Reader question: Raising the ground to build a house

By Submitted Message
Posted in Reader question
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June 18, 2021

Dear readers,

I would like to receive some information for raising the ground, it is about 19 x 11 meters between other houses that are all higher than street level. The old house was made of wood on wooden posts. Under the floor about 1 meter free, where water often remains, so quite soft. It is 2 meters below street level and now has to be 1/2 meter above street level.

My question now is what to do, just raise it with soil or sand with soil or partly with rubble and then roll it flat? There is a house of stone with ground floor + 1 floor.

I'd love to see the responses.

Regards,

happyman

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10 responses to “Reader question: Raising land to build a house”

  1. Bert says up

    Depending on where you live, but I would still ask the neighbors whether they have driven piles first.
    This is not very expensive and at least your house will not sag.
    The ground will collapse in the first few years, you have to take that into account when constructing a terrace and P-place.
    Have seen here in BKK that a piece of land was raised ± 1.5 – 2 meters and large buildings were erected quite quickly. During the raising, large machines drove around that vibrated the ground. Always add a layer of about 30 centimeters and vibrate again. After that, there was plenty of pile driving (a pile every few meters up to 18 meters deep) and construction started quite quickly.
    It will cost a lot, but I don't think your soil will collapse any time soon.

    • Roger says up

      Is there actually still piling going on here in Thailand?

      I think (not sure) that pile driving is prohibited in many places in Belgium because of the nuisance. Most piles are drilled there.

      • Bert says up

        Projects where no one lives yet are still full on. At least in our neighborhood.
        In inhabited neighborhoods you indeed see more and more drilling being done.
        With us in the moo track you are not allowed to pile, but there is a new construction project 2 km away and there is plenty of pile driving.

    • happy man says up

      Piling is not allowed in our street, so that is becoming a bit more difficult.

  2. Lung addie says up

    Dear Happy Man,
    according to your own description you should, or want, to raise about 2.5m. That's not a little, but a lot. I don't know how far the adjacent houses are from your construction site. If very close to it, then I would certainly not pile because there is a great risk that these homes will suffer damage due to the pile driving and the resulting vibrations.
    The fact that water regularly remains on the lower lying terrain does not mean that the soil is unstable. It may well be that this is a substrate that is impermeable or difficult for water to penetrate, eg a layer of clay.
    How I would handle it:
    for raising you have a few pits dug. You don't have to be a structural engineer to determine whether this is muddy ground or stable ground. If, in your opinion, it is a well-established soil layer, then, in places where you would otherwise have to drive piles, make sufficiently large pits to pour a foundation saddle. You can then raise this, with formworked piles, to just above the building level and then rest the later concrete platform on it. Before you start building, you can still raise the ground between these poles, after all, it no longer has to support anything.

  3. Johan says up

    I have 20 posts (20 x 20 cm) with a base of 1 m2 20 cm on what I believe is a solid surface. thick with top and bottom reinforcement. Raised between the ground. This one will (still) settle. floor also has a thickness of 20 cm. above and below reinforcement, well connected to the foundation.
    The ground is sinking around the house, but otherwise no complaints.
    Stands on klegrom. Sukhotay.

    If you compact the soil in 30 cm layers, keep in mind that this can also cause quite a lot of vibrations in the area.

  4. Guy says up

    I am not an architecture specialist - I do know that we built a house in 2004 in the moon-river bed (around Phimai) that house was built with my knowledge and equipped with a basement.
    To date, the basement is still waterproof (see nuisances in the past), the house itself does not yet show any settlement cracks.
    Build on sufficiently strong foundations - search / ask for information - at Western architecture and you will certainly succeed in your intentions,
    Another thing, many Thai contractors would like to gain knowledge about Western construction techniques.
    Some are stubborn – then look further for someone who is open to other techniques.
    Don't let yourself be influenced/forced by local customs (read family) - do remain open to their vision and solutions.
    With some patience and your own input you will certainly get good results.
    More information for possible contact can be obtained via this site.
    Hammering in/drilling posts seems like a pointless thing to me. after raising > 2 meters, waiting until 2 years is recommended. Check it out after a rainy season…..

  5. Antonius says up

    I would dig deeper into the top layer of the current plot at the location of the new building. and use the resulting soil for raising. Simply pour a solid concrete slab and concrete walls of approximately 2,75m1 high.
    So just the house you want to build under basement (OR basement) Pour concrete slab as a deck with a stairwell in it.. Wonderfully cool space for storage and or perhaps bedrooms. Provide the walls with a few so-called cuckoos. So windows at a height of 0m2 that open into a box with grids on top.
    You then have an ideal foundation and it does not cost much more because raising it also costs money.
    Good luck Regards Anthony

    • Bart says up

      That's right, Antonius, this is even a construction technique that is used very regularly. This even has a name: stool cellar.

      When I built, many years ago, this was also applied. The original calculation of my foundation also spoke of a large number of piles that would cost me a lot of money. I then, on the advice of my architect, had a new calculation carried out. In the latter, a relief cellar was therefore recommended. This was even slightly cheaper with the added advantage that my house had a full basement. Ideal for cool storage and concealment of all kinds of utility pipes.

  6. Jer says up

    G'day Happyman,
    you cannot answer a question such as you ask without first having an expert soil investigation carried out. Based on this, a suitable type of foundation can be chosen, taking into account what you want to build. Costs a bit, but saves a lot of trouble.


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