CRAWL TO BASEMENT
Excavation of an existing crawl space is tricky business but so many folks have asked me how to do it so I will explain the steps and
procedures to follow.
Locate a place in an outside wall of your crawl that you can safely enter the new basement with a temporary or permanent set of
steps. The opening in the wall should be large enough to accomodate at least a 36" door, I prefer making the area for the steps at
least 48" wide.
One note of warning at this point: If your soil is sandy or gravel and or may be full of water at least part of the year do not consider
this procedure, it is very dangerous and you may lose your house.
Before you dig the hole for your outside exit please build a header of sufficient size to hold the floor of the home where you will be
removing old foundation.
You need to excavate to a depth that will accomodate a 4" concrete slab and still have at least 7'6" of clearance under your floor
joist. It is entirely possible that you will have 48" of soil to remove. The deeper you go the more hazardous the work, I cannot stress
this point too much or often.
You must not excavate any closer than 24" away from the existing foundation. You can remove the soil sufficiently to work along
the wall without removing the entire area you wish to change. When you get the soil removed to the depth you wish pour a footer
that is 8" thick and 16" wide. The footer should be below the bottom of the new slab so it is a good idea to dig the area for the
footer below the level you remove for the floor area. After your footer is hard lay cement block with reinforcing mesh between the
1st and 2nd coarse and every 2 after that. When your block is to the level of the bottom of old foundation wall you need to pour a
4" thick concrete slab on top of wall and over to the outside existing wall. Before pouring your "cap" you must fill between the
block and soil that is under the old foundation with fill sand or "pea-gravel".
Assuming that you probably have some kind of support under the center section of your floor system you will have to provide
support for the beam that is presently supporting the floor while you excavate for a new footer for a steel post that will hold the
floor of your new space. The footer for this should be 8" thick and 24" square.
You will need to level the floor area for your new slab and install 4" perforated plastic pipe draining to a sump pit with an automatic
sump pump that dispenses the water to the outside at least 5 to 10 feet away from the foundation of the home. I like to use
"pea-gravel" for fill under the slab but you can use fill sand also.
You can build your stairwell to the outside in a similar fashion but you need to cover it with a steel "pre-fab" unit such as "BILCO".
They have provisions for locking and if you take care of them they will last for many years.
The floor plan of your home may allow for a stairway to the basement from inside, this is great but some folks like an exterior
entrance also.
The drawing above should help you see what the foundation of this type of Remodel should look like. The existing foundation may
be of stone with no footers, proceed in the same manner.
LINKS TO FAVORITE SITES
Stains and Finishes for Log Homes
Name Puzzles 4 kids
Apple Valley Photos
Classic hand carved wooden Hand Gun Grips
Little Patch Farm - Boer Goats