Your thoughts on my basement plans

[EddieWalker]

I've been struggling with this. The great room will have AC ducts along the opposite wall running through the full length porch roof. The HVA system will be on that same wall. There is no way to get a duct across to the other side without it being visable. The ceiling will be solid wood and foam.

My only though is to see if I can put a pipe in the ground under the slab. I don't like this idea, but I don't know why it wont work.

 

[varmint]

I came late to this party, but I thought I'd ask if you have considered using a split system (or two) for your HVAC needs, since you mention ducting problems? Just askin... Don't know much about Texas, but I do know that tornadoes can be best enjoyed from basements!

 

[MossRoad]

Regarding concrete pools floating.... they float! The theory is they float even better than fiberglass pools because the fiberglass pools crack easier on the way out of the ground while the reinforced concrete pools stay intact longer.

Can Concrete (Gunite) Pools Float? Crazy Pictures

DO GUNITE POOLS FLOAT? SIMPLE ANSWER….YOU BET!

http://www.pegroup.com/publications/Tech-201305.html

Here's a story about an underground storm shelter that floated out of the ground in a flood (fiberglass).
Floating Storm Shelter in Oklahoma Raises Questions about In-Gro - KOAM TV 7

And a story about storm shelters and a concrete pool floating out of the ground in OK.
Flooding Causes Metro Man's Pool To Pop Up Out Of The Ground - News9.com - Oklahoma City, OK - News, Weather, Video and Sports |

Here's one about a storm shelter popping up out of the ground.
http://www.kxii.com/home/headlines/Durant-storm-shelter-pops-out-of-ground-303359611.html
What's interesting about this story is they mention there are some FEMA guidelines for storm shelters. That might be interesting reading. Here's a link to a FEMA site with plans, guidelines, etc... http://www.fema.gov/media-library/assets/documents/2009

As for a house floating on a watertight basement.... can't find a thing about that. Everything I found says every basement has cracks and will leak before the house floats. I guess its different than a gunite pool.

 

[GPintheMitten]

Eddie, I read your post on another thread about economy boost ford trucks where you chose the 5.0 V8 because it was proven technology and the turbo V6 was untried or words to that affect.

You really need to follow best building practices for your foundation. Utilize stone drainage, foundation drains, sub pumps or drain to day light. Either use PWF or concrete but put the appropriate drainage and water proofing in.

Your friends here are indulging you and trying to be supportive. That's nice but several have also advised you in a nicer way than me to not try this in ground pool technique.

 

[grinder71]

Have you thought of using ICF,s for your walls instead of the plywood, they go together like legos and you add the rebar to them as you assemble them. They hold 8in,s of concrete and have 2in,s of styrophom on each side and the plastic ties that hold the blocks together, will hold screws if you plan on sheetrocking out the inside. They also sell a thick rubber membrane that sticks to the outside for waterproofing. I used this when I built my house 9 years ago and haven,t had a leak yet and my soil is clay and rock. Google logixs and it will give you a better idea what i,m talking about, there are a lot of different brands out there but this is the one i used. But I still put in a drain tile around the the inside of the footing and a sump with a lid, have,nt put a pump in it yet but it is there if i ever need it.

Mark

 

[riptides]

....Swimming pools that are done in concrete do not float out of the ground. Fiberglass pools do because of the fill material that goes in around them after they are placed in the ground. This fill material becomes a storage location for water to build up until it floats an empty pool upwards. This is why they fill fiberglass pools as they back fill them.

Concrete pools do float, more so if drainage is an issue.

 

[riptides]

Regarding concrete pools floating.... they float! The theory is they float even better than fiberglass pools because the fiberglass pools crack easier on the way out of the ground while the reinforced concrete pools stay intact longer.

A pool I know, floated out of the ground, four to six inches. Since it was reinforced it remained, intact. We filled it with water to settle it, it cracked in numerous places as it settled in.

Poor drainage around the construction site was root cause.

 

[EddieWalker]

Regarding concrete pools floating.... they float! The theory is they float even better than fiberglass pools because the fiberglass pools crack easier on the way out of the ground while the reinforced concrete pools stay intact longer.

Can Concrete (Gunite) Pools Float? Crazy Pictures

DO GUNITE POOLS FLOAT? SIMPLE ANSWER….YOU BET!

http://www.pegroup.com/publications/Tech-201305.html

Here's a story about an underground storm shelter that floated out of the ground in a flood (fiberglass).
Floating Storm Shelter in Oklahoma Raises Questions about In-Gro - KOAM TV 7

And a story about storm shelters and a concrete pool floating out of the ground in OK.
Flooding Causes Metro Man's Pool To Pop Up Out Of The Ground - News9.com - Oklahoma City, OK - News, Weather, Video and Sports |

Here's one about a storm shelter popping up out of the ground.
http://www.kxii.com/home/headlines/Durant-storm-shelter-pops-out-of-ground-303359611.html
What's interesting about this story is they mention there are some FEMA guidelines for storm shelters. That might be interesting reading. Here's a link to a FEMA site with plans, guidelines, etc... http://www.fema.gov/media-library/assets/documents/2009

As for a house floating on a watertight basement.... can't find a thing about that. Everything I found says every basement has cracks and will leak before the house floats. I guess its different than a gunite pool.

Thank you, that was very interesting!!!!!

 

[BitChin1]

As for a house floating on a watertight basement.... can't find a thing about that. Everything I found says every basement has cracks and will leak before the house floats. I guess its different than a gunite pool. [/QUOTE]

But in this case Eddie is planning to make the concrete watertight with the edpm so it would likely act more like the gunite pool than the cracked concrete foundations.

Eddie you should explore the ICF approach mentioned above - it still needs to be waterproofed, but provides a bit of insulation (to help with condensation) and may simplify form framing (cost is probably a bit more, but if you use less concrete it may be lower overall cost).

Given this is your house and houses need to last a long time (or value goes out the window) they need a strong, solid and DRY foundation - in the end I recommend you pick the construction method that is most likely to get done right and has proven resiliency. do what you can to avoid water getting to the foundation but then provide some means to address/remove the water if/when it does get passed you first levels of defense.

 

[EddieWalker]

Lots of good points and valid arguments against my plan. Knowing my soil and the location is where I'm not too concerned about the floating out of the ground issue. Of course, that also means if I go this route, I'm accepting responsibility for what happens, and will have to deal with it. Besides the just liking my idea, I also wonder if doing it the tried and proven way will give me any greater guarantee of never having any moisture issues? I understand that we tend to only hear about the failures from those who are upset by what has happened, I wonder how many of those basements where done to code and if so, why they failed? Watching Mike Holmes on TV, he does a lot of jobs where basements are leaking. His fix is extremely expensive, and in most of the shows I've seen, somebody cut a corner, or they just didn't do it right. To my knowledge, there are no basement contractors in my part of the world I know of some walk out basements on homes at the lake with water issues, and I feel that most of them are from landscaping and gardens that catch the water and trap it against the foundation. Just heard of another one this morning that flooded from water damming up on the front flower bed.