Price to convert garage doorway to wall and window

[gas112]

If the foundations concrete is a continuation of the existing footings, they will accept it. It's fairly common on modern houses for the digger operator to remove the whole trench (easier), where the garage door opening is concerned.

yep i totally agree about the digger but explain how they will know how deep it actually is does building control around your way have xray vision?
And a lot depends on whether building control guy is a jobs worth

 

[noseall]

yep i totally agree about the digger but explain how they will know how deep it actually is does building control around your way have xray vision?
And a lot depends on whether building control guy is a jobs worth

True.
They probably realise that the digger driver is unlikely to ramp up the foundation bottom and that the trench would have been inspected and passed off. I doubt an exploratory dig would be much fuss, if they were to insist, however.

 

[Diver Fred]

The garage pad at my house has 600mm trench around the edge and is 200mm thick in the middle. When the neighbours took their Garage into the house their builders had to take up the garage foundation and deepen the trench to 900mm. (East Suffolk)

 

[Ivor Windybottom]

Definitely dig a test hole, so far we've spent longer discussing whether to do it than it would take a bloke and a spade to do it. Why would you not do it? Then you know what the job involves so can discuss the price meaningfully.

Do building control normally require rebar to be chemically fixed into drilled holes in the adjoining foundation? Seems like a sensible precaution to me, to join the new and old together. Will definitely do this on my forthcoming conversion, but don't know whether this is common practice or required.

 

[Ivor Windybottom]

The garage pad at my house has 600mm trench around the edge and is 200mm thick in the middle. When the neighbours took their Garage into the house their builders had to take up the garage foundation and deepen the trench to 900mm. (East Suffolk)

Wonder if that was previously equivalent to the rest of the house? Seems a bit unfair to make them replace the foundation when the rest of the house is sitting on what was already there.

Sounds very jobsworthy to me, rules is rules and all that. A garage conversion is usually a pretty lightweight wall anyway, as about a third of it is window, plus many leave the original lintel in.

 

[noseall]

Do building control normally require rebar to be chemically fixed into drilled holes in the adjoining foundation?

Not especially. A decent width lump (600mm+) will have enough ground bearing capacity in isolation. In instances where there could be a settlement or heave conflict, then BC insist on a slip buffer between foundations, usually in the form of a slice of rigid insulation or ply shutter.

 

[^woody^]

That looks like a new house. Does it have PD rights for this type of work?

£4k would be more appropriate, but the thing is whether you can get anyone to do it for that. For £6k I'd want gold dust in the mortar not fairy liquid.

But it's a builder's market ATM, and be sure you get builders not chancers for those premium estimates.

 

[Ivor Windybottom]

Not especially. A decent width lump (600mm+) will have enough ground bearing capacity in isolation. In instances where there could be a settlement or heave conflict, then BC insist on a slip buffer between foundations, usually in the form of a slice of rigid insulation or ply shutter.

Presumably with movement joint(s) running up the brickwork?

I'd have thought a slightly thinner than ideal foundation that's contiguous with the rest and has been there a decade or more would be preferable to a new one that's thicker but separate and new so still settling. But this probably isn't what the rule book says.