Underground home garage?

[malibuquest]

I love the idea.. I thought about it before. I use to deliver to a company that made large concrete castings. The castings were for floors that were used in motels and buildings..
My thought was to build a "cellar" or foundation and use these concrete flat sections for the ceiling... Rubber liner to waterproof and "Dow" board to insulate. Have the side walls made with poured concrete not block so it would not have the weeping problem.
The outside walls would be coated in tar and a rubber membrane installed. The same could be used for the floor...
The weak spots would be any joints, but with the evolvement in plastics i'm sure there is a product on the market that could be buried for a hundred years without breaking down.
For access to the "bat cave" there is a lift that is advertised as --now you see it--now you don't... Alift that allows you to lower a car and then park one on top in a single garage.. Just use that lift to lower a car or what ever to the lower level..
Another plus is that it could be used as a bomb shelter... Hmmmm " Omega Man.........................

Exactly. HEre is a link to ICF type flooring/ roofing forms http://insul-deck.org/ . Even easier to get into place to pour etc. Lots of waterproofing products, spray on and wraps too.

 

[Dan_inthewind]

While I have never been inside of an underground garage the concept is not new. Not far from when I am in a place called Elk Lake Ontario there is a home that is completely underground. I am not talking three sides to a hill, rather unless you know where the house is you would never find it. As we rode by on the motorcycle one day I mentioned to the wife that this is the spot, she may or may not believe me that there is really a home there. I am told that the home is above and beyond comfortable. So yes it can be done, yes it can be dry,yes it can be expensive depending on your property.

 

[malibuquest]

Thanks Dan. I know exactly where Elk Lake is. Would be very interested to see this house someday!

 

[Graymills - Craig]

2) If/when those pumps fail. you WILL be the proud owner of an underground wading pool. Have a back-up.

3) Your entrance ramp is basically just a big ice/snow/water catchment system. That will ALL roll down-hill. Make sure you have a slit-drain all the way accross the door(s) to keep the water from rolling in.

These two points are crucial. I've seen it enough in Chicagoland, where a combination of leaves washed down the drive, plugging the drains, and a flat battery backup have led to big insurance claims on the cars parked in the garage.

 

[Firetacoma]

Another thing to consider is ventilation. It seems fumes would be more apt to accumulate in an underground "vault" than in a conventional above ground design. CO2 is slightly lighter than air so that could be taken care of with a high powered exhaust fan in the ceiling leading to a pipe in the middle of the yard? There may be regulations about the height at which that can exit though, as you wouldn't want passersby to be inhaling it directly.

Overall I think this is a cool project. If it gets turned into a reality, make sure you document it here!

 

[thdewey]

I guess it just depends on where you live. We close tomorrow on a house two doors down, mainly to get its garage (24x26, detached) and its large flat lot (actually it includes two lots) with room to build a workshop. It is a duplex, so it has good income potential, and real estate around here has taken a major hit, so it wasn't very expensive. Our current lot is on the side of a hill, fully wooded with large 75 year old trees (Maple, Norwegian Spruce, Oak, Dogwood, etc.). Building on our current lot was not going to work. We live right downtown in this community, and finding something suitable so close took a while. We are in the mountains of NC, and there are not many flat lots. Right now, no one is looking to buy anything real estate wise, so this one sat on the market for many months (and became more affordable).

Our current house does not have a garage.

I guess this is an advantage of living in an area with relatively affordable real estate.

This is a really weird way to get a garage and workshop, time will tell if it was a very smart move....

This is our current house. Every tree in the background is on our lot. 1934 river rock bungalow. Just rebuilt the front steps, so they look a lot better:

Bill
That is an awesome house you have. I love Waynesville. I've been there several times. Much more affordable than nearby Ashville (Hippieville).
I think that youv'e got a win-win, a shop/garage and income property. Good for you.

Somebody 3 or 4 years ago had a build thread for an underground garage with a tunnel to connect to the house. That must have been a million dollar garage!


Found it.
http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=12234&highlight=underground+tunnel+garage
It's the otherway around, garage on top with living space below. I guess that way you wouldn't have to worry about the slope of the driveway.

 

[malibuquest]

H

Here is a quick rendering of the underground garage in question. This might help explain why the space requries a drastic measure such as this.

 

[idoine in toronto]

Here is a video of an underground wood working shop in Montreal. It may have similarities to what you are looking for.
Access is from the house's basement. In you case the ramped drive would obviously differ.

I like your sketch above. One suggestion would be to think about building a connection to your house so that you can stay indoors between the house and garage. You could also build closer to you home and use part of the roof structure as a terrace.

http://www.finewoodworking.com/Workshop/WorkshopArticle.aspx?id=31684



And here's a pick of your future garage's interior.

 

[Cargo]

Have you looked at the bunker garage thread? Not really the same but you could get some ideas.

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=12234&highlight=bunker+garage

 

[malibuquest]

Here is a video of an underground wood working shop in Montreal. It may have similarities to what you are looking for.
Access is from the house's basement. In you case the ramped drive would obviously differ.

I like your sketch above. One suggestion would be to think about building a connection to your house so that you can stay indoors between the house and garage. You could also build closer to you home and use part of the roof structure as a terrace.

http://www.finewoodworking.com/Workshop/WorkshopArticle.aspx?id=31684



And here's a pick of your future garage's interior.

Thanks for the video, this is just the same thought process that I am going through! The only difference is that I would like to put lawn on top of mine. The comments about heat efficiency are right on the money too.

 

[ishiboo]

How much are you planning on spending? A structure that size could easily be six figures, depending on your water table.

Seems silly to do all that and then have only 7' ceilings, IMHO.

 

[malibuquest]

Yes, figured it would be six figures. 7' ceiling at one end only would be satisfactory as it is all about the area above. Again, the entire reasoning behind an underground garage in the first place.