Groundworks & Foundations

You can’t afford to be complacent about the setting out of foundations – getting it wrong is all too easy. If you end up having to have extra trenches filled with concrete, this means extra cost for you right from the outset.

How to get foundations right

It doesn’t just matter to you that your first steps are correct, it matters to the local planning authority that your home is built in the position shown on the approved plans. Even when dimensions haven’t been specified, planning enforcement officers can scale off the drawings to check that your home is where it should be.

The distances to boundaries and the levels are both important from a planning aspect, because of the issues of overlooking and overshading neighbouring buildings.

You and your builder are the only people who will check the setting out at the start, so take the time to get it spot on. With pegs driven into the corners and chalk lines sprayed on the ground between them, you can start digging the foundation trenches.

Mark the centre line of the foundations to avoid confusion; the wall positions will be set out with pegs and string lines later when the foundations have been concreted.

Foundation types

Trench fill foundation

Preferred by self-builders and by most large-scale operators, trench fill avoids bricklaying below ground.

The concrete is poured to within 150mm of the surface ground level, saving time and trouble.

The sides of the trench play as much a part in supporting the load as the bottom, and so this foundation must only be used in stable ground, where the trench sides are firm and capable of bearing loads.

Clay and chalk soils are ideal for trench fill foundations.

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