BSS502

CONSTRUCTION TECHNOLOGY 1

BASEMENT
CONSTRUCTION
WHAT IS BASEMENT…
A basement is a storey or several stories
of a building that are either completely or
partially below the ground floor.
 Not all buildings have basements.
 For buildings with basements, the furnace,
water heater, car park and air-conditioning
system of a house or building are typically
located in the basement; so also are
amenities such as the electrical
distribution system, and cable television
distribution point.
 Basement Grades (BS 8102)
Grade Possible Use Conditions Required Moisture Exclusion
Grade 1: Car parking, >65% relative humidity Minor wet seepage and
Basic Utility Mechanical plant 15-32oC temperature visible damp patches
rooms may be acceptable.

Grade 2: Retail Storage, 35-50% relative humidity Wet seepage

Better Utility Electrical plant rooms Temperature depends on unacceptable. No
use:<15oC for storage, visible moisture
patches
up to 42oC for plant rooms
Grade 3: Offices, Residential 40-60% relative humidity Seepage and wet
Habitable use, Kitchens, Temperature range 18- patches unacceptable.
Restaurants etc 29oC, depending on use Possible active control
of internal environment
required to control
temperature and
humidity.

Grade 4: Archive storage of 35-50% relative humidity Environment tightly

Special books, documents, art Temperature range controlled by active
etc typically 13-22oC measures. Seepage
and visible dampness
unacceptable.
 The major design considerations for deep
excavation is divided into five sections as
follows:
 Planning of surface investigation and

laboratory testing
 Evaluation of foundation of adjacent

properties and their tolerances


Selection of type of retaining wall
 Selection of type of support system

 Design of retaining wall.

Selection types of basement
 Level of ground water on site
 Possible contamination of ground water
 Natural drainage
 Soil type
 Access to site
Requirement of wall below ground
 Structural stability
 Durability
 Moisture exclusion
 Buildability
Basement Type
 Type A - Tanked

Use impervious material internally or
externally to exclude moisture
 The selected waterproofing element must be
capable to withstand hydrostatic pressure
from ground water & other loadings

Create a tanking effect
Type A - Tanked
 Type B – Waterproof

Utilise waterproof materials within the
structure of walls – structural integrated
protection.
 Introduce crystallising agent inside concrete +
usage of proper construction joints
Type B – Waterproof
 Type C – Drained

Allow the ground water to pass through the
wall by providing mechanism to drain it away.
Type C – Drained
TYPES OF BASEMENT
CONSTRUCTION

 OPEN-CUT CONSTRUCTION
 CUT AND COVER
CONSTRUCTION
 BOTTOM UP
 TOP DOWN CONSTRUCTION
 OPEN-CUT
CONSTRUCTION
 For all excavations, operators must know:

the line;

the final depth of the excavation;
 the approximate width of the excavation

at the top; and


the location of any services or other
hazards.
 If there is sufficient right of way, open cut
trenches can be used in almost any soil
condition.
 Generally a sloped open cut excavation is the
most cost and schedule effective method of
trenching.
 When the trench is very deep and/or expensive
backfill materials are required, then a vertical cut
at the toe of the slope supported by shoring may
be effective.
 Ground water and weak lower layers may force
partial shoring or flattening of the excavation
slopes.
OPEN-CUT CONSTRUCTION
Open cut advantages
 Allows continuous excavation, laying and
backfilling operations.

 Minor breakdowns usually do not cause delays

to all activities.

 The open trench needs only the design of the

cut bank slope. OSHA guidelines can be used,
although cost saving usually will result if the
bank slope is checked and designed by a
registered engineer for a steeper slope. Sloping
the excavation is the simplest method to design
and use.
Open cut advantages
 Because there are no additional support
operations and equipment, it is the economical
choice.

 The open trench provides easy access to the

work because equipment and construction
materials are minimized.

 The open cut method is suitable for most ground

conditions, except for oozing mud and running
sands.
Open cut disadvantages
 The slope of the bank requires more excavation
and backfill volume than the other options.

 The only bank support is the strength of the soil. If

drying, flooding, or change of soil properties
weakens the soil, then sloughing and collapse can
happen with little or no warning.
Open cut disadvantages
 The sloped banks require a wider work area.

 The bank slopes may force the use of larger

equipment because the distance to reach into the
trench is increased and a greater volume of soil
must be excavated and backfilled.
 Construction Method for Shallow
Basement

 Open excavation
with sloping sides
(if constraints of
space on the site
permits)
 Angle of slope 
nature of soil +
moisture content
Construction Method for Deep
Basement
 Open excavation is not suitable:
 Extent of excavation required around the

building would be impractical


Risk of affecting ground support for adjacent
building

High cost for large scale of excavation
 Existence of high ground water level

 Use:

excavation with temporary support
 Excavation supported by permanent retaining

walls embedded in ground 25

CUT AND COVER
CONSTRUCTION
 The cut and cover construction technique has
been used for many years as a means for
building underground transportation facilities.

 This method involves the installation of

temporary walls to support the sides of the
excavation, a bracing system, control of ground
water, and underpinning of adjacent structures
where necessary.
 The main disadvantages of a cut and cover
tunnel are its disruptive effects in congested
urban environment.

 Cost of cut and cover construction increases

sharply with increased depth. Tunnel driving
costs are usually higher per meter of tunnel than
the average shallow cut and cover tunnel.
Cut and cover tunnel Ramp
Soldier piles and lagging
Steel sheet piles
 BOTTOM UP
CONSTRUCTION
1. Form perimeter
walls to enclose the
area to be
excavated
2. Excavation  install
props  excavation
3. Construct
foundation+column
 slab (suspended
slab)
4. Proceed upper
works: extend
column, continue
upper slabs towards
ground level
 TOP DOWN
CONSTRUCTION
 Preferred method: ↑speed, ↓cost,
↑ground stability
 Make use of permanent elements to
provide rigidity and bracing.
 Not required temporary props

36
 Overall construction method: typically top
down, bottom upwards or semi top-down.
 Wall method. (temporary, permanent or
both)

king post walls
 steel sheet piling
 soil mix columns
 r.c. contiguous piles
 r.c. secant piles (hard/hard, hard/soft)
 diaphragm walls
 Wall selection
 King post walls. Timber laggings allowed to slide
downwards between king posts. Poor
tolerances, loss of ground.
 Sheet piling. poor tolerances, Split clutches due
to obstructions.
 Contiguous piles, secant piles. wasting of pile
shafts. Overbreak.
 Diaphragm walls. Slurry inclusions, poor joints,
poor cover to steel,bleed, poor tolerances,
inclusions at toe of walls.
Contiguous Piled Wall - 750mm diameter at 900mm Centres
Plunge Columns - Sequence
rig boring wall piles Secant Walls and Columns
Diaphragm Wall Excavation
Reinforcing Cage Installation
Guide wall Construction for piling
 The hard / hard secant piled wall,
consisted of 304 piles, 1180mm
diameter at 1950mm spacing up to
31m long. The secant piling formed the
lower part of the wall, with a new in-situ
concrete retaining wall up to 1m thick
built over the top. A steel beam was
cast into every third pile designed to
extend 7m above the pile cut off level
into the existing basement. Short flat
jack props were placed horizontally in
the narrow gap between the beams and
the existing wall, to aid the eventual
demolition of the old wall. During the
development of the site, six existing
piles from the previous structure to
occupy the site were incorporated into
the wall. Water tightness was ensured
between these and the new piles by
injection grouting.
Schematic of Construction Sequence
for hard secant piled wall
Completed Hard / Hard Secant Piled Wall
Top-Down Construction
1. Formation of permanent retaining
walls to the perimeter of
basement area.
2. Form internal foundation and
column support by using plunge
method.
3. Create the uppermost floor slab
(with temporary base)
4. Excavate downwards tru
openings on slab or service
shafts
5. Remove temp. base, excavate
until the depth of next floor level.
6. Cast the next floor level, repeat
the process.
7. Can use non-suspended slab for
the basement slab.
Typical sequence of top down
construction
2) Install bearing piles with plunge columns
3) Cast ground floor slab
4) Excavate and cast upper
basement floor slab.

5: Extend columns and cast

first floor slab
7: Extend columns and cast
second floor slab (not
shown)

6: Excavate and cast middle

IZATUL basement
LAILI JABAR slab
9: Extend columns and cast
upper floor slabs (not
shown).

8: Excavate and cast lower

basement slab.
Top-down excavation for basement The existing massive piled raft at new
levels 1 and 2 basement 2 level was broken up with explosive
charges at night and cleared during the day

Excavation at basement 3 level finally

included breaking up existing large-diameter piles that were part of
the observational method contingency arrangements