Terraces ... and considerations.
The digging took about a week, on and off. The old ruins foundations and some remnants of
the old walls uncovered. Terraces have been dug to form a sound building platform, obviously the main house foundations have to have a good stable area.
Here's the last photo of the digger, I promise. It has made the terraces, and revealed the old stone walls and foundations. And knocked down a neighbours wall.... LOL. Not really; the weight of the digger made the main drive sink a bit, which made the wall to the neighbouring farm collapse. No problems from the neighbour as long as we rebuild it.
My project manager contacted me with a 'slight' problem, as mentioned briefly in the last post: The steepness of the drive in certain areas, especially if access was required to the front of the house (road side). No real issue - just a consideration. The initial suggestion was to raise the house a meter. No problem. I saw Pound and Euro symbols flashing in front of my eyes...
My architect attended the site to look at the issue with the project manager. Fortunately, the digger was still on site and also fortunately, I had asked for any recovered stone to be kept on site for later landscaping. Additionally, the project manager, seeing the forthcoming issue asked that some rocks and topsoil be retained on site should the need arise for infilling. Good job.
It was decided to raise the house by half a meter and lower the area under the front decking by half meter - giving the aforementioned 1m required to smooth things out for the drive access at the front of the house. I think I have got this right - obviously, without being there and seeing it with my own eyes, it is difficult to fully conceptualise the work. But that's why you have professionals on the job, looking after these things!
The upshot of this, in a positive light, is that there will now be a low storage space under the main decking, suitable for a bike, car, outdoor furniture and such. It's not very high, so probably unsuitable as a workshop, unless you are a troglodyte:) But useful non the less. The useful height will need to be ascertained, because it depends what is done with the floor...
Here's a cross-section of the build, now changed to include a low under decking storage area, plenty of storage for chairs, tables, BBQ, bike(s) and even can probably get a car under there. Saves having a storage shed for sure...
This idea now is very much looking like Soren's layout; he also has an area under his decking, as shown in this photograph.
Soren's house during construction - showing the under deck area. He has managed to get full height because of the elevation / topography of his plot.
I was worried about the cost of this adjustment - I needn't have been as the builder has confirmed to the project manager that no extra costs will be incurred (or very little) - saving the rocks and spoil will help with infill and reduce costs. Relief.
Finally, for this up-to-date post, the electricity and water have been supplied to the land. The meter has been put on a post, and the water main just sticks up out of the ground with a tap on it. All very 'wild west', but this is just a temporary location until the retaining walls are rebuilt. Then the meters can be fitted to the wall, in a proper box.
The wonderful aesthetics are a thing to behold. Not available at Ikea. Priceless.
Meanwhile my architect, Ricardo, had supplied me with the full collection of plans, including water, electrics and sewerage. All 62 documents. Wow. A lot of work. One drawing missing was the underfloor heating plan - I'm waiting on this, just for completion and for the builder's guide. Although Ricardo is fully paid off now for the design of the project, he will still be popping along to the site to ensure that all work meets the certification, specification and building regulations.
Simultaneously to all this happening, further certification has now been applied for, that concerns thermo-efficiency and the building certificate and insurance .... Yes, it's a complex process. But this phase if finally in it's closing stages. We are ready for the 'nitty-gritty'. Retaining walls, land preparation (drives) and foundation works. Exciting times ahead.
Next Up ... Rebuilding the Walls
