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You have answered the question in your post. When the builder quotes, they don't know what horrors are hidden under or behind something, whether the underlying timber/brick structure is good, whether other remedial work is required to complete the originally quoted job.

Is the manhole going to sit below the ring beam? If not, then the concrete rings will need to come out so your ring beam and their re-inforcement cages can be run. I wouldn't see any reason to put a hardcore layer down or topsoil. The ring beam doesn't need a hardcore base as it's supported by...

I don’t know for sure of course, but surely this would’ve shown up sooner if it was the piling. We had an incredibly dry summer by British standards, could this have caused the ground shrinkage and consequently movement of the raft? Your piled extension would’ve been much deeper into the...

New development sites/houses.

What do you mean? Is this a hatch in the roof or the wall side? Oops.. those hinges look flimsy! Possibly, but i can't envisage what you're attempting to do, so hard to say! Zoomed out picture to show the surrounding area?

Just an update on my drains. The building inspector came out today and looked over the drains. He had a walk around the site, asked which were storm and which were foul drains, looked in the foul manhole, then said "yeah, i'm happy with that, you can fill it in!". All good i suppose, but he...

This is how they appear to built around me too, including my extension that's under way! I suppose from a logic point of view, a raft foundation will be designed in a way to only hold the building it was designed for, so even if you attach a raft extension, it'll never be a part of the...

Yes, fair point, although it's probably 10x more dangerous to walk around the polluted city centre than it is to sit in a house without a gas membrane! Yes, okay, I see your point here. Yes I agree with this, although I think it's more pertinent for new builds rather than extensions...

That's not a good analogy at all! I'm not trying to use a "hazardous or banned" product. A better analogy would be "wearing a dust mask over one nostril whilst cutting a hazardous material". The only reason I am posting back today is because the building inspector came to inspect the drains...

Looking at the historical info it was likely an industrial site, but it's hard to pinpoint exactly. No indication it was a tip.

That is an important consideration. I don't know if a test exists for this kind of thing.

Hi I am doing an extension and had a trial hole dug for the foundations which was to 1.4m (deep due to trying to find good ground - point 1 below). The water table was oily/contaminated and ground is obviously made up ground. My council building inspector came out and inspected the hole and...

Cheers for the input everyone. It’s been very helpful.

That's a good idea although the regs say it has to have 50mm around the pipe, which is odd as it also says, mask the hole you make with something rigid (which in effect restricts the movement!). I think your idea is better but building regs want it done differently. Maybe i'm overthinking it...

It's not to go through a foundation, but through a linteled wall in the footings. It's to cover the hole where the drain enters and exits under the suspended floor, so no concrete will really be against it. I guess vermin could just chew right through the insulation then.

Will the jablite boards work, or are there specific types to use?

That makes sense i suppose. Thank you.

Do you mean for masking the openings? Will the insulation not soak up water? The backfill is going to be against it. This is what i don't get, there doesn't seem to be a logical rigid sheet for the job.

Hi I'm running a drain through the footing walls and i'm stuck on the section of the building regs that states "openings masked with rigid material and around the pipe should be compressible". Rigid Board I've heard people mention cement board but will this not perish after a few years sat in...

Hi I was wondering if i could message you (can't type a lot here! 420 char limit) regarding block and beam flooring. I was reading a post of yours from last year and wanted to know how you got on with a few things. Cheers, Chris