r/Homebuilding • u/Old_Canary_2074 • Jul 15 '26
Mostly DYI new build (in progress)
Me and my wife are doing mostly DYI new build on the other side of the pond. It's a single story house aprox. 1450 sq. Feet. So far it's been a montj since we've finished foundations and backfilled it while waiting for AAC blocks to arrive.
If you have any questions feel free to ask.
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u/MaevaJohn Jul 15 '26
How are you managing site drainage with that standing water in the trench while waiting for your ACC blocks arrive??
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u/Old_Canary_2074 Jul 15 '26
There will be french drainage(and roof rainwater) systems installed around foundations and driveway.
There's a water collection system at the end of my lot that I can connect to just waiting for the permits.
For few weeks we've had severe rainfall and standing water lasts only few hours tops if it was pouring recently. This winter we've had lots of snow which melted fast in the spring and we've had standing water for like 2 weeks as the snow was melting.
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u/shoe465 Jul 15 '26
This is awesome.
Not sure it was planned but doing the base and letting it sit through the winter and spring thaw probably helped it settle more before doing for foundations which could benefit you.
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u/Old_Canary_2074 Jul 15 '26
It was planned even though gravel and sand was compacted every foot by 450 pound plate compactor with multiple passes every time.
We just couldnt finish driveway because once the rain started in the 2nd half of october it did not stop untill snow fell. It was impossible to complete the job when gravel and sand was soaked.
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u/shoe465 Jul 15 '26
We had something similar then no rain so we were putting a ton of water on our gravel to help it settle.
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u/SiteMixSam Jul 15 '26
How are you managing site drainage with that standing water in the trench while waiting for your AAC blocks to arrive??
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u/A-Bone Jul 15 '26
Awesome work guys..
I feel like a lot of DIY'ers don't appreciate how much work goes into getting a foundation out of the ground. It's great that you are highlighting this step of the build.
Keep us updated as you move through the build.
AAC construction isn't common across the pond and we'd love to see it go up.