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Posts tagged basement
Tips For Plumbing A Basement In Clay Soil
Tips For Plumbing A Basement In Clay Soil
By Christopher W Smith?
Basement construction in clay soil poses several problems. Expansive soil can cause cracking in the foundation, basement walls and floor if proper precautions aren’t taken. Natural movement caused by expansive clay soils also require special precautions to be taken when installing basement plumbing. Pipes can burst if plumbing is too rigid.
Floating walls keep the walls and floors from being damaged as the home moves with the expansion of clay soil. This allows the walls to move independently from the floor of the basement. The pipes need to be able to move upward with the floor but not push against the first floor of your home. The drainage pipes under the basement floor need to be able to breathe as well.
When you install bathrooms, laundry room, or a mudroom in the basement you need to allow for natural movement of clay soil. Installing flexible expansion couplings and expansion joints on basement plumbing will allow for this movement and keep the pipes from leaking at the joints or cracking.
Your pipes should ideally be new during installation. If you are working with pre-existing pipes make sure not to go from one type of metal to another. If you are using copper stay with copper pipes and the same goes for other metals. Take care to not to change the size of pipes accidentally. It is possible to go from one size to another but it is not always usually wise idea. You should also start with new pipes whenever possible. Older pipes can have lead solder break up while you are working with them and you do not want this to get into your water supply, even if it is for a shower and not drinking water.
Anywhere that you are attaching one length of pipe to another you need to add an expansion coupling. Expansion couplings are made of a synthetic polymer sleeve that slips over the ends of both pipes. Steel clamps are used to hold the coupling and pipes together. Once applied, the coupling will allow for a small amount of movement in the pipes. It is important to make sure you have the expansion couplings and not regular couplings as the expansion couplings are made to breathe with the home and the regular couplings aren’t made to move.
When installing a shower you can use reverse floating walls to stabilize pipes in the basement and allow movement in the top of the pipes. You should put as much of the plumbing in the same area as possible and use the same wet wall. A chase should be included and access can be either along a wall or in the ceiling.
Flex lines are needed for water supply lines. The main water supply line should go into the chase and have flex lines attached in that area to the pipes used in the basement. The most logical place for the chase access panel is in the utility room along with the hot water heater.
As well as having expansion joints and flexible couplings installed the pipes there should be enough space between the pipes and the ceiling/floor to keep from having the pipes push into the ceiling as the ground expands with the changes in the moisture in clay soil.
Expansion joints will be needed for installation of ground water drainage pipes also. This can be done below the basement floor, above the foundation. Drains can be placed in the basement floor allowing moisture that does enter the basement to run into the drainage system and away from the home.
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Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Christopher_W_Smith
Ground Stabilization For Basement Construction In Clay Soil
Ground Stabilization For Basement Construction In Clay Soil
By Christopher W Smith
When building in clay soil, you have a few things to worry about. Most important, you will need to adjust for the actions of the soil. You don?t want to have your foundation and basement walls cracked during the first year due to moisture changes. As moisture in the soil changes expansive soil will move. During wetter seasons clay grows, during dry seasons clay shrinks. This can be seen in the soil itself if you watch the ground you will notice the cracks and shrunken appearance the ground has, especially in areas that may have had a pond or a creek.
When you build a basement, you want to build on solid ground, or as solid of ground as possible. If you are working in an area that is made up of clay or other expansive soils, you may want to consider stabilizing the ground with lime. Treating the ground with lime gives a much more stable surface to work with.
First, you will need to remove not only the earth in the area that you wish to use as your basement but you need to dig below this area and put in trenches for the lime to be poured into. Trenches should be dug around the perimeter of the foundation and in columns spaced throughout the foundation approximately 3 feet apart. These trenches will turn into a solid base for your home. Removal of several inches of soil is important. This gives you the space you need to build your foundation that you are going to place your home on.
After removing the earth in the trenches, you need to fill those trenches with a lime slurry made of crushed lime and water. This mixture will be thick. Naturally, we aren?t talking about the fruit lime. Instead we are talking about limestone. The slurry is a mixture of crushed lime and twenty to sixty percent water (measured by weight) that can be mixed inside the trenches.
Once the lime slurry dries, you will have a solid rock base to place your foundation on. This will keep moisture from causing ground expansion that will crack your foundation. This can save billions of dollars annually in structural damage that occurs to buildings due to natural fluctuations in ground moisture.
Visit us for more information on how to design a home theatre in a basement, creative basement ceiling ideas and basement makeovers.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Christopher_W_Smith
Gutters and Downspouts
Gutters and downspouts have two main purposes. First, they divert water away from the walls of a building which would ordinarily run off the roof onto them. This drainage can damage the walls and cause isolated erosion at ground level.
Second, they contribute towards ensuring a basement does not become damp or wet. Whatever the type of foundation wall, there is always the possibility for water penetration. The less water there is in the earth near the foundation wall, the less likely water will penetrate into the basement. Gutters should collect most water run-off, and downspouts ideally discharge the water into proper drains or onto the ground a significant distance away from the foundation walls.
FOUNDATION CONFIGURATION TYPES
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Generally homes may have a basement, a crawl space, or a slab. Many houses have some combination of. The configuration has little bearing on the structure and is frequently determined more by cost, or restrictions imposed by the building location.
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