Are you a homeowner? Are you or does your family in need of additional space? A growing family suddenly finds itself in need of more space. This situation can be difficult. You might be happy with your neighborhood or house and not want it to change. The backyard may be a great place to have a garden, or for kids to play. In addition, additional construction might conflict with zoning rules in your area. You could build more but this is a very expensive option. Discover more?

To meet your space needs, you can expand your cellar. Unfortunately, basements were not designed to be habitable. Basements with low ceilings were designed to be used only for supporting the structural framework of the home.

In most homes, basements are crawl spaces. If you want to expand your basement space, you need to modify the foundation. Basement floors can be lowered in two different ways. The two methods are underpinning or benching. In both methods you will need to make structural adjustments to your walls, footings and foundation. As a result, your basement will be waterproofed and you’ll gain valuable space. What method you decide to use depends on your budget and how much space you are looking to add.

Both methods have advantages and disadvantages.

Benching

Benching is more affordable than underpinning. It is because benching does not require you to dig under the existing footings. The soil and existing footings do not get touched. This method pours the new foundation down to the depth of the new basement. This results in a second wall within the basement. It creates a ledge which is equal to extended height of basement and reduces the square footage.

The process is called Benching because there is a bench now around the perimeter of your cellar. You could build walls on top of the bench. You could get creative by building cupboards.

How much you increase the height of your basement directly affects the width of a bench. You will have to add 18 inch to the bench’s size if, for instance, you are looking to raise your basement height by 18″.

Underpinnings are more expensive than benches. Contrary to benching, underpinning does not reduce the square footage in your cellar. The reason for this is that you do not have build a benchwall. Underpinning is a skillful process that should be performed by experienced and veteran contractors.

Underpinning is the excavation and pouring of concrete into the new basement. The foundation is supported by sections that are built in stages. Undoubtedly, this process must be done slowly and very carefully. This is due to the fact that, in a certain way, lowering the cellar compromises the integrity of the house’s foundation.

Underpinnings have distinct benefits. The first is that you can increase the headroom of your basement without reducing its square footage. You will also be able to put an end to any worries you may have about the condition of your foundation.

Please be aware – has many benefits, but it’s underpinned by an expensive engineering solution.

We know that homeowners are faced with many difficult decisions when it comes to converting their Cumming basement. A skilled contractor can help you remodel your basement at an affordable cost.