Foundations
75
“Your plans should identify all the
load-bearing walls.”
F
oundations need to be dug according to a predetermined
plan, and to have been accurately surveyed and set out. It is
surprising just how often this is not done, and occasionally
the ramifications can be very serious indeed, as completed
houses turn out to be in the wrong place and subsequently
have to be demolished.
Your plans should identify all the load-bearing walls and the width
of the trenches to be excavated. The depth of excavation is harder to
predetermine and this is routinely decided by the building inspector on
site. This is where things can get a little bit tricky, because if you have a
difficult site, the foundation trenches may have to go down two metres,
sometimes even more, below ground, which is expensive and potentially
dangerous.
Recent amendments dating back to 2013 demand that developers and
private home builders demonstrate compliance with the design and the
building regulations from the start to the end of the work. It starts with the
commencement notice and reaches right through the build to a series of
certificates that must be signed off on by an ‘assigned certifier’ and your
foundations will be part of this.
What your certifier is looking for is principally a good bearing on solid
ground. However, you can never be certain just what lies beneath the
ground until it’s opened up. This has led to professionals becoming more
and more cautious about foundations and specifying loads more concrete
or, increasingly, engineered or piled foundations.
Winter 2016 Home & Build
Winter 2016.indd 75
08/01/2016 4:32 p.m.