House has no basement, can i make one??

Question

We just purchased a house without a basement, i love the house.Moving in march 23rd.
I was wondering if its possible to build a basement.I dont care its hard work or lots of money. Just wondering if its possible.And how much money would it cost?like $10,000??
we have no basement at all.

Not thinking of building one now.Maybe like 5 years from now

Answer 1

There are many variables that will affect the cost of digging a basement under an existing house. Another answerer has pointed out that adding a basement to a house built on a slab is impossible and for the most part, I agree. Keep in mind that anything is possible, but it all costs money. It would cost a small fortune to add a basement to a house built on a slab.

Three factors immediately come to mind. Your general location will have a lot to do with the cost of adding a basement. Prices for this type of work tend to be a lot higher in many metropolitan areas than the same basement might cost in a more rural area. At the same time, an extremely isolated area will also contribute to a higher cost. The type of soil and underlying geological structure will also determine the cost. In many areas of eastern Canada, the hard granite of the Canadian Shield lurks just under the thin topsoil. Blasting through this granite would be extremely expensive and chances are good that there are not many basements in the area due to this fact.

Another consideration is the "footprint" of your house. A full basement under a small (26" x 50" 1,300 square foot) one story house will cost less than a full basement under a larger house.

In the end, anything is possible. I don't think you will get very far with a $10,000 budget. If you have the room on your lot to build it, an alternative might be a two car detached garage with attic storage. That will be a lot closer to your budget than digging a basement under the existing house.

Good luck with your new home.

Answer 2

If your house is on a slab, chance are you won't be able to make a basement. If it's an old home and has a stone foundation, you can hand dig a basement under it, but you will need to use beams to support the house both as you dig, and as a permanent support once you get the basement to the depth that you want it.

The cost of doing this is going to depend on the physical size of the house (and therefore the basement), where you live, what kind of soil you're dealing with, and whether or not you have a place to get rid of what you take out (that soil has to go somewhere).

Regardless, if you start this project, you need to understand exactly where any underground utilities come into or go out of your house (i.e. water, sewage, electric, gas, etc.). If you hit one of those lines while you're digging, it's going to cost you a whole bunch more than the excavation and support of your house. More importantly, if you don't know what you're doing, or have never done or seen this done before, get a trained professional to do it for you; you might just keep your house from falling into the hole that you're digging.

Answer 3

If your house sits on a slab foundation the answer is NO! or yes if you have more money than sense. However if it has a crawlspace you could do it by lifting the house of the foundation, or digging a basement out and pouring it in concrete and pinning it into the original footings. No matter which way you decide to go $10,000 wouldn't get you very far today let alone 5 yrs. from now. Today's prices 25-35K.

Answer 4

there's a lot of variables to consider. if the house is on a concrete slab, then no, you cannot.
for a regular wood frame house it can be done, but it is very labor intensive, and must be done almost entirely by hand.
the procedure is called under-pinning, and you'll have a hard time finding any contractors that do it any more.
other considerations are soil conditions, local building codes,and you will almost certainly have settling issues such as cracked plaster or truss lift. not all houses will be a good candidate for under-pinning. if the house is resting on a series of piers, the floor joists may not be of sufficient size to allow for an open span.
the first place i would go for more info is the local permit center.

Answer 5

it can be done if the current support structure permits. i have laid blocks under several such houses, but took no part in shoring them up. need a good excavating outfit for this. i just poured the footers and laid the block ,so i know it can be done. if i had to guess at a price within the next 5 years , around here it would cost about 20,000-25,000...if you live in or near a large city maybe more. we are a bit economically depressed around here so i cant command the prices other masons can in the big cities...something to go on...

Answer 6

hey.. ur house is already built up so building a basement will be way way way too wasted.. first u have to dig a hole inside ur house, then u have to add the pillar.. make the water draining systems, electric.. u definetely cant make it on time MARCH 23..

if u wanna make it outside of ur house, it will be much more easy