is it even possible?

[Wood_workur]

to lower a basement? We have a 6'6" basement now (I know because I clear 70% of it by 4" and have to duck through the rest) and My room, and "music studio" is located there. I COULD relocate my room, but there is really no way I could move my drums and guitar anywhere else.

So is it possible to have the basement dug down another 18" We have brick walls and a poured concrete floor. (I do know there is plumbing for the main drain, a sink and a toilet running through it)

Or would I be best wearing a helmet every time I walk to/from my room/studio?

[Mr__Bill]

It might be easier and less expensive to raise the house.

[Wood_workur]

From the top or the bottom?

[Hellrazor]

That really isn't possible since it would disturb the footer for the walls. Short of paying a company some mega-$$$$.

[Daryl]

He means from the bottom. Jack the house up and add three more courses of block on top of the basement wall. In order to dig down you would have to install a new foundation and extend the basement walls down.

[pelligrini]

Most anything is possible (for a price). Practical? That's a different question. It would probably be less painful if you just had your legs shortened.

A possibility of lowering the floor without disturbing the footing for the exterior block walls is to lower the floor slab beyond that footing and tying in a stemwall and new slab to it. A structural engineer would really need to be consulted. The sewer lines might be a problem too.

It is possible to lift it. Houses around here get moved like that. Jack 'em up & roll them off. Easy, probably not. Expensive, youbetchya.

[Ed62]

Is there a reason you wouldn't want to raise the house? That seems to be much more doable than lowering the basement.

Ed

[Richard in Smithville]

There is always underpinning( I think I have the correct term) but that can run into a lot of cash too.

You might be better learning where to duck.

Edit: Basically what Pelligrini already said.

[woodturner]

possible, but...

As someone else said, underpinning is the way to lower the basement floor.

The process is that a 3' section of the foundation is dug up, deepened to the required level, and a new footer and foundation wall is poured. When that cures, another section is dug up and poured. This process is repeated until the entire foundation is underpinned.

If you can dig a hole and fill it with concrete, you have the technical skills to do it. However, I don't recommend that you do it yourself, in most cases. It's not difficult, but if done wrong can destroy the house.

If you can find a contractor that does traditional underpinning, cost should not be too high - maybe $5K to $10K for a typical 20' x 30' basement. If you go this route, check references and insurance for the contractor.

[Uncle Cracker]

It's not difficult, but if done wrong can destroy the house.

Just a minor consideration...

In Japanese martial arts, there is a thing called "shikko" roughly meaning "knee-walking". Get into a dojo near you, and learn how to do it...

[JeffG78]

About 20 years ago, my dad had his house blocked up so that they could replace the basement walls and footers due to a buckling wall. At the same time, they went from 8" block to 12" block so he could use brick for the exterior walls. He didn't, however, go deeper since he didn't need to. I see no reason why they couldn't have done it though.

Like others have said, it would be easier to add a few courses and raise the house. Either way, there will be damage to drywall, bathroom tile, etc. from jacking the house up.

[vaking]

Putting it simply - time to move. You will be better off if you:
1). Build yourself an external structure for your drums.
2). Sell your house and buy another one that suits your needs better.
I think that either of these options is better than digging down the foundation and the basement.
Just my 2 cents.

[chopnhack]

I have to agree with vaking...think about all the little things that will need to be done to jack the house up. A lot of wiring will need to be replaced, plumbing will need to be added to, damage to floors, ceilings and tile as some one else mentioned. The list goes on and on....

[FL Buckeye]

As a youth (in Ohio) I remember visiting in more than one home that had a basement added sometime after the house was built. I always thought it was unusual that the basement walls sat in from the outside of the house. I remember there was a ledge about 30" deep around the perimeter of the basement walls at a level where the old crawl space had been, and the owners stored items on the shelf the ledge made. I was too young to really pay much attention to the construction but I guess the basement walls were dug out inside the the original perimeter so as to not disturb whatever footers there were. And the new basement walls came up to meet and form the ledge. So I guess it could be done, but other options mentioned here sound much better.

[shoottx]

What is a Basement?