My basement ceiling height is too low for any type of finished basement (about 6′ 2″ high.) Is it possible to chip up the basement floor with the idea of digging lower and pouring a new floor?
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I didn't do it myself, but I was working on a renovation where this was done.
Easier than I thought it would be.
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We start one like that in a week, roughly 25 x 28.
Gonna cost them about 35K. Most people don't consider the cost worthwhile
Biggest concerns will be engineering - what soils and ground water conditions - site access, and cost.
Normally the whole floor willnot be lowered, but a bank around the perimeter will be left of the old footing.
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<<< Normally the whole floor will not be lowered, but a bank around the perimeter will be left of the old footing.>>> PiffinThat's exactly the way it was done in the example I cited; this guy saved some $$ by having a couple of his gorilla buddies break up the old floor, do the necessary excavation (by hand), and haul the debris to the dumpster.********************************************************
"It is what we learn after we think we know it all, that counts."
John Wooden 1910-
Not sure if you're equipped, but it might be a great opportunity to share some pics of the process with those of us who would like to (someday) do this on our own homes.
I'm starting to see more mention of digging out basements, I guess b/c the home renovation boom has people looking for more space in their homes.
This is probably the only option to expand for me, as lifting the house would be impossible, the way my house is oriented on my lot - with setback limits maxed out, would make it expensive to enlarge the footprint. Going up would create alot of interruption while trying to live in the house, and makes the new space so much farther from the 1st floor. For 10-35k, I think the add'l square footage of a finished basement would easily pay for itself in my area, easily making my home comparable with many nicer homes. Aside from the digging and concrete work, refinishing the new space would be easily within my ability.
PJ
I generally always do take photos of my job progress, though uploading too many can be quite the chore with dial-up. I'll probably give it a try since you asked.
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This was discussed recently.
http://forums.taunton.com/tp-breaktime/messages?msg=82076.1
Dude, we did a whole house renovation last year, There was 72yr old man accross the street who wanted a taller basement. he didn't dig the floor out, instead he lifted the house (by himself) with hand jacks. Then continued to lay block himself. Granted He had small rancher(still a major job for anyone). In the beggining we were looking out the windows wondering what this guy was doing. We were like what is this fool homeowner doing? One day we had seen the house start to come off the ground. We watched the guy all day and didn't get a thing done. We all went over with lunch for the guy. He wanted to finish his basement off and he figured ''How hard could this be? He was a retired Hairdresser (go figure). Great guy, He is now working for me and we love having him. We started working on his basement on weekends. Pretty weird how we meet people.
Sorry about the blabber mouth story, just thought it was interesting
-LMC
Good story!
Forrest
It is generally far easier to lift a small house than to lower the cellar floor and footings.
great to know there is hope for me when I get that old.I can be a hairdresser;)
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