Basement Household Shelter

[hermes76 0]

Seems like the HS is a requirement now for new buildups, anyone has done a basement HS? Is it feasible? Appreciate if can share some pics. 

Thanks. 

[snoozee 98]

yes it can be done and approved. not common as many will baulk at the cost of digging a basement. unless your house is in a low lying area which is below the 4m SHD, then you could excavate just a little bit and build a "basement"

[3Cube 9]

A basement shelter frees up option / space in your 1st storey for other purposes (ie: space planning for living room, dinning room, kitchen, etc). Not to mention the asthetacical appeal benefits as some people may feel the steel door or the steel vent opening unsightly. You also don't have to based your interior design around the shelter's unsightly doors, vent, etc

If you have the budget, I strongly encourage it.

You can have one of the shelter's walls to double up as part of basement wall.

You should be aware of the requirement by Civil Defense on the internal floor clearance area & the volume in relation to type of housing / occupant's number.

Google the "Civil Defense bomb shelter handbook" & download it for additional information.

[yoongf 11]

Home shelter has been a requirement since at least 18years already. 

Are u building a basement or are u thinking abt a small basement solely for the HS shelter? 

[AWS 6]

Check water table if you can. Very important factor. I am not sure how the QP will design the 2 ventilation holes. Also dampness may be an issue. But if you do a ‘semi’ basement for car access, coupled with CD shelter, it may be a better option.

[3Cube 9]

16 minutes ago, AWS said:

Check water table if you can. Very important factor. I am not sure how the QP will design the 2 ventilation holes. Also dampness may be an issue. But if you do a ‘semi’ basement for car access, coupled with CD shelter, it may be a better option.

The Vent is meant for air to flow into the shelter. Usually position on top of the steel door.

I've constructed one house with a basement that consist of a bomb shelter, Entertainment room, Maid's Room & an extra room.

Water table is non-issue as the basement floor / walls concrete were mixed with waterproofing additive chemical & another layers of waterproofing were applied on external basement wall's surface before backfilling of earth is done.

I've also designed another property with a basement that has rear, left & right walls. The front wall was omitted to serve as vehicle's access (ie: carpark entrance.) In such cases. I position the bomb shelter in the rear of the "basement" & allocated a lot of softscape design by working with a landscape architect to minimize / neutralize vehicular smoke.

 

[snoozee 98]

1 hour ago, yoongf said:

Home shelter has been a requirement since at least 18years already. 

Are u building a basement or are u thinking abt a small basement solely for the HS shelter? 

Since 1997 to be exact. But any approvals issued before that does not need to comply. This is confirmed by BCA as I had asked why a certain development need not have HS even though the developer is still building and selling the landed houses today