The next step in this rather drawn out process was to get some architectural building regulations drawings in place (you can read the previous post here). Due to holidays and other appointments with the architects this would take another month.
I’ll be honest, I got a bit peeved at this point and began to lose patience. There was almost no reason our planning wouldn’t go through and towards the end of the application period I would’ve thought these drawings would have already been started. The architects knew we wanted to get things moving along ASAP as we wanted work to start ahead of Milo’s arrival, but it seemed like the more we pushed to get people to pull fingers out of back sides, the longer it took.
The building regulations tasks were as follows:
- Visit site in order to determine the existing foundation depth and profile together with an assessment of the underlying soils. At the same time we would need to determine the direction of spans of the existing first floor and associated roof where the existing building is to be opened up to the new extension.
This was fine, but my logic kept questioning why this wasn’t done before our planning application was permitted? Had the above measurements not been suitable, we would’ve not been able to build, which means we would’ve wasted money on the application.
- Prepare structural calculations for:
- The new extension roof structure – oak trusses were discussed.
- A new steel beam/lintel across the rear of the existing kitchen and associated bearings.
- Steel frame to new bi-fold door opening
- Any associated minor structural items potentially required.
As you’ll see in some of the photos in the coming posts we had a LOT of steel work that went into this extension. Due to the ceilings being vaulted and having a large bi-fold door, we really needed to ensure that everything was structurally sound.
- Prepare general arrangement drawings, together with details and sections as appropriate, sufficient for Building Regulations purposes. All of this information to be issued to Building Control and us to ensure a single point of contact.
The architect sent us an image of the kind of look they’d be trying to achieve with our own extension:
In July, the soil excavation tests were finally carried out to determine the loading bearing capabilities of the soil. We already knew it wouldn’t be a problem since next door had extended in years previous, and a big housing development had been built relatively close by, but the architects were insistent this happened. It all seemed a bit overkill to me.
A trial hole was dug which allowed the architects to provide recommendations on foundation type and the ground floor structure that would be suitable for the proposed extension. We knew any new foundations would have to be deep and we also had to account for a soak away. We’d also have to have a deeper and wider foundation for the log burner chimney breast to sit on as it would also be a load bearing wall for some of the steelwork.
All we had to do now was wait for this to go through Building Control and ensure we got everything right before work commenced. As it turns out the Building Regulation officer had some queries which the architect was able to respond to quite quickly – mostly surrounding the log burner and the flue which would come out of the roof. Luckily, the builder we’d chosen was really hands on and was also able to assist with the enquiry to try and chivvy it along.
I was really keen to get things moving at this point as I was less than a month away from giving birth and knew if things kept getting delayed we’d be entering territory we’d rather stay out of. And then October came.