# Old basement....need ideas...



## Gman775 (Dec 5, 2010)

Hello all, i am finally in the position to tackel my basement and hopefully turn it into a gameroom.

My home was built in 1910. It is a full basement with lally colums, i am having a contractor come and take those out. My problem is i have 6' cielings.......I have done EXTENCIVE research, talked to many, many contractors about raising the cieling height.... one way is to dig down, cant do that because i was told the footing will want to slide towards the existing hole being dug? Another option is to jack the home up and add a couple courses of block...i really dont have the funds to do that....so now i am left to deal with a 6' cieling. I am sure i can move some plumbing around, move some electric around to accomodate some cieling height. Now i would just like to add a finished look some how without sacrificing cieling height......any and all ideas welcome.

I can add pics if desired




steven


----------



## DangerMouse (Jul 17, 2008)

Pics ALWAYS help us out here to help YOU, so feel free.
Sounds to me like you have OUR old basement. 
I'm over 6' so I always avoided going down there unless absolutely necessary.
I found digging down was a no-no as well. 
Others here may/will have other suggestions, I'm sure. Po)

DM


----------



## Gman775 (Dec 5, 2010)

Thanks DM as soon as the wife gets home i'll snap a few pics and put em up :thumbsup:


----------



## Gman775 (Dec 5, 2010)

ok here's the photos the first is the wiring i need to cover...keep in mind 6' cielings. The second is the water pipes i would like to move closer to the foundation? The third is just the corner i want to make the laundry room. Most everything in the basement will be moved to my garage when it arrives in JANUARY :yes:


----------



## gregzoll (Dec 25, 2006)

What is with the Electrical Octopus. Hope you have a ACFI on the other end at the breaker box. This just happened locally:

A fire broke out in the basement of a home at 3419 Angelo St. on Saturday. Authorities said electronic equipment in the basement overloaded circuits about 2:45 p.m. Various cords and electronic equipment burned, but fire damage was minimal.


----------



## Gman775 (Dec 5, 2010)

gregzoll said:


> What is with the Electrical Octopus. Hope you have a ACFI on the other end at the breaker box. This just happened locally:
> 
> A fire broke out in the basement of a home at 3419 Angelo St. on Saturday. Authorities said electronic equipment in the basement overloaded circuits about 2:45 p.m. Various cords and electronic equipment burned, but fire damage was minimal.


Yes the entire box was upgraded while remodling our kitchen


----------



## Ron6519 (Mar 28, 2007)

What holds up the house after the lally columns are removed? 
Ron


----------



## peacefrog (Dec 6, 2010)

Hi, I am a concrete contractor an I just finished a job simular to what you doing. The landlord (Older house) had to jack hammer the floor out an dig down the grade to make the ceiling 7"1" to meet code. Well, what he did not figure was by the time he got the grade right that the footings were above the grade of the floor (Did not think was very smart move for him to start with)


----------



## Ron6519 (Mar 28, 2007)

peacefrog said:


> Hi, I am a concrete contractor an I just finished a job simular to what you doing. The landlord (Older house) had to jack hammer the floor out an dig down the grade to make the ceiling 7"1" to meet code. Well, what he did not figure was by the time he got the grade right that the footings were above the grade of the floor (Did not think was very smart move for him to start with)


So you thought the job, "ill advised", but you did it anyway. When it was filed for, did the building dept okay this? Did it pass inspection?
Ron


----------



## peacefrog (Dec 6, 2010)

I did not take the job, I did not want my name to be on that mess. I did see a few weeks later that a mexican crew that I know for a fact has no insurane was pumping it threw the window, so I know he got it done. I would be suprised if he does not get red flagged for that mess.


----------



## Gman775 (Dec 5, 2010)

Ron6519 said:


> What holds up the house after the lally columns are removed?
> Ron


usually steel I beam or what ever the engineer will tell me they r going to use


----------



## Gman775 (Dec 5, 2010)

peacefrog said:


> Hi, I am a concrete contractor an I just finished a job simular to what you doing. The landlord (Older house) had to jack hammer the floor out an dig down the grade to make the ceiling 7"1" to meet code. Well, what he did not figure was by the time he got the grade right that the footings were above the grade of the floor (Did not think was very smart move for him to start with)


 
and thats when the footings want to cave in or move towards the hole...im just gonna deal with having 6' cielings and like it....im not even going to waste money trying to do something that i alread know cant b done


----------



## Ron6519 (Mar 28, 2007)

Gman775 said:


> usually steel I beam or what ever the engineer will tell me they r going to use


I have 2 steel "I" beams and still have columns.
Ron


----------



## Gman775 (Dec 5, 2010)

Ron6519 said:


> I have 2 steel "I" beams and still have columns.
> Ron


Of course you should check to see what is code...maby they require you to have it. without pics it's hard to tell. i got in contact with Lally Gone a local business here in n.j.


----------



## ultimatetouch (Oct 8, 2010)

Most basement remodeling jobs involve some clean up of wiring. If you are talking to guys and there saying you cant dig out a basement thats not true. Keep looking finding the guy who knows what he is doing is not easy but they are out there. I dug out many basement for people with old basements and no ceiling height. I have dug 6' basements to 8 or 9' no problem. It can get pricey but knowing what and how to do it efficiently can make it more affordable then one might think. 6' is pretty low I would think hard and find someone who had dug a basement out. If you decide to just go with what you have then clean the plumbing and electrical up really good. Then you could prepare and paint the joist cavities with a good primer and paint for a cool lofty type of look!
______________
Ultimatetouch
Basement remodeling design and construction by a quality basement remodeling contractor.


----------



## Blondesense (Sep 23, 2008)

Gman775 said:


> ok here's the photos the first is the wiring i need to cover...keep in mind 6' cielings. The second is the water pipes i would like to move closer to the foundation? The third is just the corner i want to make the laundry room. Most everything in the basement will be moved to my garage when it arrives in JANUARY :yes:


It is starting to sound like it would be cheaper/easier/simpler to just leave everything as is, get a bigger garage and put your man cave in there. :whistling2:


----------



## Gman775 (Dec 5, 2010)

Blondesense said:


> It is starting to sound like it would be cheaper/easier/simpler to just leave everything as is, get a bigger garage and put your man cave in there. :whistling2:


to each his own...if i wanted a smart ass answer i would have asked elsewhere instead :whistling2:


----------



## Blondesense (Sep 23, 2008)

OK, maybe I was a bit flip, but seriously... If you don't mind it separate from the house, it would be a new build, you could make it what you want... Don't know how costs would compare....

Just sayin'


----------



## Gman775 (Dec 5, 2010)

*A little update*

Lally colums removed, 18 1/2' steel I beam installed, framed






































All of the items bought so far were "had to buy now or never" I would have loved to finish the sheet rock and paint before moving everything in....now the funds have been depleted for now till january but it is functional and we are having a great time with it


----------



## tibberous (Mar 25, 2010)

My basement looks just like yours. I'm thinking the best approach is to either paint or stain the ceiling (with a sprayer, of course), either dark to hide it or light to brighten it up - then add recessed lighting. I'm still deciding myself - I just know I'm not going to try and lower the floor, or add any kind of ceiling.

During the great depression, a lot of out-of-work guys dug their basement floors down - they just left a lip a couple feet wide around the perimeter. Don't see why you couldn't do that, but damn it'd be a lot of work.


----------

