ᐅ Building a Living or Hobby Basement Underground – What to Consider?
Created on: 3 Jan 2018 10:43
A
abc12345
Hello everyone,
We are currently planning our outdoor area and want to build a hobby room underground.
On top of it, there will be a layer of soil so grass and flowers can grow, as well as a garden shed that will be used as a sauna.
The room should be completely embedded in the ground and covered with soil.
The dimensions are planned to be 4x5 meters or 4x6 meters. Heating and electricity will be supplied from the main house, which is not a problem.
My question is what should be considered here. I want to build it myself and I am quite handy.
So I have some basic questions like:
Thickness of the base slab?
30 cm (12 inches) masonry with hollow concrete blocks, or other materials/thickness?
Waterproofing on all sides against cold and moisture?
How to build the ceiling?
Entrance maybe next to the sauna?
Light should come into the room through a wide window with a light well, or on the opposite side, underwater in the adjacent pond through a glass panel.
I hope you can provide information, help, and tips to make this project possible.
I have already looked online without success for similar projects but found nothing. Unfortunately, I only find information about underground cellars for storing fruits and vegetables.
Attached is an amateur sketch to illustrate the whole idea.
Best regards
We are currently planning our outdoor area and want to build a hobby room underground.
On top of it, there will be a layer of soil so grass and flowers can grow, as well as a garden shed that will be used as a sauna.
The room should be completely embedded in the ground and covered with soil.
The dimensions are planned to be 4x5 meters or 4x6 meters. Heating and electricity will be supplied from the main house, which is not a problem.
My question is what should be considered here. I want to build it myself and I am quite handy.
So I have some basic questions like:
Thickness of the base slab?
30 cm (12 inches) masonry with hollow concrete blocks, or other materials/thickness?
Waterproofing on all sides against cold and moisture?
How to build the ceiling?
Entrance maybe next to the sauna?
Light should come into the room through a wide window with a light well, or on the opposite side, underwater in the adjacent pond through a glass panel.
I hope you can provide information, help, and tips to make this project possible.
I have already looked online without success for similar projects but found nothing. Unfortunately, I only find information about underground cellars for storing fruits and vegetables.
Attached is an amateur sketch to illustrate the whole idea.
Best regards
Hello Webmaster-uk
I have been working on a similar project myself for 2 years and am close to completion.
It’s called a climate cellar! Size approximately (exterior dimensions) 480cm x 430cm (15.7 ft x 14.1 ft). I removed 13 containers of about 10m² (108 sq ft) each. That puts us at roughly 4,000 euros. In the pit, I concreted curbstones (100 x 25 x 5 cm) (39 x 10 x 2 inches) upright as the perimeter and formwork for the floor slab. On the ground, I laid overlapping dimpled membrane sheets. The floor slab is made of fiber-reinforced waterproof concrete, 30 cm (12 inches) thick. The walls are made of 30 cm (12 inches) concrete formwork blocks. I laid the first row of these blocks flat in mortar. Then I drilled a hole (diameter 14 mm (0.55 inches)) in the middle of each block and inserted vertical 14 mm (0.55 inches) reinforcing bars, each 1 meter (3.3 ft) long. Three blocks high, each filled with concrete mixed 1:3. Don’t forget to place horizontal 8 mm (0.31 inches) reinforcing bars in every row of blocks. Repeat this vertically and horizontally all the way to the top. Here the rule is: more is better. At the top, a ring beam and now I am forming the ceiling. I am installing reinforcement according to the structural engineer’s plan. Concrete about 30 cm (12 inches). For waterproofing: thick bitumen coating, then 5 cm (2 inches) rigid polystyrene insulation and another layer of dimpled membrane before that.
I filled the space between the wall and curbstones with gravel, and between the curbstone and the earth with RCL (road base). Always compact well. I extended the curbstones all the way to the top (over 3 meters (10 ft) high).
I wouldn’t do it without a permit. Such a cellar is easily approvable. A structural engineer is necessary.
I’m doing this myself for fun. Hiring someone would be more expensive than you can pay. But I think I’ll get by with about 10,000 euros.
If you have questions, feel free to ask me by private message.
Steven
I have been working on a similar project myself for 2 years and am close to completion.
It’s called a climate cellar! Size approximately (exterior dimensions) 480cm x 430cm (15.7 ft x 14.1 ft). I removed 13 containers of about 10m² (108 sq ft) each. That puts us at roughly 4,000 euros. In the pit, I concreted curbstones (100 x 25 x 5 cm) (39 x 10 x 2 inches) upright as the perimeter and formwork for the floor slab. On the ground, I laid overlapping dimpled membrane sheets. The floor slab is made of fiber-reinforced waterproof concrete, 30 cm (12 inches) thick. The walls are made of 30 cm (12 inches) concrete formwork blocks. I laid the first row of these blocks flat in mortar. Then I drilled a hole (diameter 14 mm (0.55 inches)) in the middle of each block and inserted vertical 14 mm (0.55 inches) reinforcing bars, each 1 meter (3.3 ft) long. Three blocks high, each filled with concrete mixed 1:3. Don’t forget to place horizontal 8 mm (0.31 inches) reinforcing bars in every row of blocks. Repeat this vertically and horizontally all the way to the top. Here the rule is: more is better. At the top, a ring beam and now I am forming the ceiling. I am installing reinforcement according to the structural engineer’s plan. Concrete about 30 cm (12 inches). For waterproofing: thick bitumen coating, then 5 cm (2 inches) rigid polystyrene insulation and another layer of dimpled membrane before that.
I filled the space between the wall and curbstones with gravel, and between the curbstone and the earth with RCL (road base). Always compact well. I extended the curbstones all the way to the top (over 3 meters (10 ft) high).
I wouldn’t do it without a permit. Such a cellar is easily approvable. A structural engineer is necessary.
I’m doing this myself for fun. Hiring someone would be more expensive than you can pay. But I think I’ll get by with about 10,000 euros.
If you have questions, feel free to ask me by private message.
Steven
ypg schrieb:
Why underground though? It’s much more complicated than a garden shed. I always think of stories like Kampusch when someone plans something underground...on top of that, you have living space across four floors. Isn’t there room for a hobby area somewhere? Considering the conditions... sloped site, drainage, etc... I wouldn’t dare to take that on at all, especially if the expected price implies a DIY project without steel or similar—it just sounds unpleasant.
Anyway: it will never be approved as a living space.
B
Bieber08153 Jan 2018 17:19Webmaster-uk schrieb:
So I’m not expecting structural engineering or anything like that here, but tips, help, and support with planning the individual steps and thought processes.The remark was just to point out that you do need structural calculations.Webmaster-uk schrieb:
It’s only about a room of 20sqm (215 sq ft) Costs don’t necessarily scale down directly with the area.Steven schrieb:
A basement like that is easily approvable.Regardless of floor area ratio and such things? (Honest question, I have no knowledge about the approval aspects of this idea.)Similar topics