pipe? I know your moving the manhole.

[@OfficeBoyBuilder]

We had to get a build over agreement with Thames water (coming up in 2 episodes time!) Stay tuned and you'll see the process of moving it all and building over it (3 episodes time).

[@Oncewasdonka]

@@OfficeBoyBuilder I'll need to do that with mine. With mine being a wrap a round if I want to open it completely up with no pillars I'll need a 9 meter piece of steel to go across the back of the house and into the new side extension wall plate.

[@OfficeBoyBuilder]

That's awesome! We looked at that, but decided to section up the space a little bit more...also, you're not able to support such massive steels as that with timber, so we would have had to install a steel post at the external wall. Sounds like you've got your hands full!

[@plummetplum]

I would have asked neighbour to move car

[@MrGlenfraser]

Sunday night Tele......ace

[@jessiperry60]

that concrete is too wet.. you should have hired a pumper.. he could build the concrete up in a way to flush the water out the hole

[@Toyotaamazon80series]

A submersible dirty water pump would have been ideal to empty those footings. Either that or put in a dry mix, 👍🔨🇮🇪

[@OfficeBoyBuilder]

They ended up with a tonne dumper full of dry mix and put it in towards the end after I had to leave...I bought a dirty water pump off Amazon, but it was an absolute waste of money - didn't pump anything! 🤣🙈

[@Toyotaamazon80series]

@@OfficeBoyBuilder What brand pump did you get Sir?

[@OfficeBoyBuilder]

Just a mid-range priced one of Amazon. It was by a brand called Katsu...probably Chinese rubbish that's been re-branded, but it got a lot of good reviews (probably bought and paid for by the seller!)

[@Toyotaamazon80series]

@@OfficeBoyBuilder Indeed, 🙄 One of the reasons I only buy top notch kit, 👍🔨🇮🇪

[@OfficeBoyBuilder]

Yeah same with me generally, everything I have is bosh professional or similar from other brands...I agree with your ethos of not wanting cheap kit, or being a "cheap builder" but I was in a pinch and Amazon suckered me in 🤣