How much dirtwork can be done for basement floor level?

10 years ago

Our property has quite a slope from the road down to the trees. We are trying to get our home as high as possible (better view) and as far back from the road as possible.
There is also kind of a sideways slope, so if we buildthe same distance from the road on the left side, we are much higher than the same distance on the right side. The right side has a considerably better view, but we would like to be as high as possible. Either side, we would do a walkout basement, but the right side would need the soil level raised on say the back half of the house.
How much soil can be added to put a basement on top of that? We are in Nebraska, and the soil in our location is ideal for building. A normal basement here would have footers 4-6 ft deep. Are there other options for building the house if dirt can't be raised up very much? We will possibly put in a pond next year, and the house likely the next year. We can use the pond dirt, but everything gets costly when hauling side dumps of dirt!

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Comments (6)

live_wire_oak
10 years ago
A bad contractor can take fill, compact it poorly, and create a structural nightmare for the home built on the site. A competent contractor can create a mountain out of the molehill if you've got the money to do so. A better contractor would show you a better site for the house, or suggest that a different plan might be more suitable for the terrain. And then suggest an architect that he's worked with in the past that could design something site appropriate and budget sensitive.
nostalgicfarm
Original Author
10 years ago
Live_wire_oak
We do have a site that we are considering 200 feet away, but the view are not nearly the same, and we would be removing trees for the entire footprint. We have been looking at every possible spot for 6 months now. We, like most people, do not have an unlimited budget. But I also don't want to discount the better spot without fully researching why. If for 10% of my house cost, I can get the house where I love the views, then I can consider it. If it will be 50%, then maybe I should send my kids to college instead :)
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jackfre
10 years ago
Get a soils Engineer out and do a site analysis. Adding gravel, which is what you will build the base up with isn't that big a deal, when installed and compacted properly. The question is, what is that gravel being put on top of. You may have to remove some of the current top soil and build up from there. Given that you are going to pile a lot of cash on top of this dirt there really needs to be a professional site evaluation done.
nostalgicfarm
Original Author
10 years ago
Jackfre-thanks. That sounds maybe easier that I hoped. How MUCH gravel can be built up? Do your footers just go that much deeper then? I realize I need a GOOD engineer (even for a more simple problem), but I like to have a pretty good understanding of what the process is/if its doable before I bring in the big guns :)
Awnmyown
10 years ago
I had a similar problem (actually the same but opposite...had to dig to bedrock because my 99% silt soil has no bearing capacity, and ended up with my basement being too deep, and had to raise it back up with gravel).

I did call in a structural and geo engineer (looks after large projects in my city for things like building malls on soupy clay soils), and he determined all the granular fill, compaction and footing sizes based on that. We also, had the soil not been so rocky, had the option of installing piles as a base to help stabilize the foundation.

So yes, by and large it can be done, but I would agree with the others and say you really should consult someone with a great deal of knowledge on this.

(especially if like me, you wind up with the process halted by the BI when they're not familiar with the soil structure your dealing with...and your engineer is the only person who can stamp off on the structural integrity and get the process moving again...)
nostalgicfarm
Original Author
10 years ago
Awnmyown-I figured it could be done, just so unsure of the whole process. We do plan to get a structural or soil engineer for evaluation, but the nice thing about this forum is being able to get an idea what you are dealing with before calling a specialist. How many feet did your base have to be raised up?I am sure there is more than one way to do this, just really trying to get an idea what I am dealing with!

I have also thought about just doing super tall 12 foot walls in the basemen, making some rooms with some cool lofts, and a big play area with a climbing wall for the kids :). Oddly enough, I am guessing the taller walls would be cheaper than the back fill!!!