Why These Basements Are Taking Over London

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Why These Basements Are Taking Over London

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[OBFYT]

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[danunpronounceable]

As a geotechnical engineer, I want to add that London clay has such a low permeability it is considered impermeable, which means that it does not absorb water. So water already has nowhere to go in London, other than watercourses. This is why London floods with high rainfall, because it is almost completely dependent on surface water drainage which flows into rivers which can get overwhelmed. Concrete basements will not change this fact.

[napoleonibonaparte]

While the Dutch build walls to keep water out, the British are digging to let the water in.

[mfaizsyahmi]

Clay soils are actually virtually impermeable. It's because how the very fine particles are packed makes water's passage through it awfully slow. In fact I think the iceberg basements would become more like literal icebergs when it comes to severe flooding:- it could cause the whole structure to float and then crash into the neighbouring buildings.

[Ruds-ljtr]

As someone who lives near London, I find the prospect of the city slowly sinking rather scary.

[dharmilp]

This is very common in NYC, most owners of historic homes build below ground since they cannot remodel the existing structures. I work on the excavation systems to build below these homes

[ARN]

Feels like London is slowly going towards becoming UnLondon

[Zed_Oud]

One thing ignored is the fact that’s it’s *feasible* to build basements in London. It’s seismically stable.

[chestnut]

Underground construction is the shit. Space for humans while still allowing room for nature with potential wild life crossings, geotermal heating, shelter for the elements. I remember walking around campus on uni during shit weather wondering why the hell we didnt have underground passage ways only to find out some places have borderline underground cities.

[samehedi]

your ads keep getting too mixed up in the video. a good segue is good but it should be clear when the content stops and the ad starts. otherwise good content as always!

[jaxstax]

People make basements in these areas should pay a fee to the government to help build more drainage for the city.

[mtmadigan]

I actually warched a video on this from a construction company specializing in this. It looked like a nightmare. The manpower and time was eyewatering. They essentially tore the interior apart until it was just the historical shell. Dug down. Poured more concrete footings/walls. Dug down more did the same. And it wasnt a dig it all down at once. You had to split walls into 4 areas. Youd dig number 1 down, pored concrete, digout 2 pour concrete etc. So it was like a 4x as long time frame. Then...then you can start the interior. Its cool but just amazing cost. If you want to feel better, in los angles the prices are nuts. Guys buy these little bungalows to tear down and build mcmansions. Not on the water or even good areas. Like 1/2 acre lots, 1500 sq foot bungalow that would be 100k rest of the country. These guys are buying them for a million plus. And theres bidding wars. For a house theyll bulldoze just want the land. Its nuts.

[nadeemchaudhry]

Interesting video, albeit slightly flawed..
London is full of high rise buildings and skyscrapers.
Also, the basement builds are in most part part financial viable, with basement build costs ranging from £600/sqft- £1500/sqft and sales prices in some of the areas you mentioned over £2000/sqft, its rarely a loss making exercise

[HYDRAdude]

It seems like the real issue here is wealthy distribution and not zoning restrictions.

[simonsaysno]

1:36 Actually, London has the second most skyscrapers of any European city. Had it been part of the US it would have been placed fifth, ahead of cities such as San Francisco and Los Angeles...

[aymanla]

1:38 ''london has so few skyscrapers'' LOL

[sambrusco]

I suppose they could build a slurry wall for the 4 walls of the basement, and then dig out the hole in the middle. This is how they did The Big Dig in Boston. • • • • • • • •

BUT you will NEVER keep all the water out. The interior finish walls need to be separated (an air gap) from the foundation walls. This will allow water that finds its way through the concrete (and it will!) to flow down to the sub-sub-sub-sub-basement. There you will have a sump system BELOW the bottom floor of living space. That ground water would then be pumped to the surface. • • • • • • • •

The interior walls will also need closed cell insulation so moisture does not create mold in the living space.• • • • • • • •

I did something similar in my own basement, on a MUCH smaller scale, without digging down. The insulated interior walls and basement floor are separated from the concrete surfaces. Water is allowed to migrate.• • • • • • • •
Easy-peasy!!

[LanternOfLiberty]

When Speer was building test sections of the underground road that would make Germanias Axis car-free, they had major problems with the marshy Berlin soil.

[christianhumer]

1. How can that water drain, when everything is concrete? Does London build pipes that let the water into the ground anyway?
2. Building a Basement is not bad in my opinion. Sure, it needs to be constructed, but it isn´t seen from the outside as compensation.
3. It also reduces Land Use by being at site instead somewhere where a Road is needed.
4. When Water cant infiltrate into the ground anyway, how would building a basement affect the fact that London is sinking?

[php]

In Canada, there are severe restrictions on building basements past 3 meters in depth. The issue is a combination of shallow bedrock called shield rock and then there is a requirement that any inhabited room must have a window for escape. No windows from the basement means it's strictly for storage. Windowless basement windows cannot be used for a home theater, hobby room, rumpus room and especially bed rooms