Basement Lowering Toronto

Absolutely. By lowering your basement floor, you create a more open and usable living space in what may have otherwise been a dark and dreary storage area. Often, older basements are considered to be unlivable spaces, used mostly for storing boxes and old furniture and a place to do laundry. And in some cases, the basement was never even meant to be a living space.

Nevertheless, basements today can be so much more than just a second thought. Many modern homes have living rooms, rec rooms, offices and even bedrooms in their basements. Some even have second kitchens or have been turned into entire rental suites.

The thing is, homeowners with older basements have the ability to do all of this as well! But wait, you say your ceiling is too low? Not a problem. The basement lowering Toronto by Nusite Group can help you create a more usable living space in your basement by lowering your basement.

There are two methods for lowering a basement:

Underpinning

The foundation underpinning process allows homeowners to create a usable space while also strengthening the home’s foundation. In many older homes, you can often find the plumbing, electrical and more running along the ceilings. But tearing up the foundation, homeowners can also take on upgrades to their plumbing and electrical, which can be found under the basement flooring.

The underpinning process can also be a great opportunity to invest in better insulation and an improved basement waterproofing system and to bring the home up to modern code standards.

The underpinning basement lowering process involves digging a series of holes into your existing foundation footing. These holes are then filled in sequence in order to strengthen and lower the footing. This process also ensures the structural integrity of the walls is maintained. Afterward, the dirt on the inside of the foundation is dug out to maximize the height of your ceilings.

One thing to note, however, is that underpinning is quite time-consuming. This type of project requires ample time as your contractor has to go through it one foot at a time, thus ensuring a slow process.

Benching

Another method for lowering your basement is foundation benching (or bench footing). This process is quicker than underpinning and less costly but does not create as much new living space in your basement. Benching is usually used as an alternative to underpinning. It is generally done to avoid undermining an existing neighbouring structure that is too close and risks being undermined during the underpinning process.

This process forms a ledge around the walls of the existing basement’s perimeter instead of excavating beneath the foundation to extend the existing footings further. The floor is then dug down just before the end of the foundation’s footing.

A concrete “bench” is then built between the foundation wall and the floor, creating foundation wall strength, as well as increased basement height, but leaving you with a bench-like structure or edging around your foundation walls. So while it does lower your basement concrete floor, giving you higher ceilings, it takes away some of the width of the room.

However, don’t let that stop you! You can use this opportunity to create floor-to-ceiling built-in shelving or cupboards or even an entertainment center atop the edging.