Once upon a time, the basement was seen as vital to how the home worked. At the very least it provided a little extra space for servants, allowing them a place to stay in the home rather than risk the walk home. It also helped with food preservation given that the basement was a little cooler than the rest of the house, even in summer.
In the modern era, the basement even helps provide savings on the power bill as there are fewer external walls. In short, while there are some advantages to having a basement there is a problem in that not all homes have a basement; fortunately, that can be remedied, but not without some risk.
- The Ground Below
While there are some advantages to having a basement, there are some risks to excavating one. Some of those problems begin with the ground itself and its condition. At the very least, the area surrounding the home may be prone to flooding, which can cause the potential basement to flood on occasion as well.
Also, the ground itself may be poor and subject to heaving or settlement; this means that the ground can create a problem if it is excavated. While there are ways to shore up the basement as well as eliminate the risk of flooding it is not advised to just not build a basement in such areas.
- Problems From Surrounding Area
While a great dry excavator hire can help deal with ground issues, especially if they hire includes personnel there are some situations that even the best excavator cannot help with. The first of these problems is the existence of any obstructions to digging, such as cabling for all your modern conveniences, there is the possibility that the area could have some archaeological value; that value could prevent the excavating a basement. If the property is sufficiently old enough it is even possible that the property could have tunnels and mines to deal with.
- Foundation Of The Nearby Properties
It is also advised that you do some research prior to excavation. There could be some issues with the foundation of nearby properties, especially if the foundation of the home provides some sort of support for the walls or even foundation of other buildings; if that is the case then it may be difficult to obtain a permit to excavate.
They may also be boundary issues that need to be dealt with before excavation can proceed; obviously, the owner of the property where the basement is to be built must be clear and that is not always the case. All of these property issues need to be resolved before you can take advantage of a basement.
- Load From The Adjacent Buildings
Another consideration is the load from adjacent buildings; because buildings require a certain amount of area around them for support and that area is dependent upon the height of the building, then it is possible that the buildings surrounding the home may prevent the excavation of basement in a home in their immediate area. Also, if there are roads in the immediate area then they may require a similar load-bearing area as well. In either case, the excavation of the basement may be legally impossible due to safety hazards.
- Advanced Problems
Suffice to say there can be additional hurdles to deal with when it comes to dealing with the insurance company and the new basement. While those problems can be difficult to deal with, especially if there are too many changes to the home in order to ensure that the excavation and future basement are safe, they can usually be dealt with.
Dealing with these problems are not insurmountable and are necessary if you really want a new basement. Nonetheless, given the advantages it can be well worth the trouble, making it all worth it.