Basement Dig Outs and Lowering Floors

Make Your Basement Attractive and Functional

When you are ready to make your basement larger, let Foundations First Northwest dig out your basement. We'll lower the floor of your basement by the methods of underpinning the foundation walls or by benching. For a FREE estimate, contact us today.

Underpinning the Basement Walls

A staged sequence of holes is dug out from under the footing of your home. The footing is the concrete or brick pad that spreads the load of the foundation walls onto the soil. 

Typically, 3-foot-wide holes, separated by at least 6-feet of undisturbed soil, is prepared and filled with concrete.

You are extending the footing of the house to a lower level, after which you can safely dig out the soil from the inside of the basement without undermining the foundation walls of the house.

Benching Method

A stable soil slope is maintained between the sub-grade under the lowered basement floor level and the underside of the original footings to avoid undermining the footings. Then, a steel-reinforced concrete bench is poured on top of the stable soil slope and footing to ensure that the soil slope is protected. 

It leaves you with a concrete bench around the interior perimeter of the basement. We generally don’t recommend using benching if you plan to lower your basement floor by more than about 12 inches.