Basement is considered as one of the prime areas of house and the importance of this area is tremendous as it has direct link with the foundation of our house as the whole house stands on it. The basement excavation needs a detailed plan and complete knowledge about the building structure because even a slight error could be costlier. It helps one to have beautiful basement but for the completion of such task the excavator need to have detailed work and planning with all the facts and designs that can allow a successful completion of basement excavation. The size of the basement excavation and the size of the building is something that needs to be considered first. At the very same moment one should also have a clear idea about the foundation, ducting, wiring, plumbing and other works below the house that can be affected due to the excavation. The task of the excavation must consider the load bearing capacity of the foundation and every pillar of it so that the excavation task can be handled with better planning. Hence, the excavation for a basement needs to be carried out with a lot of care and planning is highly important.
The utility of the basement excavation:
Usually, the basement excavation is made to expand the utility of the home and make an addition to the space. In such case when the house or structure is already there, one has to understand the structure and foundation first with all the other settings of the ducts, plumbing, electricity etc. One also needs to arrange for all these services in the basement, and accordingly the plan has to be prepared. While going for the excavation one must check the ventilation and the other facilities required for lighting and air circulation. The excavation must be done in a manner that the foundation of the structure and also the neighbors building is not damaged otherwise the structure can collapse and this can cause serious problems. There can be fatal accidents due to the collapse of building.
The points to be focused on:
There are a few important points that one needs to focus before the beginning of the excavation as well as during the excavation. It includes the complete guideline follow up of the basic structure and building plan. One must go slow while excavating near the foundation and there must be a certain distance kept as per the size of the building from the excavation to the foundation so that the foundation can keep the firm holding of the structure. One must excavate the site near the structure with manpower rather than using heavy machines for the excavation. The structure to foundation ratio must be perfectly analyzed and followed strictly. If possible one must get the building vacant while going for the basement excavation. All the lines passing through the basement particularly of gas and electricity and water must be stopped and if possible disconnected also so that the risk of fire, shock and breakage of line can be avoided.
The ways out:
There are a number of ways of excavation, which are done as per different methods. However, the structural engineer can be a better judge in this area as the application of a method depends on a number of factor such as the size of the building, load bearing capacity of the structure, age of the building, type of soil, the structure to basement ratio and many more factors. Hence, while going for basement excavation the primary requirements is due care and structure safety.
