Homeowners in Canada are on a serious quest for space. The quest for increasing living space within their homes has been going on for quite some time. The average size of a home in Canada has almost doubled from what it was in 1975. The average size of a normal house in Canada during 1975 was 1,050 square feet, which has almost doubled to 1,950 square feet in the last couple of years. The figures show a love affair, which has withered the complications of time. There is no doubting the fact that Canadians just love more space in their house.
With recent economic and social implications, not everyone can afford a big house, but everyone can use the space they have currently to full effect. One easy way to increase the space for living is to lower the flooring in your basement.
The majority of all homes are built with almost an 8-feet deep foundation for the basement. However, when you start renovating your basement, by adding floors and ceilings, the size of this space will decrease to 7 and a half feet. This can leave most homeowners with a cramped up space, where they will have difficulty accommodating guests. Tall friends can also not be invited to such basements, as they are under the threat of banging their heads every time. The solution to this rather cumbersome problem is the technique to lower your basement floor.
Having mentioned the implications, we now move on to the process of lowering your basement. The first step in the process is to remove the concrete floor. You can try breaking it up with either jackhammers or sledge hammers. Once you have gotten rid of the concrete, you have to excavate the soil under the concrete to the desired level; all the debris should be removed at this stage. When the footings for the foundation are visible, you should dig small sections of soil, four feet wide, in alternating patterns to the new footings of the floor.
The spaces created through the patterns will be used to create the foundation walls. Once these extended foundation walls have successfully been installed, you will pour an additional knee wall inside the foundation. The knee wall should overlap the footings present at the top. This structure forms what we call a bench ledge. The bench ledge and knee wall will conflate to add strength in the structure.
When you are finished with the extended walls, it is time to direct your efforts towards installing basement waterproofing. A dewatering channel is normally instilled on top of the bench ledge to capture seepage.
Once done, you can add an additional layer of crushed stone before pouring a new basement floor. Lowering a basement floor is considered a practical way of adding much needed space in your home. But, it is imperative that you get it done from a qualified contractor that makes use of engineering data and latest construction methods to create a strong and durable basement floor.
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