Part 5
ICF Contractors break out the formwork for the perimeter drainage channels in the floor slab, which are a core part of our waterproofing solution
One of the things about digging a giant hole in the ground, especially in the British rainy season (ie any time of year), is that you regularly get to see it fill up with water. At one point, just before the basement walls were concreted on the Build It Education House, it crossed my mind whether I could get the planning permission changed to include a moat. Unfortunately, I think it might fall outside of the build zone on our Graven Hill plot!
There’s a serious point to my rambling: whenever you’re building underground, you need to think about how to deal with water. While it might look like our insulating concrete formwork (ICF) walls are pretty good at keeping a bit of rain out on their own, there’s a whole host of ways water can get into a basement. For instance, our clay soil will hold a lot of moisture, which means groundwater will exert hydrostatic pressure on the walls. The design and construction needs to account for this and prevent it seeping into the living spaces.
Design basics
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