Has anyone had a contractor excavate their basement deeper?If so, what did that add to the cost of your basement renovation? Did the contractor have to underpin your basement walls (quite expensive) or construct bench footers around some of the edges as reinforcement (less expensive)? Were you happy with the result? Thanks.

Anonymous wrote:Why is everyone saying it is too low? Our basement ceiling in our 1948 colonial is about 6'4". It is what it is. At some points, where we have ductwork, it's probably 6'. It wasn't in our budget to dig the floor out. Old houses have low basement ceilings. So what? As for resale, other homes in my neighborhood don't even have finished basemenets, and their ceilings are just as low as ours.

Not up to code which lowers resale.

"The basement ceiling height shall not be less than 7 feet above the finished floor."

http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/dpwes/publications/basements/details.pdf

Why is everyone saying it is too low? Our basement ceiling in our 1948 colonial is about 6'4". It is what it is. At some points, where we have ductwork, it's probably 6'. It wasn't in our budget to dig the floor out. Old houses have low basement ceilings. So what? As for resale, other homes in my neighborhood don't even have finished basemenets, and their ceilings are just as low as ours.

How much does digging down your basement cost? Has anyone on here done this? Just curious, I'd love to do it to our 1935 Colonial.

Don't worry about it - not worth moving them.

I would definitely check fire code before you ever have someone sleep down there. Smoke would build up very quickly.

8 foot is most desirable , I believe under 7 is technically against current code. Most new homes have 8 or 9

Anonymous wrote:you need to dig down the floor rather than raise the ceiling.

6'6" is very low. And PP is right about digging down the floor. That said, doing so will be very expensive as well. If you are not planning to stay for many years, you will likely not recoup the money when selling. If you can't afford the digging and just want to do some basic finishing for your own enjoyment, go ahead, but don't spend too much -- finishing it with such low ceiling will not make the house more attractive; just do it so that you enjoy the area a bit more, not because it's a good investment (it's not)

We elected not to purchase houses with low basement ceilings. You should definitely address ceiling height when doing a renovation.

Anonymous wrote:6'6" is very low. I think it would be claustrophobic to spend time down there. If I were looking to buy your house I wouldn't really consider that a finished basement because I wouldn't hang out down there.

I agree. 7ft should be minimum.

It is important. My DH is tall, and when we looked at houses, we automatically discounted any house with low basement ceilings, no matter how nice it was. He needs to be able to walk around and not worry about hitting his head or feeling claustrophobic. We now have two tall children, as well. A ceiling that's 6'6 would be a deal-breaker for us.

you need to dig down the floor rather than raise the ceiling.

6'6" is very low. I think it would be claustrophobic to spend time down there. If I were looking to buy your house I wouldn't really consider that a finished basement because I wouldn't hang out down there.

I think 6'6" is awfully low. My nephew is 6'5" and lots of kids are taller these days. I wouldn't think that 6'6" would be good for resale but if it's not too expensive and meets your needs now (and you're not thinking of this as a resale investment or have any tall friends) then I'd say go for it.

We are renovating our basement and it's looking like raising the ceiling would be quite expensive with all the pipes and ducts in the way. Without moving them, the ceiling would be about 6'6". We are not looking to rent it out--it will be a playroom/guest room. This is a small rowhouse in a neighborhood that is not fancy. I am short (and DH under 6') so it doesn't bother me at all, but is this a big deal to other people? We're mostly doing the renovation for our own sanity, but obviously we do care a little about resale.