bonneville bones
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I want to lower the floor in my basement( can't stand up) how should I go about doing that? Thanks bones
basement shop
- Thread starter bonneville bones
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rburke65
Well-known member
This would be a BIG job. The existing floor would have to be removed, gravel, soil, existing drain lines, sewer lines, etc. I would think then your footer beneath the foundation walls would have to be removed, and then lowered, so now you have to support the house above while you remove cement block......... There is no end to this nightmare. You could raise the house easier and and to your basement walls, or move.
wrenchbender
Member
I agree 100% the underpinning of the existing foundation would be nasty. Easier to move!
Cheers
Cheers
OctaneMotorsports
Well-known member
That sounds like a genuine pain in the ***. I wish you luck with that.
Sundowner
Well-known member
the basement in my house was lowered about 18" by the previous owner.
It's really not *that* complicated. you do need to bust up the floor, you do need to reinforce around the footings. What the guy did is he had an actual 10' wide concrete driveway installed down to a set of double steel doors cut into the basement wall. The contractor then used this driveway as his access point to do the work. Came out really nice. You WILL need an engineer or at least an architect who's smart enough to know HE needs and engineer.
It's really not *that* complicated. you do need to bust up the floor, you do need to reinforce around the footings. What the guy did is he had an actual 10' wide concrete driveway installed down to a set of double steel doors cut into the basement wall. The contractor then used this driveway as his access point to do the work. Came out really nice. You WILL need an engineer or at least an architect who's smart enough to know HE needs and engineer.
OP
bonneville bones
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thanks guys, can't move, I just bought it! Sounds like I'll just build a small garage...
PAToyota
Well-known member
Depending on extent and budget, if you are intent on going down then shoring the house up; clearing out the existing basement, foundation, etc; and then building a new one is probably the most straightforward. Lifting the house up and adding to the tops of the foundation walls would also be a possibility. Either way, this is no small task...
However, I have seen it done like you are describing. Easiest way is to come in a certain distance (based on soil conditions) from the existing foundation walls and footings before digging down. This means that you have a ledge around the perimeter, but you don't get into disturbing the existing footings and bearing.
Unless you do something like Sundowner mentions, the hardest part is getting the concrete/dirt/etc out of the basement and the new stone base/concrete/etc in. Excavating a ramp so that you can get a small Bobcat down there is about the only way that I'd even consider doing that much work.
However, I have seen it done like you are describing. Easiest way is to come in a certain distance (based on soil conditions) from the existing foundation walls and footings before digging down. This means that you have a ledge around the perimeter, but you don't get into disturbing the existing footings and bearing.
Unless you do something like Sundowner mentions, the hardest part is getting the concrete/dirt/etc out of the basement and the new stone base/concrete/etc in. Excavating a ramp so that you can get a small Bobcat down there is about the only way that I'd even consider doing that much work.
<----------architect.
Couple of things you should consider:
What is below your house? Rock? Dirt? Boulders?
You will want a structural engineer for several reasons - design the underpin and slump, inspect the conditions post excavation, monitor the doweling and pin, monitor the settling.
Assume you will loose floor area when you are done. Start with 8" in from the foundation wall which is typically where you will find the inside of the footing. Assume a 45 degree angle from the inner upper corner of the footing down toward the new slab. That will be the spot where your clear floor area will begin.
Also, footing drains only work when the top of the drain is below the bottom of the slab. Plan on an interior drain or dig up the perimeter to redo the footing drain along with a re-slope of its outlet.
Couple of things you should consider:
What is below your house? Rock? Dirt? Boulders?
You will want a structural engineer for several reasons - design the underpin and slump, inspect the conditions post excavation, monitor the doweling and pin, monitor the settling.
Assume you will loose floor area when you are done. Start with 8" in from the foundation wall which is typically where you will find the inside of the footing. Assume a 45 degree angle from the inner upper corner of the footing down toward the new slab. That will be the spot where your clear floor area will begin.
Also, footing drains only work when the top of the drain is below the bottom of the slab. Plan on an interior drain or dig up the perimeter to redo the footing drain along with a re-slope of its outlet.
Charles (in GA)
Well-known member
When I was growing up, a man down the hill a few houses from us did this. We could sit on our back porch and see the back of his house. He dug down and made a ramp, and one wheel barrow at a time he shoveled by hand out under the house, and ran with the WB to the back of the yard and dumped it, and ran back to the basement and continued digging. When he was done, which took three or four years, he build a wall inside of the existing foundation and poured a floor.
More recently, a guy at work lived in a smallish, rectangular house on a large lake, the back of the house faced the lake and a down slope and was on a crawlspace. He put several I beams under the house, sorta like house movers do, and used hydraulic jacks to raise the house. He would round up all the neighbors to each operate a jack and then spend the rest of the week shoring up the beams, repositioning the jacks and the next weekend would raise the house another few inches. Along the way he put down rows of concrete block as he went, and extended the water and sewer lines. He and his family lived in the house the whole time this went on! Finally it was done, floor poured, central piers installed, plumbing finished, I beams removed and new porches built with permanent stairs, and he was done. This took a couple of years of all of his spare time.
Charles
More recently, a guy at work lived in a smallish, rectangular house on a large lake, the back of the house faced the lake and a down slope and was on a crawlspace. He put several I beams under the house, sorta like house movers do, and used hydraulic jacks to raise the house. He would round up all the neighbors to each operate a jack and then spend the rest of the week shoring up the beams, repositioning the jacks and the next weekend would raise the house another few inches. Along the way he put down rows of concrete block as he went, and extended the water and sewer lines. He and his family lived in the house the whole time this went on! Finally it was done, floor poured, central piers installed, plumbing finished, I beams removed and new porches built with permanent stairs, and he was done. This took a couple of years of all of his spare time.
Charles
6768rogues
Banned
I have seen it done a few times. Generally, you need to stay away from the original footer so that you would leave a 45 degree angle from the old footer to the new elevation. Then build a short wall as above, so that the old footer is essentially up on a ledge or step above the new floor.
I have seen them hand dug, and where one wall was removed to the extent that a Bobcat could be driven in.
I have seen them hand dug, and where one wall was removed to the extent that a Bobcat could be driven in.
russlaferrera
Well-known member
It can be done. The questions are .....the type of soil under the house? Who is doing the work? Is it worth the cost?
When I helped my dad do his. We had clay to dig out, there was no floor. We dug 2 ft. from the foundation along one wall. Built the retaining wall. Then backfilled the wall. then started the 2nd wall. Same same. we then dug an outside entrance. last we dug out the center dirt. poured the floor. Took us 2 years by hand working during the summer vacation. Got to be honest.. When school was out I cried.
When I helped my dad do his. We had clay to dig out, there was no floor. We dug 2 ft. from the foundation along one wall. Built the retaining wall. Then backfilled the wall. then started the 2nd wall. Same same. we then dug an outside entrance. last we dug out the center dirt. poured the floor. Took us 2 years by hand working during the summer vacation. Got to be honest.. When school was out I cried.
TAMPAGT07
Well-known member
Hey if you want to sell, i know some Oompa-Loompas who are looking for a new place. They just retired from a chocolate factory and the low ceiling is not a problem.
OP
bonneville bones
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Hey if you want to sell, i know some Oompa-Loompas who are looking for a new place. They just retired from a chocolate factory and the low ceiling is not a problem.
Mabey I could just employ them to build chopers in my basement..... Kill 2 birds with one stone, get my bikes worked on and not have to dig for years! Do you pay them in chocolate? Can you 1099 them at the end of the year?