We’ve been back on site at a footing job we started a few weeks ago, after a brief pause while the client awaited final approval from his structural engineer and original building inspector. The initial plan was straightforward: a footing one metre deep and 600mm wide to support a single-storey timber-framed extension.

Once we’d excavated as specified, we called in the building inspector for the pre-pour check. However, the inspector who turned up was covering for the regular one, and he had a different take. He raised concerns about a sycamore tree located just over nine metres from the build, deciding the footing needed to go down to 2.4 metres.

In such a tight space, this wasn’t a practical solution. Excavating that deep would mean significant extra cost and complexity, including the need for full shoring on all sides to meet safety standards. So, after some back-and-forth with the engineers and inspectors, we settled on an alternative that works structurally and logistically.

The revised plan involves a trench 1.2 metres deep, backfilled with 750mm of primary type 1 aggregate, compacted in layers of 150mm. On top of that, we’ll pour a reinforced concrete ring beam measuring 450mm by 600mm, complete with a rebar cage and a 50mm layer of Claymaster on each side to guard against ground movement.

We’ve already begun fabricating the rebar cages in our workshop.

We’ll share more soon, once the cages are in place and we’re ready to move forward.