Team-BHP - Home Construction / Makeover / Maintenance Thread

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Quote:

Originally Posted by Guite (Post 3063103)

I am still not clear on this. Do you mean the basement line is 3.5m inside with respect to frontage of building? If yes you will need to also check headroom between ramp and front of building.

Please see attached image. The car is a typical sedan. The red line shows a simple ramp at 1:3 slope is barely sufficient; you will scrape the car. With modification to top and bottom of ramp (blue line) its safe but distance also increases. Dimensions in centimetre.

Also note that if basement is inset 3.5m (see previous section), at 1:3 ramp you will be already climbing 1m up, so check headroom. Another point to consider is that 1:3 is extremely steep. In comparision most parking ramps are not less than 1:10.

Although I am not entire clear of what you are having in mind, all I can add is that a typical sedan being 4.5m long, you will need similar space behind it for comfortable turning and parking. At the very least you will need 8m wide basement, IMHO. This is considering the ramp coming in at one end of the basement.

How many cars are you planning to fit in the basement. If you are considering this option for only one car, I don't think its worth it. Reason being space taken up by the ramp is equivalent to one parking space!

EDIT:

I had a closer look at your drawing again and two points come to mind.

There would be a head room problem between ramp and ground floor beam if you go for a steep ramp to save the tree. Hatchbacks and sedans may pass through but tall people will hit their head on the beam.

Your problem will be solved to a large extend by maintaining driveway at existing ground level. On the other hand you may have other compulsions for proposing a higher ground level.

Appreciate your detailed response on this. Thanks very much.

I am not sure if explaining this in words would complicate things, but let me try (Please refer to the image I posted earlier):
- To accommodate the basement, the ground floor is designed to be at a height of around 1.4 meters from the current ground level. However, we are planning to raise most parts of the plot by around half a meter from existing ground level. Thought of giving a small slanting from the higher areas to where the driveway is, so that vehicles can be moved in and out of the ramp to other parts of the front side.
- So that way the ramp could start from the existing ground level and the descend will only have to be 1.31 meters or so.
- The projected part shown in front of the drawing room is a 3.5 meter wide veranda and the entry to the basement is outside its width. I am thinking the height at the mouth of the basement entry would be around 2.4 meters itself, not considering the ramp inclination.
- As I spoke with the person who drew this diagram, I think we can assume that the ramp can start from a distance of around 4.5 meters from the mouth of the basement. So that is to say that we need to descend 1.31 meters or so in 4.5 meters.
- But if we consider recommendation from vinjosep and make the ramp curved, instead of straight, as per my calculation, we can get a total ramp length of around 7.5 meters. Thats like 1:6 or so - would that be safe?
- As per plan, the total dimension of the basement is 9.78 X 5.52 Meters, of which, 2.52 X 5.52 meters is a small room, from which, the ground floor is connected by a staircase. The parking space itself would be 7.26 X 5.52 Meters.

If you could ask the person who is designing / drawing house to draw everything to exact scale and size your decision making will be easier and faster.

It would be interesting to see how a curved ramp will work. What is the size of your plot of land? How is the building located wrt the boundary walls? Is it a corner plot? You will probably end up with lots of hard paved driveway and less green space. If you don't mind you can post your plot layout.

For a parking space 7.26 X 5.52m approached from the shorter side, perpendicular parking seem impossible. Unless you are planning a 5.5m wide ramp, which is a huge waste of potential green lawn. Make similar layout in some open space with lines drawn on the ground with bricks / stones. Try maneuvering a hatchback and a sedan in this space as if it actually is your parking space, complete with width and position of approach ramp.

On the other hand you can try adjusting your connection to ground floor and have a basement parking space dimension of 9.78 X 3.5m approx. You can then park two cars in single file.

Quote:

Originally Posted by devansn (Post 3064229)

- As per plan, the total dimension of the basement is 9.78 X 5.52 Meters, of which, 2.52 X 5.52 meters is a small room, from which, the ground floor is connected by a staircase. The parking space itself would be 7.26 X 5.52 Meters.

If you could give a top view of the basement, it would give us a better idea.

Also, since you are going for a basement, if possible would it not be better to plan for more than 1 car? This would automatically free up some space for you to park/ maneuver a single car.

Quote:

Originally Posted by devansn (Post 3064229)

Quick sketch on iPad on what I have visualised from your description. This is to support my earlier response. With approach from narrow side you cannot park perpendicular because of insufficient turning radius. You can only go in straight and park.

With approach from longer side you can park as much as the width of ramp allows.

Quote:

Originally Posted by vinjosep (Post 3065383)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Guite (Post 3065436)

Thanks a ton guys, for all the pain you are taking to help me feel confident in going ahead with the plan or making required corrections to the plan. The reason I am asking for this favor is that as automobile users, team-bhp-ans can visualize the probable issues related to handling the cars in parking spaces, more than anyone - more than even the designer of this plan.

I am uploading the front part of the site-plan as well as a drawing of the basement (The images are shown together - there are two images with different widths). The whole of basement area (6.06 X 5.52 Meters) is going to get a height of 2.4 meters. Also, there will be an additional 1+ X 5.52 meter space with around 1.5 meter height, towards the left of the basement - as shown in the siteplan, with cross lines.

The areas where I want clarity are:

1. If the ramp starts from the left mango-tree area, and if the ramp is curved, would the slanting be enough to accommodate normal street cars? We can ignore really low-ground-clearance ones like Sports cars and all.

2. The designer has shown a semi-circular portion towards one side of the basement. Would it be useful? Also, I am not sure what construction challenges could be there for building this shape - the base of the rest of the house will overlap this area - so.

3. If there is only one car parked in the basement, I think we may be able to turn it inside the basement itself. But if there are two, the cars may have to be reversed in or out of the basement. If the ramp is curved, would it be a constant pain or the space is sufficient that it can be done easily everytime?

1. By slant if you mean slope, should be okay. As per your latest plan you have about 8m distance to go down 1.something metre. Be careful about beam depths as you have some long spans. It will affect headroom or ground floor level.

2. Depends on what you think you can use it for. To me it makes no sense in a basement. Construction can be done.

3. I strongly doubt a sedan can go in and park the way you have shown car 1, or maybe I am a bad driver. I will need a 4 wheel steering. The curved ramp can actually facilitate parking the way you have shown car 2. In and out should be a problem so long as you are not reversing up the ramp.

Repeating myself, is it really worth doing this basement parking? Ramp portion cannot be used for anything else. If you plan this portion as surface parking with semi hard paved surface, it can be a very usable surface as sit out, party lawn, etc. Ask your designer to give you estimate for the basement. A properly constructed basement is more expensive than ground and upper floors of same area.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Guite (Post 3066540)

I think this post of yours has made me rethink about the basement plan. I sat and calculated the outside area saved by introducing this basement into the plan - sadly, it was just 21 sq. meters. The space for the ramp may have to be reduced from this number again - finally, what I save is just less than a sq. meter. And the area taken by the ramp itself is more or less equal to the area of a two car parking lot - around 4.5 X 4.5 Meter. I think we will drop this basement idea for now. Need to discuss with my designer again.

On a separate note, I have been bugging my plan designer for the last 9 months - he has drawn at least a few dozen plans for me. Now I am getting ready to be tormented by him when I tell him that I don't want the basement!

Quote:

Originally Posted by devansn (Post 3067396)

Typical layout of a Delhi house as shown is very space efficient. Straight driveway from gate can accommodate two to three cars in single file. Remaining about 3/4th of plot width is available for contiguous green space. There is also the advantage of looking out onto greenery from drawing room and, in your case, bedroom.

In the layout shown one tree is transplanted. The layout may or may not work for you depending on your constrains.

Frankly your designer is not good. Change it. Building own house is a lifetime investment, so spend more on a quality designer. Look for a qualified architect from a reputed college.

Ps: I am not soliciting.
Pps: Sketching with finger tip on touch screen is not easy and iPad insists on rotating it its own way, please excuse the sketch.

Have been to Jigani (Bangalore) today looking for some granite. The rates starting at Rs. 55-60 for Madurai stone and Rs. 70-90 for good quality designs. All are 20mm thick, 3'x10' size and above.

Surprised to see too many shops came up in the last two years! They are sending granite to neighboring states and the approximate cost would be about Rs. 20 per sq.ft

Quote:

Originally Posted by devansn (Post 3062419)

I wanted help on deciding whether it will be wise to proceed with the plan still. I have a Punto which is infamous for low ground clearance. Would it save its belly, front bumper, etc. from scraping, if we provide such a steep inclination? Would conversion ramps help in this case?

Want your suggestions on this.

What is the plot size? (Sorry if I missed it somewhere). I will not suggest a basement for parking your cars.

Give (if possible) front setback details please.

For folks going in for a makeover please check out "grand designs" for some ideas. There are abundant of them

Hi Friends!

We are constructing a house in South Bangalore and looking to plant 2-3 trees outside for shade. Can anyone please help in choosing the right tree? We are looking for something fast growing, strong and of course, not absorbing too much water.

Quote:

Originally Posted by coolclouds (Post 3127729)

1. You could go for poppy seed tree. This is very fibrous and the tree branches go wide and does not grow too tall. Hence gives a lot of shade.
2. You could also go for badam tree which again gives lot of shade, but during leaves shedding season, you will have to keep cleaning around because of quantum and also ensure to prune.

Quote:

Originally Posted by anup7649 (Post 3127874)

Thank you!

I am more inclined towards Badam tree as cleaning could be easy during shedding season.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Guite (Post 3067476)

Frankly your designer is not good. Change it. Building own house is a lifetime investment, so spend more on a quality designer. Look for a qualified architect from a reputed college.

I agree with Guite. One never makes many houses in his life, unless its your business! Invest in a good architect, you will end up saving in terms of utilization of space, as that is most important.
As part of a suggestion, I never recommend a basement parking unless the plot is on the upside of 700 sq. yds. The ramp always needs careful planning, and a lot of space. Minimum gradient in which generally a car doesn't scrape is 1:6, which means for 1 meter vertically you will need 6 meters horizontally. Which typically transforms into a very long ramp.

Please note that I am not promoting my profession here (I am an architect). But would be happy to help if you need any advice/help as a friend.