Basements on BI (Waimea: house, construction, contractor)

[jeffington]

Does anyone dig basements on BI? Waimea perhaps on Kohala Coast?

[KoaKine]

Ground real hard here on the BI they only dig if they have to. you will notice utilities running on top of the ground not under it.

[jeffington]

Originally Posted by KoaKine

Ground real hard here on the BI they only dig if they have to. you will notice utilities running on top of the ground not under it.

Is it too hard up by Waimea for heavy equipment to dig through?

[mdand3boys]

Originally Posted by jeffington

Is it too hard up by Waimea for heavy equipment to dig through?

Digging isn't the right term.
It is all lava rock. It is what built the island to begin with. Sure, some places have what they call deep soil, which may be 1-2 feet deep, but you will still be ripping through lava rock.

My question would be: Why do you want a basement?

[jeffington]

Originally Posted by mdand3boys

Digging isn't the right term.
It is all lava rock. It is what built the island to begin with. Sure, some places have what they call deep soil, which may be 1-2 feet deep, but you will still be ripping through lava rock.

My question would be: Why do you want a basement?

Why, perchance, are you curious as the underlying motivations?

How about drilling and charging to loosen the mat'l.

[Jonah K]

Originally Posted by jeffington

Does anyone dig basements on BI? Waimea perhaps on Kohala Coast?

Dig a basement on the Big Island?

Most likely, that's going to involve plenty of "red tape", a hefty checkbook, and either ripping or blasting through solid lava rock.

Instead of trying to build a basement, most folks here would simply build a house with a raised post-and-pier foundation. Enclose the portion underneath the house and one will have most of the benefits of a basement without much added expense. Sometimes, mainland ways of thinking about building need to be adapted for an island environment.

[jeffington]

Originally Posted by Jonah K

Dig a basement on the Big Island?

Most likely, that's going to involve plenty of "red tape", a hefty checkbook, and either ripping or blasting through solid lava rock.

Instead of trying to build a basement, most folks here would simply build a house with a raised post-and-pier foundation. Enclose the portion underneath the house and one will have most of the benefits of a basement without much added expense. Sometimes, mainland ways of thinking about building need to be adapted for an island environment.

Checkbook is not an issue, ripping and blasting is not an issue.

Thanks for the option, but I am not really into doing the "most folks" think. I just stick to doing what I see fit, and it always works out one way or another.

I am not so much concerned with the hardness of the rock, but whether there are any shifting or settling issues that would damage a solid-concrete (8' reinforced) basement.

[Dreaming of Hawaii]

Jeffington, maybe you should talk to the "experts" who know about the preculuarities of building on the Big Island. "Most folks" probably do things the way they do here for a reason.

I doubt that you will have any shifting or settling issues that are experienced on the mainland due to the type of rock that is here. However, I suggest contacting an engineering firm on the island with experience in construction projects. Also, maybe one of the building inspectors in the county building department would have experiential knowledge.

[jeffington]

Originally Posted by Dreaming of Hawaii

Jeffington, maybe you should talk to the "experts" who know about the preculuarities of building on the Big Island. "Most folks" probably do things the way they do here for a reason.

I doubt that you will have any shifting or settling issues that are experienced on the mainland due to the type of rock that is here. However, I suggest contacting an engineering firm on the island with experience in construction projects. Also, maybe one of the building inspectors in the county building department would have experiential knowledge.

Yes, in due time. Was hopeing, perhaps, that somebody here had some experience with such a prospect. As I said earlier, funding is not particularly an issue.

[Jungjohann]

Well, if you hit blue rock, which is firmly attached to the center of the earth, you'll end up spending so much time drilling and blasting that it would hardly be worth the effort, let alone the expense. Closest thing I've ever seen to a basement over here as a contractor, was up on Clipper and Mariners Ridge above Hawaii Kai. Because of the steep incline on the majority of the building sites, the owner would either opt to build entirely on stilts or would dig and blast into the rock on the highest point, then CMU that portion in, leaving the remaining portion on post and pier. Actually worked on one house way back when, that was 'bolted and glued' into semi-vertical blue rock, the rest of the house was on posts. You could almost touch the rockface from the ridgeline on one side of the roof, the roadside was about a 100 foot drop, right in Likelike valley..... I'm bidding a job right now that has a 'semi' basement, up in Kehalani on Maui, on the valley side slope of the West Maui mountains...

Uuuurrrrpppp,,,, would be nice for keeping the beer cool................