I don’t think this guy ever learns…

Q – My son and I are going about digging out my crawlspace to make a basement.  We only have to dig down about 4 foot and it is a small home.

What is the first thing that I should do?

Randy in Loganville

A – Here is the first thing you should do…

STOP!!

Boy, I get this e-mail every year or so, so it seems.

Digging out a crawl space into a basement is a job that, if done at all, should be done by a professional.  It is NOT a weekend project for a guy with a son and a shovel and a wheelbarrow.

The problem isn’t that you will get tired of filling that wheelbarrow full of dirt 4,000 times and dragging it to the crawl door and taking it out back and finding a place to dump it.

No.

The problem is that you will eventually dig below the foundation of your house.  This, obviously, is not good for the long term health of your home (or the short term for that matter).

Even moving the dirt next to your foundation is a dangerous proposition.  The dirt inside the crawlspace is exerting a force against the foundation to help offset the force exerted by the outside dirt.

All that helps to hold your foundation in place.  Believe it or not you can find a formula that tells you how much dirt is needed to do that and I promise you the answer is not “No dirt is needed”.

You will need to know things like the load bearing value of soil and compressive strength.

Digging out a crawl will require house supports, foundation supports, and an engineering degree to do correctly.  It will be a costly procedure if done correctly.

If done incorrectly, it is a disaster.

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