Browse Forums Building Standards; Getting It Right! 1 Mar 10, 2015 9:33 pm Hi Everyone, We are currently building our house at the moment and just got the slab done last week. Very excited so far!! However, I just realise that part of the slab which is on the boundary will be left exposed because the neighboor doesn't want to fill the soil up. It's about 400 to 500mm height. Photo attached: Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Normally, if it is not on the boundary, then people will fill the soil up and do paving along the slab right? But my case is a bit tricky, has anyone had this problem before? Is it Ok to leave it exposed like that, apparently the neighboor is growing his garden next to it. Any advice is welcome and greatly appreciated. Thanks, Andrew. Re: Foundation Concrete Exposed 2Mar 12, 2015 12:41 am Wow, if you're on highly reactive soil the fact that your neighbour can grow a garden beside your unprotected slab can be in detriment to the integrity of your slab and may result in heave! Re: Foundation Concrete Exposed 4Mar 12, 2015 2:27 pm I can't see how the neighbour could be liable, he's on his property and by the looks of it was there 1st. Not his fault that his neighbour decided to build their house right on the boundary, thereby not allowing the proper space to combat slab heave. Re: Foundation Concrete Exposed 5Mar 13, 2015 9:17 am If that is your cut side, then that was your neighbour's fill side. But since he has already built, he doesn't need to do anything else. Are you not retaining that cut side? Re: Foundation Concrete Exposed 6Mar 13, 2015 9:37 am Will the neighbour agree on a retaining wall boundary for your fence to sit on? Maybe you can split some of the costs with them. Will cost more but at least it looks better for your side. Building with Jandson Homes - Eclipse 18. http://adgnetworks.blogspot.com/ Re: Foundation Concrete Exposed 7Mar 13, 2015 10:09 am Is your slab is sitting on the ground on the boundary (sorry the photos arent all that clear)? You might have problems if the boundary footings/wall is exposed and if there is a garden or drains adjacent? What do your approved site plans show? Designer,Engineer (Civil,Const & Envir),Builder,Concrete & Masonry Contract.Struct Repairs Re: Foundation Concrete Exposed 8Mar 13, 2015 10:34 pm Quote: Wow, if you're on highly reactive soil the fact that your neighbour can grow a garden beside your unprotected slab can be in detriment to the integrity of your slab and may result in heave! Thanks for your comment. I emailed the engineer who designed the slab and told them my concerns. The engineer said the design has already taken into account the effect of adjacent trees and gardens to cover the soil suction changes. My footing is a 1200mm deep which according to the engineer is the maximum footing size they have gone for. I just hope the neighbour won't be into gardening much Re: Foundation Concrete Exposed 9Mar 13, 2015 10:37 pm adgn Will the neighbour agree on a retaining wall boundary for your fence to sit on? Maybe you can split some of the costs with them. Will cost more but at least it looks better for your side. The engineer report requires some plinths, at least about 400-500mm beneath fencing so I think that is what we are going to do. Re: Foundation Concrete Exposed 10Mar 13, 2015 10:42 pm StructuralBIMGuy Is your slab is sitting on the ground on the boundary (sorry the photos arent all that clear)? You might have problems if the boundary footings/wall is exposed and if there is a garden or drains adjacent? What do your approved site plans show? Yes, it is on the boundary. The engineer assured me that they have taken into account the effect of trees which is why they designed our footing with 1200mm depth. They also said because we are not in a corrosive environment, exposing concrete like this is fine. Whereabout in the approved site plans would mention about this matter? Thanks. Re: Foundation Concrete Exposed 11Mar 14, 2015 10:31 am Hi Andrew If you would like me to take a quick look please leave a PM Designer,Engineer (Civil,Const & Envir),Builder,Concrete & Masonry Contract.Struct Repairs Re: Foundation Concrete Exposed 12Mar 15, 2015 9:29 am If the photo is anything to go by, it looks like your land is slopping towards your neighbour, is that correct? 1. Surely your neighbour will not fill up their land, why would they? if you decided to fill up this part of land, it's your responsibility for the retaining wall. And unless it is a significant slop I wouldn't even want a retaining wall at all, Just grade the soil away from your house. 2. According to your engineer, the footing in this side is 1200mm and there is about 400-500mm exposed, that means about 700mm is under the soil. While I won't call it the root barrier, it is still a fair bit of footing under ground, I would be very happy to have that. Also depends on the species of the trees your neighbour have on the boundary (are they Lilli-pillies, Citrous?), they may not have significant impact on the foundation, I would be more worried about the big trees in the background of the photo. 3. Exposed concrete footing is not an issue, as long as the edge beam is under ground. In fact it is ideal to have the concrete edge exposed according to Building-Expert and some other publications I read somewhere else. One of the advantage is making it harder for termites to invade your house, as termites need to build a mud tunnel on the exposed concrete, and you can easily spot it. I've watched a fair bit of reno shows from USA and UK, most of the house have exposed concrete footing to almost a foot high and the cladding (or siding as Americans call it) never touch the ground, I think it makes a lot of sense. Built: Modified H3nl3y S0h0 Q1 in Melbourne :- Never again Last year I had a gas leak at my house. 3 days later, I have about 1 sqm of my exposed aggregate paving broken up. I am not sure how to go about getting it repaired… 0 8103 Brake and Parts cleaner can potentially cause damage to an exposed aggregate driveway due to its chemical composition, which… 2 11028 Building Standards; Getting It Right! Hi all, My neighbour has built his 15m long garage on our boundary. It was agreed as part of the planning permit that the wall must be in exposed recycled brick. For some… 0 7199 |