What is Basement lowering & Basement Underpinning?

Basement underpinning is not just for added space, but also strengthens your home’s existing foundation and structure. Even if you have no desire to add extra space, it may be required to preserve the structural integrity of your home. Basement underpinning increases the value of your home as it increases the overall height and square footage of your basement. The process involves extending the existing foundation vertically, to add a below-grade floor of living space. At ACCL Waterproofing we use a combination of concrete and piers, with the concrete adding to the overall durability of the foundation and the piers increasing the load it can withstand.

Benefits of Underpinning?

Deciding to have underpinning done to your home can benefit you if you have structural problems. Underpinning ultimately increases the value of your home as it adds height and square footage to your basement. Foundation wall underpinning becomes essential when the existing foundation starts shifting in a way that its unable to safely support the house. Basement lowering also known as underpinning entails digging out the basement floor several feet down. Generally, the basements are about 6ft high, and lowering the basement by 2ft for a total of 8ft for headroom is the desired height.

Why Choose Underpinning?

The process of underpinning or lowering a basement is done for several reasons. In many older homes, the basement was never meant to be a living space with low ceilings and exposed ductwork reducing the amount of headroom. A homeowner may want to convert a crawl space or unfinished basement into a useable area.

Underpinning your foundation opens the hidden mechanics of the home and makes them accessible for inspection, correction, and improvement. Since underpinning is typically done on older homes, there is old electrical, plumbing, and insulation systems that can be replaced or upgraded to ensure that your home is up to date with building codes and standards. By underpinning your basement, you improve your foundation strength, increase home value, conserve on energy though repaired insulation, and turn your basement in to a conferrable living space.

Underpinning dramatically alters the usability of your basement by adding up to 50 per cent of available living space in your home.

What are the signs?

Early warning signs of foundation shifting are; changes in the shape of your walls, bulging, sagging, structural cracks, sinking, differences in the alignment of doors and windows. Underpinning the foundation walls will stabilize the home and increase strength to the building.

Don’t Wait – If you need a basement underpinning renovation to increase the height and square footage of your home, or if your foundation is showing structural problems. call 1(905) 448-5909 or visit our contact page to drop us a message http://acclwaterproofing.ca/contact-us/