Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Basements
Basements
Katongo
The Copperbelt University
School of Built Environment
v A wall is a continuous, usually vertical structure of
brick, stone, concrete, timber or metal, thin in
proportion to its length and height, which encloses
and protects a building or serves to divide buildings
into compartments or rooms.
(Barry, 1989)
² A wall cab be defined as…
ü Solid
ü Framed
² The function of a wall is to enclose and
protect a building or divide space within a
building. The functional requirements of a
wall are…
ü Strength and Stability
ü Resistance to weather and ground moisture
ü Durability and freedom from maintenance
ü Fire resistance
ü Resistance to the passage of heat
ü Resistance to airborne and impact noise
² The walls found below the ground in the
context of framed buildings are generally
associated with the construction of
basements or large sub-ground voids.
² Primary functional requirements of walls
below ground level are as follows…..:
ü Structural stability
ü Durability
ü Moisture Exclusion
ü Buildability
² A basement is the floor or floors of a
building which are partially or entirely
below ground level.
² Sub-ground environment can be hostel to
some building element materials used in
the construction of basements.
² Basement construction takes many forms
but the general principles and performance
requirements will generally be the same.
Grade Possible use Conditions required Moisture Exclusion
Grade 1: Car parking >65% relative humidity Minor wet seepage and
Basic Utility Mechanical plant rooms 15-35 °C Temperature visible damp patches may
be acceptable
Type A - Tanked
Type B – Waterproof
Type C – Drained
² The criteria for the selection of an appropriate
‘type’ is mainly based on the extent to which
ground water is excluded
² Additionally, the nature of the soil and the required
depth of the basement will also place limitations
on the selection of an appropriate type
² Other factors affecting selection may include…:
ü Level of ground water; possible contamination
of ground water; natural drainage; soil type;
access to the site etc.
² Type A – Tanked
ü This type of structures involve the utilization
of impervious material applied to the structure
ü The impervious material may be applied
internally or externally to exclude moisture
ü This process is termed “tanking” and may be
effected in several different ways
² Type B – Waterproofing
ü This structures utilize waterproofing materials
within the structure of the walls, considered as
‘structurally integrated protection’
ü The waterproofing is provided by the structural
walls themselves, which are almost always
formed from reinforced or prestressed concrete
designed such that it is inherently waterproofed
² Type C – Drainage
ü These structures allow for ground water to pass
through the walls, but provide a mechanism for
it to be drained away
ü A drained cavity is formed in the basement
structure which facilitates the collection of
ground water that seeps through the external
basement wall