Groundwork & Foundations

Foundations of garage close to house

Anonymous user 03/03/2024 - 3.03 PM

I would like to build a new garage next to my house (the current garage is in the top right hand corner of my garden but is in need of demolition) this will open up my garden giving me a much larger garden. I'm fortunate enough to be able to build the new garage whilst the old one still stands. I would like to build the finished garage walls 1mtr alongside the existing house, this would create a 1mtr wide passageway approx 3 metres long along the side of my home. I've heard that I'm not allowed to dig foundations within 1mtr of the house as my trench would be 800mm from the house foundations. Clay and sand is the subsoil, also the house has pyramid foundations as the house was built in 1908, the gable end is massive in height. I could build the new garage further back but I'll need to demolish the old garage first. What would you suggest? I don't want to create any movement in the house foundations, I also have a sycamore tree in the back garden, which has been kept under control but the roots are quite big, so much so that I've uncovered a root in the old garage floor. Hope you can help. I'm digging and building it myself. I will of course be speaking to my building officer when the plans go in, I just need to know which garage to go for, the original 1 metre from the house one or the further back one. What I don't want to do is dig the trench alongside the house and have to dig lower than the house foundations, I would like the build to be safe as possible. Many Thanks