My wife and I have a small house in Seattle, WA. The house was built in 1917 and expanded in the 1940's, and has a post and beam foundation and a dug basement under part of the house that I use for storage, laundry, and a small workshop.The dug basement is probably 12'x12' with a poured concrete floor and a ~4' high cinderblock retaining wall. I'd like to expand that to perhaps 18'x24' by digging it out, and I'd like to understand more what I'm getting myself into.http://ift.tt/2rFKuwu plan I've got in my head is:Empty out most of the basementSledge/jackhammer out the retaining walls on the two sides I want to expandDig out the dirt surrounding the area I want to expand into, supporting the main joists with jackstands as I dig. This will probably be a "buckets and day laborers" jobBuild a new retaining wall around the new basement areaPour a concrete floor for the expanded areaMove any utilities and infrastructure that needs movingAdd support columns where I took out postsMove all my crap back inProfit!I think I can do it without affecting any major utilities like the sewer line, but I'll probably need to move my water heater. The basement height is fine for a workshop, so I'm not going to need to dig down at all.So what am I getting myself into here?Any idea on rough costs I can expect? I'll plan on doing as much by myself as I can, but I might bring in a contractor for things like the pouring the floor and retaining wall.What kind of permits am I going to need? I'll probably need one for at least the dig, if not also the plumbing, right?What professionals might I consult for advice? I was thinking of calling "a foundation guy"Anybody done something similar and have any nightmare stories to discourage me? via /r/DIY http://ift.tt/2r6dlNg
