Underpinning Workshop
Full Workshop VideoIs it worth underpinning your basement? What do you need to know before lowering your basement? How will underpinning affect your property value and rental value? These are just some of the questions we answered during our underpinning workshop on May 9, 2018 located in The Toronto Beaches.
The average ceiling height of a basement in Old Toronto East (East York, Beaches, Danforth, Leslieville) is 6 feet. The legal ceiling height required for a basement apartment is 6’5” and that is only if you create a duplex. If you create a triplex, the minimum ceiling height increases to 6’11”. If you find a house that already has these ceiling heights then you’ve just scored! But the likelihood of you getting that house for a “cheap price” is another story all together. So the best option is to find a house that has low ceiling height and underpin it to create that WOW factor and substantially increase the property value! I can show you countless examples of the value underpinning actually brings to a property.
Most people are not comfortable underpinning because they feel it is too dangerous or it is too big of a job for them to handle or that it is way too expensive. This is why I hosted this LIVE onsite workshop with professional underpinners (Rock Bottom Underpinning) to show you exactly how it’s done and just how feasible it really is to the average person.
If there is just one type of renovation I could teach you in this area on how to increase the value of your home the most…it would be underpinning. We physically looked at 2 houses in the Beaches that evening. The first house was in the midst of underpinning so we saw what it looks like and what to expect. The second house was just finished underpinning and we saw what the end result looks like in a raw state.
The underpinning company called Rock Bottom Underpinning was very professional and was able to answer all our questions. We also had our local Architect and several contractors on site to answer all questions.
Together on May 9th we learned:
• Different ways to underpin (dig down) your basement
• The costs involved
• The return on investment (property value and rental value)
• The role of a Structural Engineer and Architect when underpinning
• The best way to dig down crawl spaces
• What type of insurance will cover underpinning
• How to underpin a semi-detached house
• The extra “bells and whistles” you should consider while underpinning
• And much more…