Basement Ceiling Too Low? Lower the Floor!

basement renovation ceiling

Do you have a basement in your house with a rather low ceiling? You may have purchased a home that is a couple of decades old, and its basement is in accordance to the styles of the days gone by when basements were used primarily for storage, but certainly not for living. Of course, a basement that is only six feet tall will do you no good, and besides, it most certainly will not conform to the requirements of the building code. However, why should you give up on a perfectly good spare guest room, play room, exercise room, or even laundry room? Although raising the ceiling probably is not an option, you can still increase your living space by lowering the floor.

Now, lowering the floor does not come without its complications. Care must be taken to ensure that the house's foundation is not damaged. That is why, as with all basement renovations, it must be handled by a professional. However, lowering the floor is still something that is commonly done, and there are two main ways to do it.

One way is called underpinning. This involves digging beneath the existing floor and slowly but surely fortifying the existing foundation so that it becomes stronger and is able to continue supporting the house. The advantage of this method is that the floor simply becomes deeper – the floor width remains the same.

Another option, which is usually cheaper, leaves the existing foundation untouched. A new foundation is then poured next to the existing one – a foundation within a foundation, a wall within a wall. This new foundation will then support the new floor. This is known as bench footing. It does take away some floor space, though.

If you are wondering which one is best for you, contact us and we will give you an affordable quote. 

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