Basement Construction

Building Construction Rishad Netarwala | 22

A basement is one or more floors of a building that are either completely or partially below maximum adjacent ground level. Basements are typically used as a utility space for a building where such items as the boilers, water heater, car park, and air-conditioning system are located; amenities such as the electrical distribution system, and cable television distribution point also may be derived out of the basement as well.

Types of BasementsA) Based on Depth1. Shallow Basements 2. Deep Basements B) Based on Design 1. Day light Basement/ Walk out Basement (used on sloped sites) 2. Lookout Basement 3. Walk up Basement 4. Cellar 5. Crawl Space

Design
The structural walls of a basement are retaining walls which have to offer resistance to the soil and ground water pressures as well as assisting to transmit the superstructure loads to the foundations

Retaining Walls
The basic function of a retaining wall is to retain soil at a slope which is greater than it would naturally assume, usually at a vertical or near vertical position. The natural slope taken up by any soil is called its angle of repose and is measured in relation to the horizontal. Angles of repose for different soils range from 45 degrees to near 0 degrees for wet clays but for most soils an average angle of 30 degrees is usually taken. It is the wedge of soil resting on this upper plane of the angle of repose which a retaining wall has to support. The design of the retaining wall is basically concerned with the lateral pressures of retained soil and any subsoil water. It must be designed to ensure: 1. Overturning does not occur. 2. Sliding does not occur 3. The soil on which the wall rests is not overloaded. 4. The materials used in construction are not overstressed.

The following factors of the soil are to be taken into account: 1. Nature and type of soil. 2. Height of water table 3. Subsoil water movements. 4. Type of wall. 5. Materials used in the construction of the wall.

Earth Pressures Active Earth Pressure

Active earth pressures are those which at all times are tending to overturn the retaining wall and is composed of the earth wedge being retained together with any hydrostatic pressure caused by the presence of ground water. This can be reduced by the use of subsoil drainage behind the wall or by inserting drainage openings called weep holes through the thickness of the stem enabling the water to drain away

Passive Earth Pressure

Passive earth pressures are reactionary pressures which will react in the form of a resistance to movement of the wall. If the wall tends to moves forward the earth in front of the toe will be compressed and a reaction in the form of passive pressure will build up in front of the toe to counteract the forward movement. This pressure can be increased by enlarging the depth of the toe or by forming a rib on the underside of the base.

Stability
Applied Loads: Soil and water pressure on the back of the wall; the mass of the wall. Induced Loads: Ground pressure under the base, the passive pressure at the toe and the friction between the underside of the base and the soil. Effects of Water It will increase the pressure on the back of the wall and by reducing soil shear strength it can reduce the safe bearing capacity of the soil; it can reduce the frictional resistance between the base and soil and reduce possible passive pressure in front of the wall. Slip Circle Failure This is a failure sometimes encountered by retaining walls in clay soils particularly if there is a heavy surcharge. It takes the form of rotational movement of the soil and wall along a circular arc resulting in a tilting and forward movement of the wall. Further movement can be prevented by driving sheet piles into the ground in front of the toe.

Types of Retaining Walls

1.Mass Retaining Walls 2.Cantilever Walls 3.Counterfort Retaining Walls 4.Precast Concrete Retaining Walls 5.Precast Concrete Crib Retaining Walls

1.Mass Retaining Walls

Types of Retaining Walls

2. Cantilever Walls

Types of Walls

3.Counterfort Retaining Walls

Types of Walls

4. Precast Concrete Retaining Wall

Different Methods of Waterproofing

1.Monolithic Structures These are basements of dense reinforced concrete using impervious aggregates for the walls and floor to form the barrier to water penetration. Shrinkage cracking can largely be controlled by forming construction joints at regular intervals. These joints should provide continuity of reinforcement and by the incorporation of a PVC or rubber water bar, a barrier to the passage of water. 2.Drained Cavities Provides a barrier for moisture penetration of basements by allowing any moisture which has passed through the structural wall to drain down within a cavity formed between the inner face of the structural wall and in inner non-load bearing wall. This internal wall is built of a floor covering of special triangular precast concrete tiles which allows the moisture, from the cavity, to flow away under the tiles to a sump where it is discharged into the drainage system. 3.Membranes A relatively thin material placed either on the external or internal face of the basement wall or floor to provide the resistance to the passage of moisture to the inside of the basement.