Basement Renovation and Underpinning Guide

You may want to increase the space you use at home. If you do not have a large yard or cannot use the attic and are not even allowed to build a new space and floor, the best option would be to renovate and change the basement's decor.

For the basement to be habitable and used as a suite or office, it must first have a suitable ceiling height. That's why many home remodelling professionals are thinking about increasing the height of the basement ceiling.

If you do not want to experience the hassle of adding an extra floor but still need more space, the only way to change the basement is to increase its height. In this article, we will explain some tips that will help you decide on how to plan the process of improving the height of the basement ceiling. Knowing these points lets, you get the application you need from the basement.

The reason for changing the use of the basement and its design is significant.

The choice of basement usage and careful design of its space is essential for the project's success. A basement is a place that is deprived of natural sunlight and does not have a suitable space for living. You need to know what you will use to consider the right decor design for it.

Basement design should be integrated with other parts of the house. You can maintain this integrity throughout the house using the same floor, door, window, or wall painting. Please pay attention to the stairs between the basement and other floors of the house, because it is vital. If the basement stairs and other floors are like and next to each other, they create a sense of connection. But if the basement staircase is detached, it turns this place into a secret room.

Planning for basement conversion or underpinning

Preparing a basement development plan and changing its application is very important. Once you are sure what you will use the basement for, the next step is to define the scope of your project. What will be the new use of your basement? If you know the answers to the following questions, you are one step ahead:

1. How much is the basement space to be used? Do you want the size of the floors to be high, or do you want to make them bigger?
2. Where is the staircase in the basement?
3. What is the proper height of the basement ceiling?
4. Do you need to access the basement from outside the building?
5. How much is natural light needed?

If you have a clear and precise idea and planning about the project, you can make the process easier for the specialists and achieve the desired result quickly. Our expert consultants at Happy Construction can prepare the exact design of your request and offer you other options if some of your suggestions do not work.

Costs of changing the usage of the basement and increasing the height of its ceiling

It is challenging to estimate the cost of changing the use and increasing the basement ceiling height because it depends on several factors. However, after obtaining an approximate price, it is better to know whether doing this project is the right thing to do in terms of property value. If your home is in the city center, you can add value to your property by turning your basement into a residential or business suite.

A house with a large and habitable basement with a beautiful decoration design is much more valuable than a house with a wet and cold basement with a short roof. 

It should be noted that rebuilding and redesigning an existing basement is much less expensive than building a basement from scratch. This cost difference can be one-half of the required budget per square meter.

If your basement ceiling height is high and sufficient, changing its application for habitability will be very cheap and easy. However, costs start to rise as you engage with complex new infrastructure.

The time required to increase the height and change the use of the basement

It will take about two to three weeks to renovate and convert a basement from a storage room to a habitable suite with the necessary installations. However, the time required to increase the height of the basement ceiling and complete its reconstruction, depending on the convertible area and the required height, probably takes 12 to 20 weeks.

Please get in touch with Happy Construction Specialists for a free consultation.