Double storey extension

londonhero

Hi,


I have already a single storey extension, and planning to do a second storey. I believe I need to dig around foundations and show it to the local council. am I right ?


In addition, Can i do walls of second storey with timbers?


thanks

Davesnave

Yes, in order to satisfy building control, you would need to expose the existing foundations, maybe at several points, and possibly produce a structural engineer's report on them too.

However before you do any of that, it might be sensible to apply for planning permission, because there is no guarantee that what you have in mind will be allowed from a planning perspective.

Whether you can do the upper storey in timber depends partly on what you mean by this. If you mean timber frame, that could be clad with something else. e.g tiles. to comply with local building vernacular. If you mean with a boarded finish. e.g. waney edge boards, that would depend upon what your planning department thought of that.

For example, in my area, a friend was allowed a boarded finish in a rendered house because it was a rear extension, unseen from the road. The same council has just refused a similar plan on a barn conversion because it was so large and visible that it would change the whole look of the property.

So, in simple terms, try to run what you propose past planning first. If you just want to check the foundations you have already, then digging a hole costs nothing, except time and energy.

Doozergirl

If the previous extension has building control approval then they can just check the records. No need to dig.

Also, even if you do dig, you only have to dig two or three trial holes, not around the whole building! It's a structural engineer that should assess the load and whether the foundations are strong enough or how they should be reinforced.