Grand Canal Street

 

A period 3 bed roomed two story terraced home in poor repair, on one of the busiest roads in Dublin.  The owners wanted to double the amount of habitable space available to them.  As part of this refurbishment and extension the Basement Specialists constructed a 90 sq meter basement, underneath the return and garden.

These houses did not have any basement when they were constructed so there was a large amount of spoil to be removed.  Site access was only from the front as the site was bounded by homes and a garage on the other three sides.  So all the materials had to be brought in via the house and all soil had be removed the same way. There was no space on site to store the spoil and only one small skip could be on site at any one time.  Also the water table was only 1.5 meters below the surface.

Construction of the concrete basement box took 16 weeks with fit out happening later.  Excavating the 90 sq meter space took 70 12 cubic yard skips and 20 meters of underpinning down to a depth of 3.5 Meters. The excavation phase is documented here. Also involved was diversion of the existing collector sewer and construction of a temporary roof.  To control the water table a six meter deep dewatering well was dug. 

The final space is to be used both as living space and as a plant room.  One section of the basement is access from the main house and brightly lit via light wells.  This section is used as living space in the heart of the house.  The remainder is used as plant and storage space with separate access from the rear garden.

All pictures in this case study are from the specified project.

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