As far as being practical - it isn't. If you are planning an addition and looking into gaining basement space, your money may be better spent buying a larger house.
Adding a basement
I'm in the process of planning an addition to my house. For the addition I want to have a basement as opposed to the existing crawl space. How practical would it be to raise the house to put in a basement all the way across the house from where the addition is (about 1/2 of the existing house)? Would it be better, more cost effective, to do the entire existing crawl space into a basement? I'm just wondering if any one has any kind of experience with it, good or bad.
I am planning on having a professional do the excavation and foundations, I don't think raising a house is a DIY project.
I am planning on having a professional do the excavation and foundations, I don't think raising a house is a DIY project.
1 - 6 of 6 Posts
As far as being practical - it isn't. If you are planning an addition and looking into gaining basement space, your money may be better spent buying a larger house.
Get a few local quotes & then decide
It's a lot of work
It's a lot of work
Practically speaking
Practical from what standpoint? If you plan to live in the house for the rest of your life and you love the house and the neighborhood then "practicality" might only be based on if you can afford it. If you have a pretty good idea you will be selling the home in the future and are concerned about gains then you will want to find out what other similar homes (with the basement) might sell for in the neighborhood and decide if it is practical.
Personally I could not love a house enough to risk that kind of money. New construction is relatively inexpensive, you get exactly what you plan for and it is usually a more efficient building. It also allows you to relocate to an area that might be better for your current circumstance.
Good luck - I know from recent experience what a tough decision this can be. 2 years ago after considering the addition of a great room we built a new condo in an area where the taxes are half what they were in our old home. The old home was in a area where the schools were great and community activities for our kids were plentiful. Now the kids are grown and we really need a home that would allow us to host large gatherings which was difficult in the old house. For us, it worked out great...:thumbup:
Rege
Practical from what standpoint? If you plan to live in the house for the rest of your life and you love the house and the neighborhood then "practicality" might only be based on if you can afford it. If you have a pretty good idea you will be selling the home in the future and are concerned about gains then you will want to find out what other similar homes (with the basement) might sell for in the neighborhood and decide if it is practical.
Personally I could not love a house enough to risk that kind of money. New construction is relatively inexpensive, you get exactly what you plan for and it is usually a more efficient building. It also allows you to relocate to an area that might be better for your current circumstance.
Good luck - I know from recent experience what a tough decision this can be. 2 years ago after considering the addition of a great room we built a new condo in an area where the taxes are half what they were in our old home. The old home was in a area where the schools were great and community activities for our kids were plentiful. Now the kids are grown and we really need a home that would allow us to host large gatherings which was difficult in the old house. For us, it worked out great...:thumbup:
Rege
is there really any reason you have to raise the house to do this?? im sure if you hired a consultant you could plan a way to do this , remember selling your home now prices are down and you lose another 7% realator fees. maybe you can hire out some of it and do some of the labor.??
im in the same boat right now thoughts running through my head doing this same thing but im one that like punishment.
im in the same boat right now thoughts running through my head doing this same thing but im one that like punishment.
I've sold 2 houses without using a Realtor
1st person to look at each bought them
We passed on one house because it did not have a full basement
Only a crawl space under most of the house
1st person to look at each bought them
We passed on one house because it did not have a full basement
Only a crawl space under most of the house
1 - 6 of 6 Posts
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