Mike Lamb Posted September 21, 2015 Report Share Posted September 21, 2015 My clients would like to lower their basement floor for headroom and underpin the brick foundation. They have at least one estimate. How difficult is this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kurt Posted September 21, 2015 Report Share Posted September 21, 2015 How big is the house? It's not complicated. The one's I've seen run anywhere from $40,000 - 100,000. The most interesting one I've watched was in Lincoln Park. The guy excavated the rear yard down a ways, then drove a Bobcat through the rear foundation wall and used the 'Cat to clear out the basement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Kibbel Posted September 21, 2015 Report Share Posted September 21, 2015 I've seen some major failures when excavating for underpinning. Benching would be my advice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kurt Posted September 21, 2015 Report Share Posted September 21, 2015 Like everything else in Chicago, terms run all together. You said underpinning, I figured whatever method for holding it up is possible. Benching would be the right term. Underpinning a brick foundation get to be a mess pretty quick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Raymond Posted September 21, 2015 Report Share Posted September 21, 2015 I have watched a crew spend several months putting a new basement under an 1800sf 2 story triple wythe brick building earlier this year. Lots of cribbing and really big steel. My neighbors did their 2000sf wood frame Victorian about 4 years ago. Lots faster. At the time it cost $40k Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Lamb Posted September 21, 2015 Author Report Share Posted September 21, 2015 The house is small with about a 20 x 40 footprint and 3 wythe brick walls. I was told underpinning but can't say for sure. The foundation also has heavy seepage. The best way to deal with that on a brick foundation is from the outside which isn't going to happen. They were given a verbal estimate of about $30K. I am very skeptical as to how they will achieve a nice dry, livable basement for that cost. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kurt Posted September 21, 2015 Report Share Posted September 21, 2015 $30K isn't right. It's $40,000 minimum no matter what they do. $30K was about 10 years ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjr6550 Posted September 21, 2015 Report Share Posted September 21, 2015 If budget permitted they would be better off lifting house and building a new foundation. Otherwise benching is easier than underpinning. If the foundation has concrete footings then they may be able to excavate 4 to 5 feet lengths at a time. Usually they do one third at a time. Of course, the cost will vary quite a bit depending on the depth they need to excavate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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