Building under your garden

I thought about this when building our house.

There's no requirement in planning for building below ground level AFAIK, so I wanted to go down and build a basement, however the water table was too high.

I'd avoid a metal container for fear of rust, but there's some good alternatives like those polystyrene blocks they've used on grand designs etc.
 
You would need to have it tested. If you go much below you will need to pump out while digging and construct a watertight barrier for your containers. As i say above i would be worried about installing metal containers below long term....

Building below ground is usually a pretty complex and expensive task unfortunately :(
 
another link to a container build if you're interested

http://www.tincancabin.com/

obviously above ground

With your build though is there any benefit to using containers? It sounds like it would cause more problems than necessary if your build is underground in a small garden in England (even if it is relatively substantial compared with the tiny gardens most houses come with over here).

A single container might be easy to stick in the ground but trying to maneuver two containers into position next to each other could be a faff - especially when you're trying to do it inside a hole in the ground... could you also fit a big crane round the back too if necessary?

I think the main thing is - you'd quite fancy building a games room under your garden... would probably be better to just look into what would be the best way to go about doing that rather than specifying from the outset that you'd want to do it with shipping containers.
 
Why not just build 4 trenches and fill with concrete, excavate the middle then put in a frame and make a suitable roof, etc.
 
How do you discover what depth the water table is? It wasn't mentioned in the searches for the property.

you have a bore hole drilled, dont waste the bore hole either once done, search for ground heating online and have that put in the bore hole, then you get free heating for the life of the bore hole, would offset the cost that way as well
 
Has anyone done this?

Is anyone interested in doing this?

From what I can tell as long as it is not changing the way the garden looks and isn't joined onto the house there's no requirement for any kind of formal planning permission.

I have a large rear garden with sun room (it's an old self-build conservatory the previous owner built) and a patio with a large lawn beyond it and some more patio and raised garden beds beyond.

I was thinking along the lines of a build that was put on here before where two huge shipping containers had been joined and developed into the side of a hill. Then there's plenty of strength already there and it's a case of excavating a hole in the back garden, lowering some containers in, sticking some steps in the garden and bob's your uncle.

I don't know if that's feasible or what the attributed cost would be, but I can't see why it wouldn't be workable.

I'm sure kwerk has a nuclear bunker under his garden already!
 
I can only imagine this, if a metal storage container was to be used would be a money sink. It would likely cost more to tank and insulate properly than it would to build it using traditional materials. You will have to wrap the thing in foam sprayed insulation to stop it cold bridging and causing huge condensation problems.

Poddy metabolism yes, but not with a ferrous metal container, you're asking for problems.
 
Sounds interesting but ultimately I think you will need planning permission and be required to meet building regs, so that's shipping containers out the window. If you don't need planning permission then you will still be required to confirm with building regs.

Still interested in this as even if you have to do it the proper way it sounds awesome :)
 
I got everything sorted with the council in terms of permission to build, not going too close to boundaries, etc. but this water table thing is a real sticking point. It's thousands to sink a bore hole and have someone tell you what depth the water table is at, and there's no record of anyone local having it done :(

Getting married next month so it's on a back burner for now (but not entirely gone).
 
Did you need planning permision?
What's the crack, structural engineering calculations?

Or as long as its not to close to boarder get on with it.
 
Not read all the comments so it could have been mentioned, the amount of earth your going to have to move to make any space is going to be 100+ ton so if you do go a head don't be renting little skips they will be filled in no time.

To find out how deep the water table costs the price of a spade just dig down and when you hit water that's it pretty much it. Does depend on weather conditions as well.
 
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