Basement Lowering | Foundation Underpinning | Basement Floor Lowering

If your home or an office does not have enough space for an entertainment room or storage, consider basement lowering and underpinning. Finished basement can easily add up to three more functional areas to your existing house space. The problem of a low ceiling is often present in older homes’ basements, since this space was usually used for utilities – fortunately, converting crawl space into a finished basement can be achieved by lowering the floors and underpinning the foundation.

Basement lowering and underpinning is a complex project that requires good planning and preparation. It usually takes over four weeks to complete the lowering and underpinning project. Since lowering and underpinning implies excavation, the best time to start working on your basement is the dry season – usually the middle of a summer. Since basement lowering and underpinning involves changing your house’s structure, it can only be performed by a professional foundation contractor with a specific (to lowering and underpinning) liability insurance. license, knowledge and equipment. If your lowering and underpinning project is not properly done, it can destabilize the foundation and cause the collapse of the structure.

Before you call the basement specialist, think of the reasons why you would like to undertake the basement lowering project – it can be to increase your home’s value, to add extra living space, or to create additional storage. When a basement specialist has this information, he or she will be able to come up with a viable plan for your lowering and underpinning project, which will then go a structural engineer, who will in turn create drawings of your future basement.

The drawings are necessary in order to get a permit to start your basement lowering and underpinning project, from a city. Once the city approves the project, the basement contractor will make necessary changes and will able to give you a quote for the lowering and underpinning project. Among the factors affecting the project could be the size of your basement, the height you are trying to achieve, the landscaping conditions around your house, the season, the soil quality. When the price of the basement lowering project is settled between you and the contractor, either you or him will have to talk to your neighbours to make sure your project is not compromising the structural stability of their homes. Once you complete all the formalities of your basement project, the specialist will start the basement lowering by stabilizing the foundation (to avoid problems associated with excavation).

The lowering process entails locating the water supply and sewer lines, drains; the removal of the concrete floor; excavation; drain system relocation, floor drain and sump pump installation The underpinning process strengthens and stabilizes the foundation of the house. By increasing the depth of the foundation, it provides an even distribution area for the soil load.

After the basement lowering and underpinning is completed, the space is then prepared for interior renovation efforts associates with the goals of your basement project (like adding a bedroom or a bathroom, installing pipes, etc.)