Digging out shallow underfloor voids

[FrankE]

The void under my floor (in aground floor flat is pretty shallow. I'ts just under a metre at one end of the house down to 450 at the other and an absolute nigtmare to do any electrical, plumbing or other underfloor work in. It's made worse by the kitchen and the walk in hallway cupboard having a concrete floor.
Father was offered a grant or something years ago to insulate underfloor but all the installer refuse to do the job because there was so little space.

Is it unwise to dig out anything under the floors, just enough to get crawling space. Obviously wouldn't dig too close to the founds.

I understood any work underpinnning foundations reduces the value of a property.

I was considering pointing the foundation walls. The mortar on the foundation walls is a bit crumbly, would pointing this be construed as underpinning?

The ground is pretty hard. Took a Hilti ages to loosen the dirt enough for a wee pit to enable people to get down the hatch.

 

[dextrous]

How deep are you looking at going? It's highly unlikely that levelling out what you've got will have any bearing on the foundations.

Pointing the foundations - can't do it any harm and does not constitute underpinning in any shape of form, since underpinning is entirely a different thing altogether.

 

[BobKbta]

Just don't dig lower than the footer base along the walls.

 

[dextrous]

Rant over, point made, op has responded and begun to mend his ways, my new medication in place, comment deleted on here as well as elsewhere.

 

[FrankE]

Have you considered writing for Debretts, Dextrous. Since the death of the late John Morgan, I don't think their Guide to Etiquette and Moderm Manners has been reprinted. They are missing a gentleman of calibre with subtle wit and fine penmnaship.

Please accept my apologies for my lack of promptness in returning to all the threads you've kindly posted a polite reminder in, with such colourful language too.

Is it alright with you Dextrous if I spend some of my time on work, with my family, with domestic matters, shopping and other obligations, because I'm not able to commit all my time to the diynot forum.

You seem to have a grievance concerning my lack of response to your above reply for which you may have my sincere apologies. I'm sorry my delay in response has cut so deep and had such an effect on you.

I however feel I must decline your offer of education in "some basic manners" if your deportment school curriculum involves following suspected 'manners miscreants' around then posting several copies of a diatribe containing foul language in unrelated correspondence.

Thank you for your reply.

 

[dextrous]

Delighted to have been of help in reminding you of the need for manners. By all means spend as much time as you like on your work, and with your family and friends.

Personally, if I ask for some help and guidance, I don't wait for several days before I read it and say "thank you".

My comments on three of your posts were aimed at saving other posters from wasting their time, and not to educate you, whose flowery prose above indicates a desire to be considered educated and as such above reproach, and yet is poor camoflage for the fact that you are ill mannered in a way that irritates several of us on here.

After all, it only takes a minute to log on and click on the "thanks" button; in fact less time than it takes someone on here to type out an answer to your query

 

[freddiemercurystwin]

dext is changing his medication soon so I'm sure he'll calm down a bit in a while and whilst his responses are somewhat colourful, he does have a valid point. People use their valuable leisure time to help others and a simple thankyou takes hardly any time or effort. It's all too common for those being advised or helped out to not bother to say thanks and this issue crops up fairly regularly amongst the regulars. You wouldn't phone up a builder, ask his advice and then put the phone down without saying thanks so why do it on a Forum? How do you feel when you take time to help someone and they offer no thanks? You can always complain to the mods, I'm sure they'll act accordingly, maybe they'll remove dext's posts or maybe they'll email you instead?

 

[lifesagasman]

Have you considered writing for Debretts, Dextrous. Since the death of the late John Morgan, I don't think their Guide to Etiquette and Moderm Manners has been reprinted. They are missing a gentleman of calibre with subtle wit and fine penmnaship.

Please accept my apologies for my lack of promptness in returning to all the threads you've kindly posted a polite reminder in, with such colourful language too.

Is it alright with you Dextrous if I spend some of my time on work, with my family, with domestic matters, shopping and other obligations, because I'm not able to commit all my time to the diynot forum.

You seem to have a grievance concerning my lack of response to your above reply for which you may have my sincere apologies. I'm sorry my delay in response has cut so deep and had such an effect on you.

I however feel I must decline your offer of education in "some basic manners" if your deportment school curriculum involves following suspected 'manners miscreants' around then posting several copies of a diatribe containing foul language in unrelated correspondence.

Thank you for your reply.

another one who hasn't followed 'wet feet' in the plumbing forum

 

[lifesagasman]

sorry i thought i was on the 'shallow graves' thread