# Concrete shelf basement Demo replacing with new footing and foundation wall



## joecaption (Nov 30, 2011)

Not even close to a DIY Job.
Why is it so important to get rid of this shelf? 
Just trying to justify what's to be gain against the cost factor.
Any time I've seen it done a house moving company is called in, the house is lifted.
Old foundation dig out, new footing and walls built then they lower the house back down.
Not a cheap job by any stretch, and in most cases the house is unlivable until done.
You do not want to be poring footings one wall at a time as you have the time to work on it unless you want a cracking sinking footing.


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## joed (Mar 13, 2005)

If I understand correct this basement was lowered at some time in the past. They put new lower foundation inside the older, which is standard practice. You want to remove the new foundation and move it under the existing one.
Houses have been brought down attempting to do this wrong. To do this properly there are two options that I can think of. 
1. Support the house properly, remove the foundation wall and replace.
2. Replace the foundation in small section so the remaining foundation is still strong enough to support the house.

Whichever option you choose, it needs to be engineered properly.


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## joecaption (Nov 30, 2011)

Post some pictures when you can so where not having to guess at what you have.


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## augustwa (Nov 16, 2014)

The house was constructed this way. We have a full size basement that is finished and adding another child and the shelves take up 4' of space that we need for expanding a bathroom and 2 bedrooms. From what I understand the house does not need to be lifted off the current foundation. House was build in 1916 and the shelf was poured as part of the footing. There is a footing under the existing foundation wall. The shelf starts at the top of the footing and comes out about 48" the about 48" to the ground. I have extensive experience in general construction and dealing with load bearing structures etc, but not much with concrete I was just seeing if anyone had any experience with this type of shelf removal. 

I'm not looking to do this alone as the scope is more than I am willing to do by myself, however I obviously want to do as much as possible and the demo seems pretty straight forward. We got a bid for the entire shelf removal and its more than we want to spend $62,000. That was with a complete basement tear out. I was hoping it was a little more reasonable only doing one side. I'm not that worried about the cost of doing one as home values in our area are selling for 150k more than we purchased ours for so I know we will get the money back in the end as long as the market doesn't go south. I will snap a few photos and post them.


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