Sawing my foundation.

[xpanmanx]

We're finishing out an old storage room to become another habitable room.

We'd like to have the foundation professionally sawed for a window of sufficient size to allow us to legally call this 'new' room a bedroom.

One of several concerns is that the kitchen refridgerator/freezer is immediately above the window location. I estimate that the joists below are carrying a constant 1k of weight. It would be 'bad' to have the joists sag and crush the newly installed window. ;->

Can you help me determine whom to consult about reinforcing the foundation after the cut is made?

Best Regards,

Tim ==

[Art Begun]

You could look in the yellow pages under engineers and have one come out and look at it for a couple of hundred bucks. How big is he window? You know the entire house has a wood apron going around it at the top of the foundation. If you do not think that is enuf you could double up the joists in question but for a reasonably size window it is probably not an issue. Is the house brick by the way? If so you will need a steel lentil. The guys who saw stuff are very expensive and usually know what they are doing but if brick is involved you might want a mason because the saw people can only do straight lines and that may not be exactly what you want unless the outside wall has a stucco finish.

immediately above the

installed window. ;->

foundation after the cut

[xpanmanx]

Thanks, Art -

I just found a structural engineer through a referral from a foundation repair company. Hopefully he can set me straight. I'll arrange an appointment with him when he returns my call later today.

You've got me thinking that the 'apron' might be sufficient. The window is, however, 48" across, which was a necessary choice to meet the minimum clear opening required for bedroom windows.

The house is not brick. Wood structure over concrete foundation.

The bid on the concrete saw work is around $1k, includes hauling. Very much worth it, IMO, because the additional value of a 4th !!legal!! bedroom will increase our home's marketability in the future.

Best Regards,

Tim ==

[The Gnerd]

It may be 'legal' from an egress/fire safety point of view, and still not count as a fourth bedroom in the real estate world. Real estate (as far as I know) only counts beds and baths above grade.

You'll get what the market will bear. Personally, I'd not pay extra for a sub-grade bedroom no matter what you label it. But that's just me, someone else might like living below ground.

Good luck. Just wanted to remind you that not everyone will see this as an 'improvement'.

[ameijers]

when he returns my

is, however, 48"

I predict that for a 48" span, the engineer will tell you that you need something between the window top and the sill plate. If the window can ride a few inches below the sill plate level, and your foundation is wide, maybe they can put in a reinforced cast lintel or a hunk of steel, to catch the load of the joists directly above. Hard to say w/o seeing what your wall and cross section look like. Shouldn't be a big deal.

aem sends....

[Art Begun]

He can call up a local real estate agent and get an estimate of the increase in value. He should assume it is optimistic. I would guess it would be half the value per square foot of an above grade room.

still not

[xpanmanx]

I'll call an agent shortly ;->

My basement opens up into a picket-fenced, flat back yard the size of a stadium tennis court. The previous owner had the yard professionally graded to achieve this result.

The entire rear, and the entire south side, of the foundation is exposed.

For real estate purposes, do you consider the elevation of the front door the 'grade' level?

Best Regards,

Tim ==

[Art Begun]

What you have is called a daylight basement in my area of North Carolina. Appraisals are still less than a regular framed room. Same with bonus rooms over garages that the ceiling slopes into. Appraisers know that it is cheap square foootage and appraise them accordingly. In the end a house sells for what someone is willing to pay and it is almost never worth doing an addition to get back more than you spend because you won't. Add the room because you want it. If you get back 50% of what you spent consider it a bonus.

hauling.