Have you been feeling a paucity of living space in your home? Or do you want to increase your home space for a better resale value? There are several ways to increase your home space.
You may either consider tearing down your present structure or building a bigger one or building additional rooms. While these both are great ideas, they require considerable time and monetary investment.
In this case, lowering your basement is the best option for homeowners. This is because it is far more affordable and doable than building new spaces.
Find out all you need to know about lowering your basement and increasing your living space.
What Is Basement Lowering?
Before we understand how to go about lowering your basement, let’s first understand what basement lowering is. This is a process that involves getting rid of extra soil under your crawlspace and creating a lower support level. This is then followed by the addition of new walls, hardwood flooring, and other structures to extend the depth of the basement.
What Factors Do You Need To Consider Before Basement Lowering?
Now that you know what basement lowering is and what are its benefits, here are some things that you must consider before starting to lower your basement.
1. Check Your Foundation’s Strength
Before starting any construction in your basement area, it is critical to assess the state of the basement. Leaks, cracked walls, and moulds are more common than you think and are sometimes not visible to the naked eye. When left unattended, they can cause bigger issues later on.
Some indicators of foundation issues are soft concrete, stuck windows, cracks on floors, slanted hardwood flooring, curves outside walls, or doors that won’t latch properly.
2. Know Your Area Code Violations
Every homeowner in Calgary needs to know their respective code violations. This is especially essential if your basement is old or there are chances that your contractor may have not done the original construction properly.
These codes and permits are related to fire, flooding, and other natural calamities. You just need to connect with your local city officials to understand the relevant applicable permits and codes before beginning the basement lowering procedure.
3. Moisture Problems
Moisture and waterlogging can cause serious damage to your basement. These usually are caused due to pipe leakages, lawn sprinklers, or floods that may cause the foundation to rot and even shift.
Before you start working on your basement, it is essential to fix all the leaky pipes. Not doing so may lead to serious problems later on.
4. What Are The Techniques?
Basement lowering is mainly done using two techniques- bench pinning and underpinning. Underpinning is when the existing footing is excavated and new footings are poured at a lower depth than the original one. This is a slower process and more expensive too but is great for repairing cracks and installing plumbing and electrical upgrades.
Bench pinning is a more affordable and faster option that doesn’t involve digging out new footings. It involves digging to new depths and creating perimeter walls benches. Though it involves no changes to the existing foundation but this process does make the basement smaller because you are adding extra foot space along the wall.
4. Is It a DIY Job?
Lowering a basement is not a do-it-yourself job. It is a complex and time-consuming process that involves making structural changes to your house. One mistake can easily cause irreplaceable damage to your space.
5. What Are The Benefits of Basement Lowering?
- Underpinning helps in making the rooms more spacious.
- Often basements are affected by structural issues due to soil type, flooding, etc. Basement lowering is a good way to eliminate these problems and stabilize your home against further damage.
- Once you overhaul your basement, your home becomes better equipped and accessible for inspections and upgrades.
- It is a cost-effective way to increase your home space and doesn’t interfere with your normal routine.
For a job of such scope and complexities, you should only depend on a professional to do it for you. At Home Floors, we not just offer the best quality and the latest hardwood floors in Calgary, but also have experienced and professional home renovation specialists on board who have helped thousands of Calgary homeowners create beautiful living spaces. Call us at (403) 984-4100 to fix an appointment or visit our store at 423 58th Avenue S.E., Calgary, Alberta, T2H 0P5.
