Going up? Adding Ceiling Height to Your Basement Remodel

Last post we started the discussion of adding basement ceiling height to your remodel. We discussed the strategy of digging down to gain height in the basement. In this post, we talk about up by lifting the house to gain basement ceiling height. As mentioned in the last post, these strategies have a high degree of difficulty

First and foremost you have to check what the city zoning will allow. A few things to look for are how will house raising affect your floor space ratio and will the new height be above what's allowable. Providing you are able to check all the city boxes and get a building permit, then we get to the good stuff.

Let's Get that House Airborne

Have your qualified contractor and structural engineer inspect the condition of the home ensuring it can sustain a house lift and the additional weight. Next disconnect services like water, gas, electricity and sewage. In the basement demo the existing interior walls. Confirm subgrade condition for stable placement of jacks and support cribs. Cut holes in the foundation to allow beams under the building. Jacks are placed under the beams and the house is raised and crib supports take the place of the jacks. Now that the building is off the foundation, its time to build the structural supports between the foundation and the bottom of the home. Lower the home onto the new structural supports and voila you have a taller basement. Now you are ready for framing, plumbing, electrical etc.

Questions? Please feel free to contact me and I'd be happy to help out.[caption id="attachment_6624" align="alignleft" width="225"]

Beams Placed for House Lift[/caption][caption id="attachment_6623" align="alignleft" width="225"]

Support Cribs Under Beams[/caption][caption id="attachment_6627" align="alignleft" width="225"]

A View of the House Above the Foundation[/caption]