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Original poster

Are builders/developers allowed to do this?

40 replies

BooseysMom · 26/08/2021 11:54

We have a new-build house and a back garden which is mostly filled in with stone and cement. There is about a foot of top soil and the rest is grey stone which is impossible to penetrate without a digger.
My question is are builders/developers actually allowed to hide all the crap they don't need underneath someone's back garden? ! It is going to be very costly to remove. I have heard stories that they sell off the top soil as they can make a lot on it. But is there anything that can be done to get the builders back to remove it?
Anyone with similar experiences?
Thanks.

OP posts:

bg21 · 26/08/2021 12:00

yep pretty standard shit build and shit gardens

elscar · 26/08/2021 12:13

Afraid not- we have just moved into a new build and have a landscaper coming to remove all the crap left behind by the builder to then turf it- we have kids around and not taking any chances with what's been left behind!

Wombat96 · 26/08/2021 12:15

Yep, standard. Had the same with a Wimpy house built in the 50s. Endless bricks surfacing...

Original poster

BooseysMom · 26/08/2021 12:42

Thanks for the replies. So it's standard procedure then? There is nothing anyone can do?! Who stands to gain apart from the builders obvs, does the developer get to cash in on the selling-off of the top soil?

We have kids too but can't afford to get a landscaper in. I would have loved to grow veg but not taking any chances to now!

OP posts:

BlueCowWonders · 26/08/2021 12:49

I would have loved to grow veg but not taking any chances to now!

Raised beds is the obvious answer

FiveShelties · 26/08/2021 12:49

You have done very well if you have a foot of topsoil, most new builds have a couple of inches.

Original poster

BooseysMom · 26/08/2021 12:53

Really?! It's probably less than a foot tbh. We can only put in hardy plants, raised beds and use pots. I swear I would never buy another new-build!

OP posts:

MaggieFS · 26/08/2021 14:15

Yep, standard. But I think if there was any topsoil in the first place, it's gone by time any building work starts. More likely it's all just been churned into the mud as the work has progressed. So what you've got will be new (and poor quality) which they bring in and put down as the minimum to get a lawn to sell the place and if it doesn't last longer than that, who cares? Not them!

user1487194234 · 26/08/2021 15:34

One of the many problems with a new build

Blueleah · 26/08/2021 15:37

They take the fertile topsoil and sell it. Then they whack a couple of inches of soil on top of the completed garden, just enough to grow some grass. Not much you can do unfortunately, that’s just what new build houses are like.

Leftbutcameback · 26/08/2021 15:39

You’re lucky if you get a lawn! Most sell that as an “extra”. Mind you the house I grew up on was the same and that was built in the 70s. In terms of it being safe to grow things in the soil if I remember correctly part of the warranty process is that it should be safe for you to grow food in it (if you can of course). Check with NHBC for details

StatisticallyChallenged · 26/08/2021 15:45

I had the builders (well, the external company they've contracted) out today to measure up for replacing all of our turf, front and back, which was laid without proper site prep. We have no topsoil beneath the lawn, just pure clay. So it's struggled to grow (hollow tine aeration has helped) and it's getting bumpier due to the clay. So it will probably all need to be stripped, dug out, and start again.

I think it's specified that you must have a min of 10cm topsoil which isn't much but we don't have that. I have stuff growing but I've put in a lot of compost and manure

PercyWercy · 26/08/2021 21:32

The day we moved into our brand new Redrow we found a very old stained mattress and lots of old shoes on our ‘landscaped’ grounds .

wheresmymojo · 26/08/2021 21:38

Wow. We have a new build and don't have this at all. It was just a field beforehand though...so it's the natural field soil and then topsoil and turf on top of that.

MauveMagnolia · 26/08/2021 22:17

More likely the soil had to be removed for low level contamination than that the top soil was sold

UrbanRambler · 26/08/2021 22:35

I think this has always happened, the builders just concentrate on getting the houses built, then any leftover rubble is buried and/or quickly covered with a thin layer of soil and some turf, just to make it look tidy.

We live in a 1930s bungalow and the lawn was lumpy and uneven, so we decided to remove it and start again from scratch. We dug down about 10 inches and found a lot of rubble, along with broken bottles and all sorts of debris. The top soil was only a couple of inches thick and beneath that was mostly clay, between all the rubble. No wonder our lawn was awful. We removed all the rubble and debris by hand, along with a lot of the clay, then refilled with quality top soil and compost, and grew the lawn from seed. Hard work but it looks 10 times better.

Chumleymouse · 26/08/2021 23:51

It’s not a modern new build practice to bury left over waste on site , people have always done it , I’ve seen al sorts over the years it’s always been cheaper to bury it than pay to have it removed and then pay for more hardcore,soil etc to fill in back in.

Current house was built in 79 ( a self build ) and this is what was under the patio.

Yes that’s a solid bag of cement poking out along with old window frames , kerbstones, tiles. I’m not sure what was there before they built it , but it’s all under the ground behind the house.

It was easier to dig bricks / rubble out ,than solid clay …… was it was a bonus 👍

Are builders/developers allowed to do this?

thereinmadnesslies · 26/08/2021 23:56

Like a PP we also have the builders coming back to replace the top soil and returf - there is an expected minimum amount of topsoil and NHBC will enforce the builders replacing it if it was done incorrectly first time.

Original poster

BooseysMom · 27/08/2021 05:43

Thanks for all the posts. So it's not a new thing to bury rubble, it's actually been going on for decades! That sort of makes me feel a bit better I think!

@Chumleymouse.. that's shocking! I can't get the photo of mine to upload but it's actually not bad compared to that.

@StatisticallyChallenged
We have no topsoil beneath the lawn, just pure clay. So it's struggled to grow..

Like yours, the top soil we have isn't actually a soil you can use to plant but solid clay which gets waterlogged in the winter and solidifies in dry weather. We will have to add tonne of grit to get it to any workable stage.

@wheresmymojo..
Wow. We have a new build and don't have this at all. It was just a field beforehand though...so it's the natural field soil and then topsoil and turf on top of that.

That's actually unbelievable. They must have been the only builders to do this ever!

OP posts:

TroysMammy · 27/08/2021 06:27

My house is ex council built early 60s and last year digging a hole to plant a honeysuckle I came across 2 intact house bricks. Underneath the top soil are loads of stones so I have raised beds for veg. It's been a bugger over the years burying deceased pets.

Original poster

BooseysMom · 27/08/2021 06:53

Wow. We have a new build and don't have this at all. It was just a field beforehand though...so it's the natural field soil and then topsoil and turf on top of that.

Thinking about it, there was green field with clay soil that they developed so it ought to be the same as yours. So where has all the clay soil gone?? They must have sold it! And surely that's theft!? They are stealing the fertile soil!

OP posts:

StatisticallyChallenged · 27/08/2021 06:58

You're probably better adding lots of good compost, well rotted manure and so on. There's a section on ours where they've added grit and once it has mixed in with the clay it has almost set like concrete. We hit it whilst digging a hole for a small tree and it took forever to get through. Far worse than the actual clay.

If it's any comfort we've managed to mostly get our plants to take pretty well. We did a big flower bed at the front - stripped off the turf plus about another 6-8", piled on manure and compost and then rotavated it through. It's mostly thriving now. I still choose plants which are happy in clay though since that's ultimately where the roots go - roses are a particular success here.

Twickerhun · 27/08/2021 07:10

Our house was built in 1890 and the builders did similar to be fair

UtterlyUnimaginativeUsername · 27/08/2021 07:16

They're not stealing the soil unless you bought the site originally.

Sunflowergirl1 · 27/08/2021 09:16

@BooseysMom "I swear I would never buy another new-build!"

Afraid most people who buy currently have the same view. It is so sad that the quality of our building stock is currently so awful.

My friend bought a Bellway which she thought was a quality builder. The list if issues is vast and so much was damaged when she moved in. She booked for carpets and Karndean to be laid after exchange and they refused to lay it because the floor was so bad. Major cracks due to drying so quickly with a thick dust layer which kept coming away. She had to lay to have it treated and a barrier layer put down

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