How to increase the height of the basement?

A basement is an essential asset in a home if used properly. It could be a small gym, a teen room, a guest suite, a study, or a storage area for food and other items.

However, in the past, when building a house, no one paid attention to the basement, and this place was not made very strong and suitable. In that period, the basement had more of a storage aspect in the house, so a short ceiling was allocated to it.

Nowadays, if a person wants to optimize the basement, he must first increase its height. Therefore, many people turn to construction and repair companies such as Happy Construction to change their service by increasing the height of the basement ceiling.

Several methods can be used to increase the height of the basement. These methods are both a structure that changes the foundation of the house and are visual so that we can create the illusion of a high ceiling by using decor design elements. You should leave the work to an expert team using a structured method. Because this project is compassionate and there is a risk of damage to the building.

Three standard methods are used to increase the height of the basement, which are:

• Basement underpinning

In this method, the basement floor is dug to increase the foundation's and the wall's height. Concrete columns are temporarily removed, and new columns are installed to strengthen the foundation and increase the height of the roof. This method requires a specialized team and appropriate equipment because unprincipled drilling leads to the collapse of the building. 

To carry out this project, the expert team breaks the concrete floor to access the soil. The specialist starts drilling with a sledgehammer or hammer. Once it reaches the soil, it digs the ground to the desired depth, removing all debris. Then, based on the desired pattern, the floor is dug into small sections, and new concrete is poured. This new concrete will be the expanded foundation walls. Then waterproofing materials and other protective measures are used to ensure that moisture, mould or anything else will not enter the building.

• Basement benching

If the cost of underpinning is too much for you, consider expanding the basement through benching. This method is faster, easier and cheaper. However, this will reduce the overall space.

Benching saves drilling time. Instead of breaking the existing concrete and adding a new and lower foundation in this method, the expert starts the project by digging to the desired depth. The location of the sewer system should be carefully checked, as only up to that point should the floor be excavated. Then new concrete is poured into the excavated parts to strengthen the walls. Doing this creates a bench structure around the new ground. This method is very similar to underpinning, except that the bench is not lowered with the entire floor. Instead of digging, a bar is used next to the walls in this process to strengthen the foundation. The floor next to the bars is excavated and deepened.

This method is very similar to underpinning, except that the whole floor does not go down despite the bench. Instead of digging, a bar is used next to the walls in this process to strengthen the foundation. The floor is dug and deepened next to the bars.

In conclusion, increasing the height of the basement ceiling in any way is a big project that requires expertise, effort, and cost. But it is an excellent option because adding usable space to the house and changing the use of the basement is convenient for you and adds value to your property. Contact our consultants in Happy Construction for more information.