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BASEMENT WALLS
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There are basically 3 different kinds
of basements here in Michigan.
1.The (hand set) aluminum poured wall
system.
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You do not end up with any rod holes to
fill
You can easily pour a 9 ft wall
In many cases configuration can be more
accurately determined for corners and angles
Access for cranes does not have to be
maintained
This particular company has a special
pouring machine which allows them to pour from one designated spot under normal conditions.
(this can be very valuable in terms of access)
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2. The
wood forms poured wall system.
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The wood form wall system is by
far the most dominate in Michigan. In most cases it is somewhat less expensive than the aluminum
wall system.
One of the downsides to this system
is they have to use rods to hold the walls together and then when they are
removed the holes in the walls have to be filled with a Baroovian cork or a
liquid cement. Sometimes these holes
will get leaks in them and drain into the basement. Fortunately most
basement company's have excellent warranties and fix the problems.
The advantage of the wood wall
system is that they can deal with brick ledge difficulties much easier than
the aluminum wall system.
You can also use the special
pouring machine with this system. The reason I talk about the special
pouring machine is that is has the ability to stay in one spot. If you are
pouring with cement trucks you have to have access to enough spots to finish
your pour. With all the dirt which comes out of these big basements
and some of the odd configurations of some lots this can cause cost
overruns.
The wood wall system comes with
forms at 7ft 10 inches, 8 ft. 10 inches. Some companies have 10
foot forms but then you have to re-rod your concrete differently and you
have to have larger footings. You also need to pour your basement wall 12
inches thick instead of 10 inches. The cost for 10 foot walls can be
extremely high.
3. The
Styrofoam wall system.
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This was the first time I used
this system and I was very satisfied with the results.
This kind of a basement is quite
expensive but it is very unique and has some real positive elements to it.
This particular company we used
was extremely good at setting the brick ledges with this system. I am
not sure I would use anyone other than the person we used. He has an
engineering backround and was very systematic in his approach to this
basement system.
You want as fine a basement footing and wall that you
can get for the money.
Footing sizes vary, so make sure you know what you want.
I like a footing which is at least 22 X 10 inches but I have to pay extra.
Use to be that the normal
basement sizes in Michigan were
7'10" in height. Now many more basements are being
poured at 9 feet. Keep in mind that this figure is from the top of the wall
to the top of the footing and than you have an additional
4 inches of concrete to put on top of the footings. Therefore your
basement wall becomes 7 ft 6 inches and after the beam comes down you end up
with under 7 ft where the beam is. You have a couple of
easy choices. You can add two 8 inch blocks all the way around at a cost
of $5 to $6 a foot or you can pour your basement at 9 feet to begin with.
Many times we will put in
beams which are between 14 and 16"s in depth. This allows you to put in
fewer stantion poles in your basement. But you need an extra high basement
to accommodate the beams. Otherwise your basement ceiling is to low.
Put one or two extra
8" block on top of the wall. One of the nice things about doing
this is the block man can make corrections for level problems which sometimes
occur on top of the basement walls. The other plus
with the additional block is any out of square problems from the pour can
generally be corrected.
Pay extra and pour your basement the
height you would like it in the first place. I like 9 ft. One of the problems
you have with a 10 foot basement and above is you are sometimes required to pour your
basement wall 12 inches thick instead of 10 inches thick which than can raise the cost
considerably. (Already explained above in another
section)
Its nice to have a basement under your complete house. This
obviously excludes your garage. (But not always, I have
another section coming where I put a basement under the garage and use special
concrete for the garage floor). We always try to build our houses
with the basement under family rooms and all living spaces
under the 1st floor.
Almost all of the basement companies are very professional and very good but
you need to be careful. You do not want a poorly poured basement wall.
Brick ledges are very hard to understand and very difficult to
see. Do not set your brick ledges anywhere you want.
You have to think about it. The problems which can occur with grading & brick ledges can
be severe. Cutting off a
brick ledge is extremely expensive.
There are issue's in basements which require more
information than most people can understand. If you live in Michigan and
would like to talk to me regarding these situations, please
e-mail me at rgerich@buildahouse.com
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