I have a room in the basement, kind of like a root cellar, about 12-14 square meters (130-150 square feet). It’s all unfinished, and I’d like to set up a sort of workshop there. My next step would be to plaster the walls to make it feel a bit more cozy. The tricky part is the floor: the slab in the middle is split. On the left side, there’s a concrete slab, but on the right side, there’s just bare earth. I’m not sure why the previous owner did it that way. I want to level and fill the half with the bare earth to match the concrete slab. How should I approach the construction sequence? Should I dig out to the level of the slab, install a waterproof membrane (like a bituminous sheet) in the earth-contact area to protect against potential hydrostatic pressure, and then fill it with a concrete screed up to the slab height?
Thanks for your help.
Thanks for your help.
Peter Silie schrieb:
You guys are quite the jokers
I want to close the hole, come on, I need help. No, you actually need help to overcome your misguided idea of closing the hole. It’s better to build just an isolated slab foundation beneath the workbench.
Peter Silie schrieb:
A floor in direct contact with the ground doesn’t belong in a basement. A little tip from Auric Goldfinger: when gilding a person, a spot on the back must be left uncovered – apply this concept accordingly to a potato cellar.
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In the past, there was always an area in the basement without a concrete slab. Initially, these were entire rooms, later half rooms, and from the 1970s to the 1980s only 2 to 3 m² (22 to 32 ft²) of a room. This prevented carrots, potatoes, apples, etc. from drying out.
A family we know wanted to remove the earth floor just like you. An experienced mason advised them not to use concrete, but to place wooden beams at 1 m (3.3 ft) intervals on the ground and then cover them crosswise with thick wooden boards, leveling them to the height of the rest of the screed. Tiny longitudinal gaps for air exchange were to remain. They did this 10 years ago and have been very satisfied with the result.
Apparently, the wood can last 30 years or more without any problems.
A family we know wanted to remove the earth floor just like you. An experienced mason advised them not to use concrete, but to place wooden beams at 1 m (3.3 ft) intervals on the ground and then cover them crosswise with thick wooden boards, leveling them to the height of the rest of the screed. Tiny longitudinal gaps for air exchange were to remain. They did this 10 years ago and have been very satisfied with the result.
Apparently, the wood can last 30 years or more without any problems.
P
Peter Silie13 Aug 2020 07:17During heavy rain, water once seeped through, causing a large puddle in the potato cellar, which I obviously want to avoid in the future. Assuming I close the hole, is this something a structural engineer should handle?
I would excavate the soil down to the underside of the floor slab, create a layer of crushed stone, extend a waterproof membrane (like a kind of tub) upwards, and then fill back up to the top edge of the floor slab with concrete/screed.
I would excavate the soil down to the underside of the floor slab, create a layer of crushed stone, extend a waterproof membrane (like a kind of tub) upwards, and then fill back up to the top edge of the floor slab with concrete/screed.
Peter Silie schrieb:
During heavy rain, water once seeped through, causing a large puddle in the potato cellar, which I definitely want to prevent in the future. If I close the hole, is this something the structural engineer should handle?Can a structural engineer help against stubbornness? Well, what do you think happens to pressure if you seal a pressure relief valve? Let’s just play dumb for a moment...https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
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N
nordanney13 Aug 2020 15:3711ant schrieb:
- let's ask ourselves very simply ...Mmmmhhhh. I’ll give it a try...a) Could the water possibly find another way into the house if the potato cellar is completely sealed off?
b) Or does it flow around the house, since water is clever and knows it can’t enter the potato cellar anymore?
c) Can the original poster just drive a pipe with a tap directly into the ground next to the house wall, and the water will simply bubble out there?
P
Peter Silie13 Aug 2020 21:40nordanney schrieb:
Mmmmhhhh. Let me give it a try...
a) Could the water find another way into the house if the root cellar is completely sealed off?
b) Or does it flow around the house because water is clever and knows it can no longer enter the root cellar?
c) Can the original poster just drive a pipe with a tap directly into the ground next to the house wall, and then the water will simply flow out there?Okay, you have no idea, you should just say so.
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