House extension query

[vinco555]

Hi,
Im new to this site, so any help will be much appreciated, I am in the middle of getting prices for a single storey extension to the back of my semi detatached house, it will be 21.5 ft x 16ft wide, but I am worried about the roof as I dont have the much height until I meet the upstairs windows. I measured it myself roughly (im no builder Grin), and what i can see is the roof will have about a 1 meter drop over a 5 meter width (lean to roof), and I think the angle would be about the same if i went for a a style roof.

Does any one know if this would be enough of a degree of fall so that I will have no problems with damp or any other type of problem. I had a couple of builders up looking at job, 1 said no problem and the other said no way. so dont really know what to do.

Also was thinking of building 1200mm wall around garden and leveling the whole thing off ( very uneven ground). My ground is filled with muck (not blue stuff), I got a digger man in and we dug down about 4ft and was still very soft, so can anyone tell me about floating foundation or are you better/cheaper digging down to you hit hard ground for wall aswell as extension foundation.

If anyone can help, your advice would be much appreciated.


thanks

vinnie

[spoil_sport]

Flat roof? (And please don't say: "but they always leak..." they only leaf if installed by morons)

[dermot_trellis]

You could maybe have a look at going for a standing metal seam finish (zinc or alumnimum for example) on the roof as opposed to tiling as those are suitable for shallow slopes.

[Pot Noodle]

You must go down to your existing house foundation's ,You could go for a hipped roof with a valley that abuts your house [expensive option] flat roof Asphalt with parapet ,Lean too you can use slates but will have to have extra coverage 150mm/190mm make sure you put plenty of roof lights in you can never have enough natural light. Hope this helps

[vinco555]

Thanks very much for all your advice, ill have another word with my builder and maybe ill be back looking for more advice. If not ill let you know how I got on.


cheers again


vinnie

[Pot Noodle]

Dont pay full amount until you get the work checked,I would advise an Engineer or Architect to check it out its worth it in the long run,should get some good deals at the present

[irishguy]

Originally Posted by dermot_trellis

You could maybe have a look at going for a standing metal seam finish (zinc or alumnimum for example) on the roof as opposed to tiling as those are suitable for shallow slopes.

Can you use this finish on a flat roof? If not what would be the best finish for a flat roof?

[Max Luthor]

Is this a joke?

Employ an architect and a structural engineer

[Pot Noodle]

Originally Posted by Max Luthor

Is this a joke?

Employ an architect and a structural engineer

Why would it be a joke Moneys tight

[kceire]

Originally Posted by Pot Noodle

Why would it be a joke Moneys tight

money be even tighter if it is not built correctly and you have to carry out further work a year later to fix! your checking off vital stages like foundations and roof details based on comments on an internet forum, which is not a great idea imo.

you can employ an independant engineer or architect to check over the project with site visits every week or 2 weeks and it wont cost you an arm and a leg either!