Digging own foundations..

Grz.26

How does one mark out where to dig. I have the plans etc. does it say on there where excatly to dig the foundations?

27col

You need to make some profile boards and position them at the ends of the proposed walls. If you Google "profile boards" you will find out exactly how to mark out the work area. best of luck with it.

ormus

best way is to mark out the centre line of each wall with string & pins/pegs.
then cross check the diagonals to make the square.
from the string centres, measure your foundation widths, either side of the string.

you do remember how to make a builders square dont you?
http://www.diyinfo.org/wiki/Tools_Needed_For_Bricklaying

remember the rules for a right angle. using a ratio of 3-4-5 for the lengths.

diable

If you are digging by hand then I hope you don't live in an area with lots of clay, one spade to dig and then a shovel to scrape if off in to the wheelbarrow ;o)))

27col

How true, that post has just bought back horrible memories of hand digging the foundation trenches in clay, of both of my self build houses. Ugh!!!

paul5046

Any updates. I would love to see how you are progressing. Did you dig them yourselves or get a digger.

jc808

Mrs_Imp wrote: »

Do you know any archaeologists? We shift a surprising amount of soil by hand every day. And probably cheaper than workmen.

Imp and I just dug a raft foundation for a 3x4 shed, so it's about 500mm deep. Took a weekend and a week of evenings.

Spoil heaps can be a pain if you don't manage them properly, and can start to take over a large area. We estimate multiplying the volume by 1.5 to get the volume of soil once it's been removed. Don't pile the spoil too close to the edge of your trench, as the extra weight can cause it to collapse. When this happens it can cause a fatality.

If you're prepared for a bit of hard graft for a week or two, then go for it. If you can persuade anyone to help you in exchange for food and beers, even better.

Good luck.

Even better, phone the police and tell them you think you found a note under the floor boards of the house you just bought saying 'I would like to confess to 2 murders, buried in my back garden'

Grz.26

Hello, update. I have over the last 2/3 weeks have broken up the concrete slab. About 1 inch of fairly easy concrete to get up, then under that 4/5 inches of tough stubborn hard concrete which took much longer, me being on a budget didn't want to hire a kango or such breaker, so alas I used my hammer and a borrowed crowbar, money saving! I have booked time off work in feb so should get it done in a couple of days or so, not sure I mentioned before but trench is by drain and apparently I need to dig 1.6 m below the invert level of the drain. Should be fun. I'll try and post some pics as we go..

paul5046

Grz.26 wrote: »

Hello, update. I have over the last 2/3 weeks have broken up the concrete slab. About 1 inch of fairly easy concrete to get up, then under that 4/5 inches of tough stubborn hard concrete which took much longer, me being on a budget didn't want to hire a kango or such breaker, so alas I used my hammer and a borrowed crowbar, money saving! I have booked time off work in feb so should get it done in a couple of days or so, not sure I mentioned before but trench is by drain and apparently I need to dig 1.6 m below the invert level of the drain. Should be fun. I'll try and post some pics as we go..

Richard, pics would be great.

1.What are the dimensions of the foundations ie width and depth
2.What do you plan to do with the rubbish, do you have a skip.

darich

Grz.26 wrote: »

I need to dig 1.6 m below the invert level of the drain. Should be fun. I'll try and post some pics as we go..

If that's not a typo and is indeed 1600mm below pipe invert, then it's around 5ft.
You'll need either sheet piles or a battered slope - VERY risky and dangerous to dig that depth without any kind of support.
The way round the sheet piles is to slope the sides of the excavation at a grade of 2:1 (Horizontal:vertical). On the basis that 1.6m is correct then you're looking at a horizontal distance of 3.2m....at least because the pipe invert won't be at ground level.

If your depth of 1.6m is correct (around 5ft) then you'll spend weeks digging, or need to get someone in with a machine....that's a massive volume of material to excavate by hand.