Old conservatory base built nearly to damp course

[JohnD]

So is the key that if the trowel goes under them then they can be removed? If it won't they should stay? The house is from the 60s and canals not too far away.

I managed to find this pic showing brick footings. As you see, the wall gets wider as it goes down, typically twice or more width as the wall above, to spread the load.

Shoddy shallow footings are often found in Victorian houses, but if yours was built in the 1960's I think it is most unlikely to have shallow brick footings, and I was mistaken in my earlier view.

 

[aveatry]

Hopfully its just another sign of the rubbish builder laying down a row of random bricks against the house, good because it means there will not be a load of concrete stuck against your blue bricks when you remove them.

 

[Ivor Windybottom]

As there's nothing on top of them they're definitely not holding anything up so are not part of a brick footing.

Have look under one, flick it out and have a dig down in that area. You'll probably find that the foundation continues vertically downwards way beyond these bricks so they were just part of some sort of garden feature or paving.

But still be careful, don't either force them into the house or prise between the house and them. You want to clear beyond them then lift them out.

 

[Ivor Windybottom]

If you now have a pile of rubble and intend to make any sort of paving, extension or outbuilding in the future then it may make sense to hire a mini crusher and recycle on-site into crushed stone. You can just press it down with a compactor wherever you want a hard surface then top with anything. Alternatively I've made recycled concrete before, using crushed rubble, a little sharp sand and cement.

It beats paying to get rid of it then paying to buy more, plus you don't need to take it all to the road and back. I think I paid about £350/day once, they can chew through loads in a day.

 

[Beginerz]

Thank you.

Today's work. And just to show how much we (well, some help from the other half anyway) have shovelled by hand...!

What we originally thought were paving slabs laid under this base has in fact turned out to be....you guessed it.....another base underneath of more concrete. This concrete though is about 100mm in depth and has just very fine shingle within it so the whole of the part that I have broken up on the right took only about 30 mins. Compared to 4 days and counting on the depth of the main base.

Breaker back now and due to other commitments I hope to be back on the job on the days between Christmas and New year.

As for the rubble, we have been given the details of a local skip hire firm who allow full loads of rubble to be dropped from vans or tipper trucks for £10 per load.

 

[noseall]

Thank you.

Today's work. And just to show how much we (well, some help from the other half anyway) have shovelled by hand...!

What we originally thought were paving slabs laid under this base has in fact turned out to be....you guessed it.....another base underneath of more concrete. This concrete though is about 100mm in depth and has just very fine shingle within it so the whole of the part that I have broken up on the right took only about 30 mins. Compared to 4 days and counting on the depth of the main base.

View attachment 324994
View attachment 324993


As for the rubble, we have been given the details of a local skip hire firm who allow full loads of rubble to be dropped from vans or tipper trucks for £10 per load.

You are going to handle that lot twice or more? Some nutter has even put the hard core on soft ground. Going to be a nightmare shovelling off that.

Bonkers.

 

[Beginerz]

You are going to handle that lot twice or more? Some nutter has even put the hard core on soft ground. Going to be a nightmare shovelling off that.

Bonkers.

There is a shovel and shift it type bloke who does garden clearances etc who loads and unloads stuff like this everyday and tips at the skip place. Was given details today by another trade. The estimate we have is £160 so I assume that is not bad and we wouldn't have to handle again.
What's done is done anyway, it was stopping us moving on with new windows and doors with that concrete touching the old frames and water coming in without the sand bags.

I personally believe that if we'd employed builders they probably would have wanted a mini digger and two of them over 3 days and a skip.

As yet we are at discount breaker hire plus estimate £160 for a shovel and shift it.

 

[Ivor Windybottom]

All done efficiently, cheaply and properly. Well done.

I'd still crush it though, have a feature crushed rubble heap for a few years until you need it. I just had to pay £400 for half a tipper full of that stuff, it's a resource not waste.

 

[Ivor Windybottom]

Make sure your waste-away bloke has a waste carrier licence. You can check for yourself online.

If not then if he fly-tips it in a field then you will have to pay the £1000s of cleanup cost.

Waste Carriers, Brokers and Dealers

environment.data.gov.uk

 

[Beginerz]

Make sure your waste-away bloke has a waste carrier licence. You can check for yourself online.

If not then if he fly-tips it in a field then you will have to pay the £1000s of cleanup cost.

Waste Carriers, Brokers and Dealers

environment.data.gov.uk

Thank you.

I have checked and the skip hire place definitely do allow commercial tippers to dump rubble there for £10 and this is where we are informed the shovel and shift it drops. At that price who wouldn't? Presumably they are reselling as processed hardcore or cement or whatever.

 

[noseall]

All done efficiently, cheaply and properly. Well done.

The (total) job is about half way through, and he needs to re-hire a breaker lol. Cheaply and efficiently my arse.

 

[Beginerz]

The (total) job is about half way through, and he needs to re-hire a breaker lol. Cheaply and efficiently my arse.

Doesn't do a lot for the confidence of a first time DIYer! I'm not going to compare myself to someone who knows what they are doing or has done this kind of thing before. How does someone start if it's not by giving it a go at their own pace? The idea was to avoid spending a few grand on it by having a go as advised. And that is on track no doubt. At my rate there is probably two days of breaking left and as mentioned my partner has staff discount on hire which is generous rates.

The alternative, I could have brought builders around and just be agreeing a job now for sometime in late January with whatever cost but I decided to take members advice and give it a go and 5 days of work later I'm on the home straight. Never thought I could ever attempt something like this to be quite honest but forum advice pointed me to the correct tool and what I'd need to do. I will also add that nobody here knows the health background or strengths or limitations of different people so someone's break that up in two days is not necessarily going to work for another person and as long as I'm fine with the duration, 5 days and counting, why should it matter?

 

[Notch7]

Doesn't do a lot for the confidence of a first time DIYer! I'm not going to compare myself to someone who knows what they are doing or has done this kind of thing before. How does someone start if it's not by giving it a go at their own pace? The idea was to avoid spending a few grand on it by having a go as advised. And that is on track no doubt. At my rate there is probably two days of breaking left and as mentioned my partner has staff discount on hire which is generous rates.

The alternative, I could have brought builders around and just be agreeing a job now for sometime in late January with whatever cost but I decided to take members advice and give it a go and 5 days of work later I'm on the home straight. Never thought I could ever attempt something like this to be quite honest but forum advice pointed me to the correct tool and what I'd need to do. I will also add that nobody here knows the health background or strengths or limitations of different people so someone's break that up in two days is not necessarily going to work for another person and as long as I'm fine with the duration, 5 days and counting, why should it matter?

You are doing a great job

Noseall is a professional builder with loads and loads of experience, he isn’t looking at as somebody whose never done it before

 

[noseall]

Doesn't do a lot for the confidence of a first time DIYer!

.......... You on the other hand are doing a sterling job, but also making life difficult for yourself or others. Putting heavy lumpy hard core onto soft soil is a nightmare. Broken concrete is no fun to handle, especially multiple times. It should be rid of as quickly as possible.

You appear to live in a standard UK semi. All this talk of crushing and storing it, is fine if you live on a farm or a large site and have machines to hand, lol. If we have to 'contain' rubble or such like, we gather some of our empty tonne sacks and fill those - but only when we know we can shift them with a forklift, Hiab or a digger etc.

 

[Ivor Windybottom]

Thank you.

I have checked and the skip hire place definitely do allow commercial tippers to dump rubble there for £10 and this is where we are informed the shovel and shift it drops. At that price who wouldn't? Presumably they are reselling as processed hardcore or cement or whatever.

Officially, a waste carrier licence is required to errrr.... carry waste!

If he decides to pocket that £10 and chuck it in a field then this is your problem if you haven't checked he's licenced.

Personally I don't think any suburban home is complete without its very own rubble heap for future projects! Seriously, it shrinks lots once crushed and you may well have a grand's worth there.