Just curious ,has anyone ever heard of someone adding a basement to an existing home?. I'm considering a property built in approx. 1890 and it has a crawlspace but no basement. I know it would be exspensive to do , but anyone who has some input on this would be a big help

It CAN be done, and it is occasionally done, but it is VERY labor-intensive, therefore expensive, and I fail to see why someone would want to build expensive substandard space in that manner when one can build the equivalent less-expensive good space above grade.

What's involved is jacking up the entire house, which means disconnecting all utilities, demolishing the old foundation, excavating under the house, perhaps by hand if there is insufficient headroom for machinery, constructing a new foundation, restoring utilities, and placing the house back on the new foundation. Not cheap, and not fun.

After reading some previous post and your reply your absloutley right!,thanks for the quick reply you just saved me thousands of dollars!!!!!!!!!

Richard is a good man....

Allcraft: They are right. I've done it and it is NO FUN. Usually it is done after a DIY starts the project and needs bailed out. You can figure it's close to twice the cost of a room addition of the same size.Respectfully, Frank O'Pinion