Basement - To Dig, Or Not To Dig!?

CorruptedLogic

So my house is approximately 10 years old in Portland, OR. Our "basement" is currently a crawl space (actually, it's more of a stoop and walk space, it's about 5' from floor to ceiling). My question is, would it be feasible for me to dig down another, say, 3-4 feet, so i had a full basement that i could finish? Or, would it make my house collapse?
I'm guessing that i'll have to get a pro in to do at least some survey work and get permits and stuff before i even buy a shovel, but i figured i'd ask here first as it may well be univerally known that this is impossible, and i'm just having foolish pipe dreams!!

Thanks in advance for any answers or advice!!

gregzoll

How much do you have to spend on a engineering study? Most likely there are reasons further under the ground then what you can see, is why a crawlspace was done. Also for cost reasons.

Do your other neighbors have basements, or are they a split level if in a hilly area?

osborn

We do it here in Ohio. We offset the new block about 2 feet inside the old block. So you have a "shelf". Looks like this
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