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Groundwork & Foundations

How to find out footings/foundations information for extension?

Anonymous user 23/02/2024 - 3.34 PM

Hi. I'm buying a house but the current vendors say they don't have any documentation on the single storey extension they have at the rear of the property. They bought the house in 2013 and said it was built before they moved in by previous vendors. I want to buy the house on the premise I could create a double storey extension above but without any documentation or building certification, I'm unsure if this would be possible. How much would it cost to get someone to find this out and if the foundations aren't strong enough, what's the best solution and worst outcome to be able to extend? Also, I can't find the plans on the council's website - could this mean they didn't get planning permission or is there a chance they wouldn't have needed it? I'm pretty sure it was built after 1990 which is when documents date back to so surely there should be a record of it? It measures 3.5m x 6m. Thanks.

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4 Answers

Anonymous user

By the sounds of it there was no planning permission if you cannot find a record. I would tear down and start again
Answered3 September 2020
0

Lee Davidson RIBA

Rating: 4.7 out of 5
Salisbury
The extension may well have been built under Permitted Development, but its Planning legality is a separate concern to your question. You want to know, why there is no Certificate of Building Control compliance of the works that were carried out. With or without these you still need a structural Engineer to examine trial pits and confirm if the existing foundations are sufficient for the additional storey extension you have in mind. I hope this helps. Feel free to get in touch to discuss further Lee Davidson RIBA
Answered8 September 2020
0

Anonymous user

I would agree with, Lee’s, answer above. Maybe do some investigation to see if it would be up to build regs ie how well insulated, correct materials used and such and if not how far off to correct the issues and dig trial holes to determine the size and suitability of the current foundations. If we can help in anyway going forward please feel free to contact and all the best going forward. Regards Dan
Answered13 September 2020
0

Anonymous user

Dig trial holes to see how deep the footings are first and check with building control if you can build 2 storeys on them at the trial depth
Answered15 September 2020
0