Increase Your Home's Value with Strategic Basement Lowering and Excavation

You need more space in your home but can't move from or leave your comfortable home since you've memories here. To get some more space, you can build an addition, but it can also disrupt your outdoor space and budget.

So what is the solution?

Well, you likely have unused square footage tucked right under your roof in your basement! Most of the time, these spaces are ignored as unattractive storage. Advancing basement lowering techniques can excavate functional footage and valuable assets beneath your feet.

Many basements are only used to store unused pipes, laundry, and overflow storage. But strategic underpinning and digging out your basement can transform these raw foundation cavities into extra living space.

At Heide Contracting, we specialize in home renovation and expansion offering additional living space without altering your home’s above ground footprint.

Keep reading to learn more about how we can make these expansions through Basement lowering and Excavations.

What is Basement Lowering and Excavation?

You may be wondering what exactly it means to lower or excavate your basement. Put simply, basement lowering (also called underpinning) and basement excavation projects aim to give you additional usable space and headroom by physically expanding the dimensions of your existing basement.

During a basement lowering, contractors access the area underneath your current basement floor and foundations to safely dig out extra height, sometimes as much as 2-3 feet. They install new, deeper foundations under your existing ones, then pour a new, lower concrete floor.

This process increases the basement ceiling height without altering the house structure above. Excavation takes it a step further by digging out space adjacent to the current basement walls, allowing you to expand the basement's footprint for more living or storage areas.

Check out this video from Heide Contracting Founder, Alex Heide and hear from the homeowners who doubled their living space!

Why Consider Basement Lowering and Excavation?

Like many Atlanta homeowners, you may feel constrained by limited space in your home. Even modest renovation dreams get shelved for lack of area to expand. The thought of a costly addition is out of reach. But what if you could get extra living area and storage without expanding the building’s footprint?

Basement lowering and excavation offer smart, strategic ways to tackle common homeowner challenges. Here is how basement lowering increases the value of your house;

• Limited House Size: Digging deeper or wider in the basement adds precious square footage without altering the upper levels. This underground expansion brings the same benefits of an addition at a fraction of the cost.

• Outgrown Storage: Those boxes piling up in the hall remind you how much you’ve accumulated over the years. Basement renovations provide organized storage solutions to stow away the overflow.

• Poor Resale Appeal: Choppy basement ceilings, damp floors, and cramped spaces won’t do you any favors when selling. Opening up the basement demonstrates the home’s full potential to buyers.

By converting wasted basement space into a livable area, you could add a comfortable home gym, movie room, guest suite, or large laundry area without changing the home’s exterior size.

The basement taps into unused potential below the ground. Strategically leveraging this space can increase home quality and resale value for years to come.

What Steps Are Included in the Basement Lowering Process?

Just like any other construction process, basement lowering has a specific procedure to follow. Architects and Engineers need to follow laws and guidelines to conduct the entire process. While there are many things to keep in mind, here are some important factors to follow while conducting basement lowering:

1. Initial Home Assessment

The first and foremost step is thoroughly evaluating the home that will undergo basement lowering. An engineer conducts an initial assessment to determine feasibility, identify optimal methods, note potential risks, and create a customized plan for the project. This preliminary study is crucial for mapping out key details ahead of time.

2. Choosing the Best Technique

Once the initial homework is done, the contractor decides which technique works best for actually lowering the basement. The two main options are underpinning, which involves digging underneath the current basement floor, or bench footing, which digs around the existing foundation instead. Each approach has pros and cons to weigh, given the home's specific layout and soil conditions. The contractor works with a team of structural engineers to finalize the plan prior to excavation.

3. Excavation Stage Begins

With the green light given, the lowering process starts by the contractor excavating earth from around or underneath the original basement foundation, according to the chosen technique. If underpinning was selected, the soil gets dug out from underneath the current floor. For a bench footing approach, excavation occurs adjacent to the perimeter.

4. Installation of New Foundations

The excavated soil gets replaced with reinforced concrete foundations or blocks to support the lowered basement. Allowing proper drying time ensures these new structural bases become firmly set before adding anything on top. Adhering to curing times prevents cracking issues later.

5. Inspection & Approvals

Before wrapping up the project, the local building inspector examines the new construction work, materials used, and overall structural integrity to ensure full compliance with codes and regulations. Only with the town's official approval can the basement get completed and signed off.

Choosing the Right Partner: Why Heide Contracting?

Expanding your home’s footprint downwards into the basement takes an experienced contractor you can trust. When taking on structural renovations below ground level, you need a partner who knows the ins and outs of local codes, soil conditions, and potential pitfalls. We work with a firm of top-notch structural engineers who ensure the structural integrity of your home remains long after our work is done.

As Atlanta basement expansion experts, Heide Contracting should be at the top of your list.

Here’s why you’re in good hands with Heide:

• Unparalleled Basement Expertise: With basement projects as their bread and butter, Heide Contracting’s team brings specialized expertise that gets the tricky details right. Their focus translates to efficiency and quality work.

• Seamless Process: From securing permits to final cleanup, Heide Contracting manages the logistics so you don’t have to. Their handling of plan submissions, inspections, and crews takes the workload off your plate.

• Stellar Track Record: Hundreds of satisfied Atlanta-area clients affirm Heide’s reliability. Their 5-star reputation shows in rave reviews and referrals. See their gallery of finished lower levels. 

• Locally Established: Operating exclusively in Atlanta, Heide understands the city and state regulations and relevant building codes to navigate area requirements smoothly. 

Getting basement excavation and lowering basement floor done properly requires niche expertise. With Heide Contracting’s experienced team in your corner, you can expect a smooth process and standout finished basement.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q. How deep should a basement excavation be?

Ans. When planning a basement excavation, most homeowners prefer a finished ceiling height of 8 feet, which means the depth is around 10 feet. Going even deeper is possible but adds cost. Windows are placed below grade (under the ground) using egress window wells. 

Q. Can an existing basement floor be lowered?

Ans. Lowering a finished basement floor involves complex structural work called underpinning. This requires extending the foundation footings underneath the current slab.

Q. What is excavation in construction?

Ans. Excavation means digging out earth on a site to prepare for building foundations and other construction. It comes before pouring concrete for the foundation. Excavators may need to shore up the sides of deeper trenches to prevent collapse until forms and steel goes in.

Q. What's the difference between a basement and lower level?

Ans. A basement is a story below the main level, partially or fully underground. A lower level may reference the floor below the main that sits at or above grade, with a walkout entrance. Both provide living space a full floor below the primary rooms. Multi-story homes often add confusion on naming.