Quote:
Originally Posted by jyl
Anyone ever tried breaking out all/part of a basement concrete floor, digging out 3 feet, and re-pouring the floor? Natural light could come from large window wells, a sunken exterior door/stair, even a sunken (below-grade) patio area, opening to back yard. Some of our friends have such a set up. With well-placed artificial lighting inside and rain protection overhead, can make a very nice space. Don't know what water table/drainage situation is in your area, or about costs. Might be a feasible project if you have a strong back.
Actually I plan to build out basement in our house, will need the large window wells too. Project on hold.
|
The problem with hand digging out a dugout type basement is the footing walls. They usually only extend down below grade 2'-4'. If you dig out the basement there is no support for those walls and the weight of the house will cause them to push inwards as there will no longer be anything holding them in place on one side. You can leave 4' of earth (braced) on the inside to support the outside walls, but that sort of defeats the purpose of creating living space down there. Then there is the 224 cubic yards of material your going to hand bomb out in pails (24X28X3/9) That's about 2700 5gal pails of dirt to lug. Cancel your gym membership, you won't need it while your digging.
Easier and safer to lift the house off the basement. Move it back, demolish the existing basement. Dig and build a new basement and then move the house back on to it. If space is a restriction on moving the house, it can be lifted and a new basement can be built under the house.