Chicano,
Have you considered building your home on top of compacted fill without the basement?

Alton C. Keown
Residential Designer and Technology Construction Consultant

Well that's what I thought about first. I thougt about making a "hill" about 8 ft high, compressing the soil and pooring a slab, but then the amount of compacting soil I would need and the cost is pretty prohibitive....even though my land slopes down to a really wet area that intend to dig out for an acre+ size pond. Then I thought about just creating an 8ft high crawl space foundation, but I don't care for the look of a house that high. (Looked weird in drawings...kind of like those beach houses on stilts.) So then I thought it wouldn't look weird if I pushed up dirt around the 8ft high crawl space to make it look like the house was built with a slab on a hill. Landscaping could make this a cool look. Also that would require much less dirt and I wouldn't have to worry about compacting it much beyond what is necessary for a yard. Then I thought that water would eventually seep under this crawl space and I would have a "tank" under my house...seemed like not a good idea. So, then I figured i would have to poor a slab as a floor for the crawl space to keep the water out from under the house....so if I do all that, then I might as well, ultra-water-proof it and finish it to serve as a basement. I still am pretty nervous about that since I read about SO MANY water-in-ICF-basement problems. But, I do think it is doable; probably just have to spend the money. Bottom line I am sold on concrete construction. What say all of you?

So, back to sealing a basement in wet areas...in another post, I heard that many houseboats are constructed on concrete basements that actually float! I guess concrete houses displace more waterweight than they weigh. (very layman's way to put that I suppose) Anyway, can anyone describe the process of waterproofing a basement to that degree. I have read about the products on the following sites, www.xypex.com and www.kryton.com but I have also read that it is virtually impossible to seal concrete enough to completely keep water out. It seems to me that if a concrete basement is floating in a lake, there would be a lot of hydrostatic pressure (another term I've learned from these forums) on the concrete and it would leak eventually. So, what is the method of waterproofing concrete to such standards. I'm sure it is probably extemely technical, but the basics would be nice to know.

Chicano, my brother purchased a somewhat similar property. It was a flat property adjacent to a creek (bad idea) and the entire property was pretty much 6" to 1 foot below the 100 year flood plain. His plans were to build a raised building area and I suggested that he dig a pond and use that soil as the fill as it was suitable. The water table was 4 to 5' below the ground level so it all looked like a good plan. He found out that there were many regulatory obstacles. Primarily Federal restrictions rather than local. Seems he can't just reduce the floodplain area. I think he finally figured out a way to get the necessary permits but he still hasn't built on it yet and it's probably been 10 years. Better check into what it will take to build on your property before you spend too much.

Yeah, I was concerned. The property has a 1 acre area already designated as the build location with a 4bdrm septic permit on file, but I don't know if I'll be allowed to dig a pond. I was musing over the implications of the "better to ask for forgiveness than permission option" and am also practicing, "No, officer it is the strangest thing...turns out that pond was always there."

Chicano,

Be sure to check the rules in your area to see how close the pond can be to the septic field.  If you plan to use a well, there is a rule for that too.