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Basement lowering (sometimes called basement underpinning) is the process of removing soil below a crawlspace or concrete slab, excavating the area to create a lower support level, and then adding new concrete footers, walls, and floors to extend the depth or reinforcing an unstable foundation.
This worthwhile home improvement is extensive and may damage your house’s foundation if not done correctly. It requires professional expertise in foundation walls, excavation, footings, and concrete floor replacement. Royal Work Corp. will carefully evaluate the foundation and surrounding area to determine job and building code requirements related to excavation depth, plumbing, electrical re-routing, and concrete work.
Basement lowering or underpinning is a very extensive process. Many people who want the service often hesitate because they worry about how long it will take or fear the basement lowering cost may be beyond their budget. But this is not necessarily so if you know and hire the right people.
For instance, At Royal Work Corp, we endeavor to save you time and money by making the whole basement lowering process as seamless and efficient as possible. We offer free estimates and are willing to meet with you to draw up a free quote.
We also work fast and professionally, so you don’t have to worry about the process taking an annoyingly long time. Additionally, Royal Work Corp. offers one of the lowest rates you would find in Toronto. But the most important thing is that we would be with you every step of the way, answering questions, addressing concerns, and ensuring that the work meets your satisfaction.
There are several methods for completing the lowering process, depending on the project’s purpose. The Traditional Mass method is used for shallow underpinning. In this instance, the soil underneath the foundation isn’t strong enough to support the home, and the weak soil is excavated and replaced with mass concrete.
This procedure provides both strength and a more efficient distribution of weight. The Beam and Base method utilizes the traditional mass base but incorporates concrete beams, and these are constructed underneath the concrete base to spread the load evenly for better support. A third method called Mini-piled underpinning allows the structure to rest on the stable ground 5 to 15 meters below the current footers. Piles are constructed and cased in steel, and the 15 cm to 30 cm piles are driven into pre-drilled holes to rest on more stable ground.
The fourth and more aesthetic purpose of basement underpinning requires removing the existing concrete floor. The soil is excavated in sections filled with concrete, and small gaps are left between the old and new concrete. Non-shrink grout is used to fill the area in each section.
egardless of the basement underpinning type, once the process is completed, you can fix the old plumbing problems with new plumbing installed. Our experts will now install a waterproofing system to keep the area dry before adding a waterproofing membrane to prevent water infiltration from the outside.
The exposed foundation walls are then backfilled. It’s now time to waterproof the interior of the basement. An internal weeping tile system is placed around the entire perimeter of the room, below floor level. This drainage pipe will capture groundwater and re-route it to a newly installed sump pump that will safely discharge outside. A layer of gravel covers the entire floor area and will provide a secure base for the new concrete floor.
Although there is a cost, basement underpinning might be essential and worth the investment. Things happen from time to time that cause the foundation to become less stable, and underpinning can help save your home.
There are many possible causes for this, including the natural deterioration of the foundation as a house age, as well as poor workmanship, damage from other repairs, climate change, soil change, and events such as a flood or an earthquake. You can save your basement against flooding.
The foundation of a building tends to suffer natural deterioration as the house ages, as well as poor artistry, damage from other repairs, climate change, soil change, and events such as a flood or an earthquake. You can save your basement against flooding.
Basement Lowering is structurally safer than adding an addition to the house, which places additional strain on the foundation. These events may cause the foundation to shift, rendering it incapable of adequately supporting the house. With the basement lowering, you can avoid making your home more structurally unstable.
Underpinning is used to increase the amount of living space on your property. It's increasingly used to obtain extra square footage, particularly in older homes.
Many older homes were never designed to utilize the basement for residential purposes. Basements were only used for storage, such as coal storage, oil tanks, or produce chill cellars. Basement lowering makes your basement more than just a storage facility but a cozy living space.
If you need more space but don't want to move, underpinning is an excellent option. Underpinning is a great choice to consider when looking for a way to add the additional room you require, and the potential uses for this extra space are virtually limitless.
You can use an underpinning basement for a spare bedroom, office, playroom, entertainment room, or in-law suite. Many homeowners are now using underpinning to build an apartment they can rent out as a secondary source of income.
Putting a specific price tag on lowering the basement can be very tricky, and this is because there are a lot of factors that can affect the cost of the process. Some of these factors include the space size, access to the site, soil, and the difficulty of excavation and landscaping. The technique employed is also essential in costing, as benching is less expensive than underpinning. However, on average, lowering the basement could cost between $35 and $70 per square foot.
The short answer is yes; you can lower your basement floor. However, it would be best if you considered many factors before deciding to lower your basement floor. You want to know the structural integrity of your house and the proximity of the house to your neighbors to avoid undermining their properties and risking damage payment.
How low and spacious you want your basement suite to be will also play a key role when deciding what technique to use. Fortunately, Royal Work Corp. provides free consultation and estimates, so you don’t have to make guesses. You can get a professional opinion that would help you make a beneficial choice.
Many assume that underpinning is the only way to lower their base, but this is not true. However, what do you intend to accomplish with basement lowering? There are two significant ways of lowering the basement- underpinning and benching. Underpinning involves installing piers or posts below the foundation footing to strengthen it. This process is more expensive but usually gives your room in your basement. Benching, on the other, involves creating extensions around the original foundation in a way that supports it. The process is cheaper and can be done faster. However, you would have less room with benching than with underpinning.
Many people use the terms Underpinning’ and ‘basement lowering’ interchangeably, but they mean different things. Basement lowering refers to the general process of excavating the soil of your house’s original apartment to make it structurally better and create more room. Underpinning is just one of two methods of lowering basements. Underpinning deepens the height of the basement and expands it vertically as well; hence many people prefer it to the benching method, which creates less room. This preference has contributed to underpinning being synonymous with basement lowering.
Sometimes you may need to lower the basement. The process can be done whether the basement is finished or still under construction. This method of basement lowering involves removing the existing basement footings, digging to a lower depth, and then pouring new footings at the new depth. The process has to be carried out in stages so the house doesn’t collapse. You can underpin various basement types, whether the basement is under construction or finished. You can also carry out the process in different weather or any time of the year.
Benching is a technique of lowering bases and holds several advantages to underpinning that can make them an appealing alternative. One of those advantages is cost. Benching doesn’t require touching the foundation or original footing of the house, so it is not just less time-consuming, but it is also cheaper than underpinning. However, you should note that benching adds less space to the basement than underpinning. In some cases, benching can even reduce the usable square footage of the basement. Hence, if you want more space, you might be better off using the underpinning technique of basement-lowering.
Bench pinning is another term for benching. Both benching and underpinning are techniques used to lower basements, create more room, and fortify the foundations of older buildings. The significant difference between bench pinning and underpinning is that bench pinning requires less digging, which makes it faster and cheaper to accomplish than underpinning. However, it comes with the disadvantage of reducing space as the basement will now have a new bench inside its inside perimeter.
