Anybody help with this one?
I'm trying to formulate some kind of idea of when mass concrete foundations for 'ordinary' (ie two-storey suburban) houses came in to general use in the UK.
The house I live in was built in 1906 in London (on clay) and has four diminishing brick courses built off a 6" concrete base ie a total foundation depth around 450mm/18". By modern standards, it sounds pitifully inadequate (although it has worked fine so far).
When I extended the house recently, I had to put in 1800mm (about 6') mass concrete foundations.
Question is: at what point did mass concrete foundations replace the old bricks-off-the-subsoil approach? And what original guidance (either British Standards/Building Regs/insurance requirements) prompted it?