While Constructing Basement For Your Home

 

For every work to complete successfully, its basement should be the best. If it’s the case of a home the basement supports the whole building structure. The building will sustain only if foundation is strong enough. The function of a basement is to equally distribute the whole weight of a building to earth. The strength and character of basement purely depends on material used, nature of house plot, soil characteristics, type of soil and total size of home plot.

 

Soil test first

 

Loose soil needs more complex structure. So, conduct a soil test before you construct its basement. It’s always advisable to avoid marshy areas and paddy fields. If you have planned to construct home in hill slope or natural stone area, soil test is not needed.  

 

There is a simple method to know if soil is good for construction or not. Make a pit 3 or 4 feet deep. Then fill the pit with the soil removed from it. If you are able to fill the pit completely with the removed soil, then the soil is enough to support the building. For big commercial constructions and flats, Standard Penetration Test (SPT) is a must.

 

‘Dead load’ is the term used to refer the collective weight of a building. People and furniture come under imposed load, while pressure given by wind on building is termed as ‘wind load’. These three loads combine together to give total load of the building.

 

Foundation as per soil characteristics

 

Basement can be constructed in two ways – shallow foundation and deep foundation. Shallow foundation is used for constructing small buildings on strong soil. It needs only 2 feet height and 2 feet width from the ground level. Expense is comparatively low. It is broadly classified into three types – strip, raft and isolated.

 

When basement is constructed on strong ground small drains are made and PCC bed is constructed. Then granite basement is constructed in 2 feet dimensions. This construction beneath ground level is known as ‘Dry rabble’. To reach above earth’s surface, random rabble is constructed with 1.5 feet dimensions. Plinth belt is constructed on top, on which bricks are placed for walls.

 

Deep foundation is needed if soil is not strong enough to support the structure. It is expensive too. Pillars are constructed in concrete or steel; then soil is deposited on top to increase the strength of the basement. In most cases piling may be needed. Sand piling is done by digging piths at 1.5 feet distance in 4 inch width and 8-10 feet depth. Then it is filled using sand. To give extra strength you can do concrete piling.

 

After piling you can construct foundation as usual. Above foundation, if you use rock sand instead of soil, it resists pests; gives less cost too.   

Article Posted By : Sandhya RanilView All Articles

Take care from the first step itself, so that you can fullfill your dream of dream home without much stress and tensions

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Keywords :
basement for your home , Soil test , concrete piling , sand piling

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