Expert: Bruce E. Johnson - 3/13/2010

Question
I live on a house that has 1/2 of the foundation is basement, 1/4 is crawl space, and 1/4 of space is an attach garage.  I would like to convert the crawl-space and the attach garage into living space.  Someone told me that in the crawl space its just a matter of getting all the dirt out.  Since it already has deep wall.  Its that possible? where can I start to make it safe for everyone in the house and house itself?.

Answer
Hi Bertha, digging out a crawl space isn't as easy as all that.  There may be a reason there is only a crawlspace there.  The foundation for the crawlspace may not be as deep as the basement foundation.  They may have stepped the footings from one elevation to the other and if that is the case then you will need to add foundation walls below the crawlspace foundation walls.  It's not impossible but it involves more than digging the dirt out.  Eventually the dirt will have to be dug out and depending on the direction your joists are running you might not need a lot of shoring.  If the side walls of the crawlspace have the joists bearing on them then the joists need to be supported while the new foundation work is being done. Then once the side foundation walls are done you will need to undermine the middle of the long back foundation and support it in the middle and work your way across the back supporting the foundation while the new foundation is in.  Another option is to hire a house mover to come in and shore the place up.  They would knock out enough crawl space wall to slip some big beams underneath to hold the house up while the new foundation work is being done.  I hope this information helps please feel free to write again regarding this or other matters, sincerely bruce e johnson..bejohnsonconsulting.com