Starting to Build
Basement Or Crawl Space?

Part 7 Of Our Real Life Remodeling Journey

Click here to see part 1 and read what this series of articles is all about.

With the remnants of the old family room cleared away it was time to start excavating for the new, larger family room. Once again the back yard became a heavy-equipment zone as a backhoe and skid steer dug a large hole adjacent to the rest of the house.

Ultimately we decided to go with a crawl space in lieu of a full basement so the excavation was only about 4 feet deep. Two of the three foundation walls from the old family room were used which saved a little on the cinder block work required.

A Crawl Space Or A Basement?

One of the questions we debated as part of this remodel plan was whether to go with a full basement under the expanded family room or a crawl space. There were pros and cons with each.

Building a full basement wasn't going to increase the overall project cost significantly from the standpoint of going a bit deeper with the hole. Estimates were about $5000 more than a crawl space to dig to the necessary depth and include the necessary block work for the higher (deeper) foundation.

However, those costs started to increase when you considered what it would take to actually complete the space. There would be requirements for an egress point so a door or egress window would be necessary. Then there was the issue of how to integrate the space with the existing basement that sat under the rest of the house. Accessing the area would require changes to the existing basement for a workable traffic pattern and usability standpoint.

Finally, there was the question of whether to finish the space and the additional cost for that. Sure, we could have left the space unfinished for some time and finished it up on our own some years down the road but in truth, the likelihood of that becoming a reality was slim. If we took the finish-it-later route, the space would have turned out to be just a big expensive storage area.

Ultimately we decided on a conditioned crawl space with a concrete floor. "Conditioned" means its insulated and benefits from some of the heat given off by the ducts that distribute the air to the room above it. In other words, it doesn't get real cold or real hot and stays within a small temperature band. It'll provide ample storage space and there's enough room to move around on hands and knees comfortably.

If you're faced with a similar decision, think hard about what it will really take to make the full basement a good living space. If the funds are available, go for it. Otherwise you might consider saving the money or applying it to the spaces above the basement level, spaces you might make more use of.

Seeing Tangible Results

The excavation of the crawl space didn't take long and it was time for the new block foundation to go in. The amazing part about that effort was that it only took 2 days to lay several cour...