Basements in Thailand?

[ChaangNoi]

I do not think I have ever seen a basement in any house in Thailand. Is there a good reason for this?

Are their people who are able to pour a basement correctly?

Thanks

[trogers]

Cost. Try digging a 3 metre deep hole in mud.

[Crossy]

Heavy rain + iffy drainage = flooding

[lostoday]

No basements in Florida either.

[ChaangNoi]

I understand that it might be somewhat costly but right near where we live they dug a deep whole (more than 3M) for water storage. I think the water is going to be used to water plants or something, I did not fully understand the why, but I did see them do it. They used a back hoe to dig it out. Took about three hours. They then poured the walls. My house does not even have poured walls...

I do understand about the flooding but with a sump pump and well done drainage it could be manageable? They have them in other parts of the world with heavy rain. I'm not in an area that will flood unless Noah goes floating by.

Are there any in Thailand or this is something that is never done? I ask because U have an area that I would like to expand and my space is limited. So while I go up, I'd like to go down.

Thanks

[dragonfly94]

I have seen one house with one off rama 2 so they do exist

[oneday]

Tuk.com on Pattaya Tai has a basement. Not a house, but it's a basement.

Many hotels and Central Festival have underground or below ground level parking.

I just think basements in homes in Thailand is just not something they do here and with poor construction techniques and the huge amounts of rain...well you just don't see it or it's incredibly rare.

[noddy77]

There are 2 houses being built in this estate with basements. Basically a whole floor underground.

They have 400mm of water in them.

Very bad idea imo.

You need to waterproof the outside and this has not been done.

I have no idea how they will stop ground water entering in heavy rain.

Better to keep the slab 300mm above natural ground I think.

Edited May 5, 2015 by noddy77

[ChaangNoi]

Clearly I do not want water in my basement unless I put in a pool down there? Seems like more trouble than it would be worth to be honest.

The thing they made locally here was to store water, so I guess they don't really need to keep water out.

If it can be done I'd like to have the extra space but I don't want to pay all that extra for fail.

Thx

[8OA8]

In my Bangkok condo there are three levels of car parks in the basement

[stoli]

All over the mid US. Areas like California do not have basements because the water table is to high. It would be a swimming pool, not a basement.

[seancbk]

A friend of my brother in law owns a villa in Phuket and let me, my sister and her family stay at his place for Xmas a couple of years back.

I don't remember the name of the development his villa was in, but it had a nice big basement which was accessible via a staircase out by the pool.

He's a major bodybuilder so he's kitted out the basement as his gym with a load of proper heavyweight gym equipment.

I expect basements are not as uncommon as some people might think.

[noddy77]

In my Bangkok condo there are three levels of car parks in the basement

Common in most counties I think.

The big difference is a car park is non-habitable.

Just concrete and they water proof the outside as best they can, install agi-drainage and then normally have spoon drains just inside the walls. Then you need pumps to get water out if an comes in. Ok for a commercial property but a nightmare for a house.

Water proof membranes always break down in time.

[trogers]

For residence, don't go down unless your face height restrictions and need additional space.

Edited May 5, 2015 by trogers

[trogers]

In my Bangkok condo there are three levels of car parks in the basement

Common in most counties I think.

The big difference is a car park is non-habitable.

Just concrete and they water proof the outside as best they can, install agi-drainage and then normally have spoon drains just inside the walls. Then you need pumps to get water out if an comes in. Ok for a commercial property but a nightmare for a house.

Water proof membranes always break down in time.

Never like using membranes in basement. Their first installation requirement can never be met - make sure surface is dry and dust free!

[realenglish1]

The water table is very high Remember there where lots of canals all over before. Just look at the height of the water in them.

It means if you dig for a basement once you get down 2 feet you hit water. not worth it to put in a basement and a water pump to keep out the water

Very expensive to make it waterproof. That is another reason you see town homes built with 4 levels or more.

Its just not cost effective like in the west where the water table is way down under

[brucetefl]

I have a basement in my ex house in Rayong.

We actually built it AFTER the home was built.

Slightly problematic but it works and does not have many issues.

[NickJ]

Build an attic....

[lostoday]

Amazing how people who don't travel much would assign no basements to poor construction while anyone who has been around knows the real reason is the water table.

[maoro2013]

I have a 54 sqr metre cellar. Perfectly waterproof but not cool really The climate is too warm in is a an however good for storage and may put in air con and a pool table sometime.

[swissbie]

Most of Top's supermarkets are in the basement, not all of them waterproof. No Hurricanes nor Tornadoes, no war precautions, not too much wine to store; so why to make building more expensive then it is?

[chickenslegs]

Build an attic....

The neighbours would hear the screams from an attic.

[Tony125]

10 years ago before I bought a home in Chon Buri I was looking at homes in Chiang Mai and saw a very nice home built for a German lady who decided to move to Phuket . It was a 2 story, 4 bedrooms with a 5th in the cellar/basement for her maid and a gym.

[Gulfsailor]

If you have a good basement, you don't need to build a foundation under the house.

[Torrens54]

Clearly I do not want water in my basement unless I put in a pool down there? Seems like more trouble than it would be worth to be honest.

The thing they made locally here was to store water, so I guess they don't really need to keep water out.

If it can be done I'd like to have the extra space but I don't want to pay all that extra for fail.

Thx

Then build an extra story on your house. Go UP, not down.

[lostoday]

If you have a good basement, you don't need to build a foundation under the house.

Be an idea to check out how close to the Gulf you are, sailor before you start digging.

[trogers]

If you have a good basement, you don't need to build a foundation under the house.

The foundation is under the basement, and not the basement.

Not a good idea to live in a basement in earthquake areas.

[ChaangNoi]

We are more likely to have an earth quake than a flood. I live no where near the gulf and our elevation is about 1000 feet. To get a flood in this area, as it was built up we would really need Noah type stuff going on. Doubt that will happen. Only thing I'm going to have to worry about is the heavy raining that we get some times.

I now know enough to be able to look into it, I'll see if there is any one who can do it and see what they say after looking at the site.

Also we want to add onto a two story house. We could go up to three on the new part, but it would look really silly with the rest of the house being two. I think it is going to be down or not at all.

Thx

[lopburi3]

Basements are required in ground frost areas - to keep the house level it must be below the frost (take a look at any remaining cement road in cold areas of US to confirm) - in warm earth they are not required so you will not find many in Florida for example. And as said; most Thai prefer there swimming pools to be outdoor.

[trogers]

We are more likely to have an earth quake than a flood. I live no where near the gulf and our elevation is about 1000 feet. To get a flood in this area, as it was built up we would really need Noah type stuff going on. Doubt that will happen. Only thing I'm going to have to worry about is the heavy raining that we get some times.

I now know enough to be able to look into it, I'll see if there is any one who can do it and see what they say after looking at the site.

Also we want to add onto a two story house. We could go up to three on the new part, but it would look really silly with the rest of the house being two. I think it is going to be down or not at all.

Thx

You may want to consider a half-basement. That is with it's floor 1.5m below the outside ground. Advantage is you can still place windows enabling natural light and air in, and lower cost to construct.