Little Help Needed.

GhostYoon

So happy I found this place.
Never thought anything like this existed.

I am planning to build an underground studio, about 1000 sqft.

There are alot of questions I have about this, and I was wondering if anyone had any exp in this.

Couple reasons I am doing this:

#1 because I live in a high risk hurricane area.
#2 sound, underground will be nice to the neighbors.
#3 ez cooling heating, better on the bills.
#4 Concrete here is very cheap.

But there are things i dont need:

#1 Alot of water / moisture
#2 Tons of money ( I dont expect 1000 sqare feet to cost alot underground.)


Just wondering if maybe I should build it like a basement?

I want the place to look like earth other then a small shed for water pump and a place to put the External AC unit next to.

My biggest block in understanding is the ceiling.
I know it must be strong because i plan on putting enough topsoil over it to grow grass. soil weighs alot. But i dont know if i should go steel, or concrete.
How to close it?
interior i imagine i will go drop acoustic ceiling, like in schools etc..

also, what about ventilation?

Will i need an AC unit and a vent system, or will the AC unit itself create any ventilation?

Living in the south like i do ( 22ft above sea level ) not alot of people have basements or underground structures, I can only think of one in the tri state area.


this will be connected to an existing home. ( but in no way directly connected ) I already have eletricty ran to the site.

Thank you ahead of time for any help / advice / links, you can provide.
Also i have filled out all my messenger information. if anyone would be kind enough to have a 1 to 1 talk with me about this, i would be happy to call.

I will also be on the forums alot.

Derek.

PipeGuy

Derek, I'm thinking underground is not a good choice for your locale. The likelihood of flooding puts you're studio equipment at considerable risk of damage and brings with it the potential for considerable, periodic, clean up costs.
If you're stuck on doing it underground you should probably include a substantial dewatering system, ventilation/dehumidification system and an extended continuous operation (168 hours?) electrical generator to keep them both running during power outages. Sounds expensive to me.

Teetorbilt

Derek, I have designed a few underground homes to be built on the Atlantic Ridge (28 ft. above SL), never made it past B&Z and I provided all engineering data.

Expect it to cost 3X that of an above ground structure.

__________________
You can't solve you're problems with the same level of thinking that created the problems.

Albert Einstein

Grumpy

Maybe instead of underground... a berm home where landscaping encompasses 3 sides of the home and sometimes the roof as well.

GhostYoon

Thank you guys for your feedback.

I called my planning dept down here and they dont have a clue.

no one in that office could give me a yes or no on permits.

I had already planned on a bilge system and a dehumidifier system.

Those are things i am worried about. extreemly worried about.

but i was thinking, if i use solid wall construction ( not cinder blocks )
and install a good underground drain system , plus water proofing the solid walls as well.

It says i should be ok.

( and pipe guy )

I understand what you mean with 100% water covrage, hurricane camille was the strongest in 90 years down here and did not bring standing water to this area. So im not extreemly worried about the thing filling up.

Teetorbilt

Derek, I submitted two plans. The first was a cold molded epoxy/ wood plan and the second was cast concrete, both were modular domes. After the first rejection, I compiled all of the engineering data and resubmitted. I was rejected again. Years later I was told that the red stamp applies to anything that they can't comprehend. The designs and construction are superior, just incomprehensible to the rank and file.

__________________
You can't solve you're problems with the same level of thinking that created the problems.

Albert Einstein

PipeGuy

The existence of standing water at the surface isn't neccesarily indicative of the height of the water table. I've seen plenty of jobsites that were dusty at the surface and saturated 6' down. If it were me, before I bothered with anything else I'd install a simple observation well to a depth eqivalent to that of the lowest anticipated finished elevation and monitor the water table over the course of the wet season. There's a reason y'all don't have cellars down there. Make sure your site is suitable for one before you spend much money in the planning process.

ConcreteGuy

You need a local engineer to design your structure.

I would build you a cast-in-place concrete structure with appropriate waterproofing. If adequate supervision of these activities is provided, you will have no leaks or moisture problems.

On this site you will find a residential mentality that sees nothing but problems with your needs because they have little control over foundations and moisture protection. Control over those aspects are key.

If you get a sound design, monitoring and controlling moisture sensitive construction is all you have to be concerned with. But that's a big job.

Compare arguments against building underground to arguments against building a boat.

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A reasonable expectation becomes an assumption when it goes wrong.

old27

Are you always this abrasive and off-putting? Man, your posts suck.

mdshunk

old27 forgot to add the smiley at the end, so I did it for him.

GCMan is not abrasive. He's just used to doing the 'impossible' on a regular basis and doesn't have much patience for people who say that something can't or shouldn't be done.

Glasshousebltr

You Mississippians are a breed apart. Missa-sapian. However this thread has my to thinking a few of ya might have branched off the old evolutionary tree a little to close to the power lines.......jk

Why on earth would you be considering underground? If I'm not mistaken, your states is presently underwater.

Bob

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Bob

old27

many thanks for adding to that mdshunk...a mere oversight on my part.

:Thumbs:

PipeGuy

GCM-The man started by saying he doesn't want (expect) to spend a lot of money because what he wants is underground. All of us KNOW that the structure he wants doesn't get built on the cheap BECAUSE it's underground. I don't see how the responses do anything but address the obvious contradictions in his expectations. You yourself have basically told him that you could do it but it's expensive. Bottom line is, what he wants can certainly be done but not within the cost parameters he's likely got in mind and not without a professional (read $$$) design. In my mind, that automatically excludes an underground structure from the list of options.
Maybe he could drive steel Z sheeting around the perimeter of the proposed site, excavate and build a wood frame structure within it and encase it in a bentonite slurry wall? :Thumbs:

Glasshousebltr

Build it in the shape of a shere, backfill with sand, coat it with drylock, and it might withstand the floading and earth quakes of armagedon.

Anyone else here smoke too much pot in there youth?

Bob

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Bob

PipeGuy

That depends on the definition of "too much".

ProWallGuy

I'm glad he asked it and I didn't have to.

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Wallpaper Hanger St. Louis
Digital Murals Installation

AAPaint

Too much? What are you going to do over-dose and fall asleep? It should be a requirement that people use cannabis instead of the deadly opiates your doctor is selling. It should also be required that the hemp be used for food, fiber, fuel, paper, building materials, etc. etc. The world is so busy looking for a solution to all that ails it, and it is right under their nose, literally!

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-AAPaint

AA Quality Painting & Pressure Washing LLC
Jacksonville Painters
Jacksonville, FL.

20Two

Or you could just move and buy this place: http://www.ultimatesecurehome.com/

Teetorbilt

I wonder why he is selling it. End of the Cold War?

__________________
You can't solve you're problems with the same level of thinking that created the problems.

Albert Einstein

carpenter 1st

nah, just doesn't need a place to hide his stash anymore!