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Hey all,
After a bit of advice. I live in a semi detatched house. Next door have had a small extension built onto the back, extending their kitchen. Around 2-3 meters from the back of the property. The extension comes about 10 inches from our fence line as it meets the house.
The builders have dug down for the foundations which has left a trench approx. a foot deep between the end of the new building and our fence line. You can see the gap under the fence. This means our patio stops at the fence, then the trench starts. You can also see where they have cut through the roots of a plant we have next to the house.
The wife and I were concerned that over time, the exposed ground under the patio would slowly erode away, then we would have some level of subsidence with the patio and it would eventually fall away. We raised this with the neighbour, and he has spoken to the builders.
The builders suggested that the fence was poorly installed (its a 7 year old new build, but havent had any issues with the build thus far) and it should have 'gravel boards' which should be sunk into the ground to stop this. From what i can see, a gravel board isnt sunk into the ground and is just used as a barrier to stop the fence panels rotting prematurely?
The builders have agreed to fill the trench with some gravel. We are happy enough with this.... assuming it will do the job?!
So having said all that.... are we worrying about nothing, will the trench being filled be hardy enough to stop any futures issues or do we need to raise concerns?
Any help or feedback is much appreciated.... before they saddle up and disappear into the sunset.
I appreciate a photo would help, but i dont currently have any!
ThanksÂ
The wife and I were concerned that over time, the exposed ground under the patio would slowly erode away, then we would have some level of subsidence with the patio and it would eventually fall away.
Into a trench that's 12" deep - doubtful.
But i'd ask them to fill it anyway although from your POV soil would be better than gravel as the latter doesn't really pack down.. TBH I'm surprised they've even left it as it is.
You have a right to support from your neighbour's land. Your fence is adequate for your purposes so it is not for them or their builder to find fault with it. A foot deep trench filled with gravel should be fine though, although concrete would be better.
Not sure about the correct course of action, but you are correct about the gravel boards. They just go down at ground level for the fence to sit-on. I have seen deeper gravel boards sunk into the ground for some of their depth, but that wouldn't be a solution to what I think you are describing.
Gravel will fill the trench but as it is not 'fixed' it can just move around & doesn't provide a great deal of support.
I would expect as a bare minimum they should fill with MOT type 1 harcdcore base, bash it down a bit & then perhaps top it with some gravel.
We had a similar thing down the side of our house from our extension - when the builder was getting round to 'finishing up' I think he just wanted to get onto the next job and all of the 'little jobs' that he kept telling me were going to get done, kept getting conveniently forgotten.
The remaining trench next to the new wall where the foundation was laid, ran down our side alley - it was perhaps 5" deep and was a pain in the arse as the wheelie bin wheels would fall into it when dragging them round to the front.
I mentioned it to them and after initially saying that's not our job to sort out, he relented & said he was going to lay some concrete to fill it & top with gravel. In the end (because he turned out to be a bit of a ****) he just filled it with loose gravel. It moves around with any weight on it & still needs sorting. I'm going to do it in the next few months.
The gravel would not be able to resist any movement of the ground underneath your patio, although it might slow down any erosion I suppose.
Like I say, I would want it filling with hardcore as a bare minimum, whacking it down & then topping with gravel.
