Pro & Con of Basement

[msananthu]

I purchased a 40x60 plot in ISRO layout and planned it's construction this season and the plan sanction approvals are done. Our plan is to do with a Basement floor for car park and future plans of a small company.
People whom I discussed gave mixed opinions of a basement, but none gave me a proper explanation though, for going for it or against it.

Can somebody give me their first hand experiences of a basement floor.

Anantha

[Chida_gs]

Hi,

Let me give some inputs as per my understanding

Pros
1) Open Basement will be useful for multiple Car Parking Option without any constraints like covered Garrage.
2) Open Basement can be used as Childrens play area where kids can play within the compound
3) Open Basement can be extended in Future for Ground Floor House/Servant house/Office
4) Easy for Drainage Cleanage, Sump cleaning, Water connections - Take an example of Apartments

Cons
1) Design/Elevation of Building doesn't look good
2) Cost of Construction will be increased
3) Additional Staircases for next floors
4) Space is waste if not utilized for Car parking

[msananthu]

Thanks Chida

On the cons end of your reply
1. I have ensured there will be no staircase from the ground floor to basement, it will be accessible from outside only.
2. True the cost increases but does that not also gives us a greater area to dwell at a price lesser than the normal construction.

I was also looking at how rain water due to heavy rains would affect a basement construction. For normal rains we can have some counter measures to handle the water.

[thankulns]

Hi...

Going for basement floor is wiser if you are looking to optimize the construction area & you can create variety of interesting spaces if its only for own use.
If you are an ardent beleiver of vaastu anything below the grond level is against vaastu so dont go for basement.
construction cost will be one & half times more for basement construction since it involves water proofing,mass excavation etc..
since m also n the construction field their s no hindrance to elevation as long as the designer shows some creativity.
Finally i would like to say that what is the maximum built up area you want to acheive in this plot & then go for basement.

[krishnakumar]

When there is a heavy rain and power cuts then basements may get flooded. Many people use pumps to throw out water but that may fail if no power.
About getting additional area, basement and stilt floor are treated in the same manner right? I mean stilt floor is not added when sanctioning number of floors right?

[prabhu422p]

As per my knowledge basement and stilt are treated as same when we go for approvals.Basement+G+3 or Stilt+4 both are same.We won't get additional floor if we go for basement.Please correct if iam wrong.

Thanks
Prabhakar

[msananthu]

Basement is not same as stilt when we go for approvals. Stilt parking is not considered in the FAR ratio, but basement does. Also for a residential site the basement permission is given for home theater or gym or such usages and not car parking
upto 1/3rd of the area constructed in the ground floor(excluding set backs) is considered for approvals for basement.

[pknm]

Hi Anantha,

My apologies for an offline topic here. However, we too have narrowed down a 40*60 site in ISRO Layout. I needed some suggestions on the rate. Can you please PM me. My email pknm underscore m at gmail.com

That would really be helpful.

Thanks and good luck with your house construction.

Regards,

Prakash

[anilmn]

Can somebody give me their first hand experiences of a basement floor.

Let me tell you my personal experiences of having constructed a basement.

Pros (compared to stilt parking):
1. Larger and more easily accessible living space
2. Larger covered parking space - no rat menace etc
3. Easy reconfiguration in the future to covert parking into other purposes
4. Additional closed utility space for things like UPS+inverter, ladder and other seldom used items

Cons (my personal experience):
1. Higher upfront cost - more civil costs, more painting, costs for rain water removal pump, cost for basement door shutter, windows etc
2. Higher maintenance cost - periodic cleaning cost and paint upkeep costs
3. Will be considered a deviation
4. Very high mental trauma if rainwater seeps through walls - This is a very real possibility and actually happened in my basement due to a multitude of factors (heavy rains, neighbors poor water harvesting system, my mistake of constructing a size stone masonry basement walls instead of RCC). If you are constructing a basement, please go for RCC walls on all sides despite higher initial cost. It will keep water and dampness out for good - high peace of mind later.
5. Rain water flooding due to heavy rains - Again, real possibility and also happened in my basement due to multiple factors together (heavy rains, clogged public drains, power failure resulting in drain pump not working) - could result in high cost your basement is flooded with your car and other vehicles in it.

From my learnings, here are my suggestions:
1. Please think hard if constructing a basement is really helping you enormously in the overall design of your house and future plans. If basement is avoidable, then avoid it.

2. If you still see value in a basement, please do the following before constructing. These will help you understand the risks and also to build in precautions based on site condition
a. Study the topography and landscape to understand how water would seep into the ground - this will give you a better understanding of risks associated at the site and if there are particular danger areas
b. Understand soil condition to see how water seepages could happen
c. Study the slope of the road, nature of the drain etc to understand how rainwater would flow during heavy rains. Also, visit site during rains to see how rain water is flowing and it if presents any danger to your basement entrance
d. After excavation for basement, be extra careful - visit site during / after rains to understand how water is flowing into the site, and if water is collecting from the sides of the walls - water flowing in from sides may result in seepages later
e. Get a waterproofing consultant to the site - Dr. Fixit will send you one for free I think - to understand precautions to be taken while planning/constructing

3. My suggestions for construction - check each with waterproofing consultant if he visits site:
a. Have RCC walls on all sides - easier to fix seepages if they occur in the future
b. I also recommend PCC for the floor - again will be easier to fix seepages from the floor if they occur
c. Have waterproofing done for all walls and flooring
d. Have all electrical points and switches above maximum possible water level - plan for worst case flooding
e. Have adequate rain water collection sump and automatic pump - however, in case of power outage this may not help
f. Implement learnings from your study earlier. In particular, pay attention to the basement parking entry - plan it such that even if the drain overflows, water flows onto the street rather than into your basement.
g. Painting - suggest you use some of the water proof paints now available to keep out the damp smell

My case may represent a worst case scenario, and your site condition may be better. However, best to take all precautions and have peace of mind later. I hope my learnings help you avoid the mental agony that I had to go through when my basement had problems.

[msananthu]

Anil

Thanks for providing me deeper insights of basement problems. Even my engineer had suggested RCC retaining walls for basement and water proofing sheets to be stuck from outside, but the cost of the RCC retaining walls are very high and I had asked if Stone masonry can be used. He said yes but mentioned that dampness smell cannot be contained through stone masonry work.

With all your inputs I believe it might be worth to drop it rather than go for it.