Browse Forums Renovation + Home Improvement 1 Mar 05, 2013 11:03 am I went over to a friend's house who had installed some rooms somewhat below ground (by cutting into the hillside). I asked him about water seeping into the rooms - he said that they had installed a rubber barrier on the outside of the house and so this would not be an issue (in addition to adding drainage. I was wondering whether this was true - I would have thought that over time the rubber would deteriorate and even a small crack would create drainage issues. Re: Rooms below the ground 2Mar 06, 2013 10:07 am You see many instances of this done on English building/reno TV shows, where its called 'tanking'. How succesful it would be I guess is up to the contractors and materials used, but it would be a cow of a job to fix later Arfur Re: Rooms below the ground 3Mar 06, 2013 1:03 pm this is true, and of course it pays to have experienced professionals do it, which will cost decent money. The tar/rubber membrane will last a long time, just like a waterproof membrane in a bathroom will last a long time. If done properly of course! Re: Rooms below the ground 4Mar 06, 2013 6:07 pm Any excavation under a house that we've ever done for a basement or storage, we have left a gap between the rear wall and the soil or rock and installed an open dish drain 100-200mm below floor level that is easy to access. I've seen so many jobs that others have done that needed fixing because the waterproofing has failed. And yes, you're right Uncle Arfur, it is a prick of a job to fix ( not to mention costly ). Stewie Re: Rooms below the ground 6Mar 07, 2013 7:20 am Well almost any tradie would put a drain in to allow excess ground water to find its way out but we used to leave a gap of 600mm min so you could actually walk in there and clear out any dirt or leaves that might clog the dish drain. The beauty of this is that it allows you to check for any termite activity too. This is how we do it... Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ This is how most guys do it ( just copied & pasted off the interwebs )... Forget about the sump under the slab - it's off an American web site and they do a lot of different things there. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Stewie Re: Rooms below the ground 7Mar 20, 2013 4:54 pm If you have no choice then OK, but if you can avoid it you will not regret it. Water (from above and below) is every buildings enemy! Re: Rooms below the ground 8Mar 22, 2013 9:02 am Quote: If you have no choice then OK, but if you can avoid it you will not regret it. Not at all. If it is done right then you can end up with a lot of storage and/or living space which will add considerably to the value of your house. Stewie Re: Rooms below the ground 9Mar 22, 2013 9:42 am Ag drains and all these methods are great - but water often finds a way. Capilary action is a funny thing too. I've got a friend who had it all done and his "under"ground (level) rooms do have a dampish smell at times. Hi everyone, Looking for some advise. We are about to build an above ground pool in our backyard. There is a private sewer line running under the pool at 1.6m… 0 11762 Hi, I'm new to this forum so I hope I'm doing this post correctly. Please advise if it's not. I've just bought my place. The inground pool has a marble lining that has… 0 13663 |