Despite the recent trend in the U.S. toward minimalism (the willful purging of excess goods and things in one’s home and life), the fact remains that most Americans have a lot of stuff to store. Our homes are often over run with boxes of trinkets and chatchkis, clothes and shoes…and toys and a million other things. And, if you’re a home owner with a crawl space, you know how difficult it is store all these things safely.
For years, it was impossible to change a crawl space into a basement, but, things have changed. It’s actually a lot easier than you might think to add a basement to your home.
After reading this article, you’ll see that a crawl space conversion to basement is actually a great investment. Homes in the U.S. with cellars sell for much more than homes with out.
The simple fact is that homes with cellars just have way more room! Room to store your stuff, room to add living space, rooms to expand your home.
How can all this be accomplished?
By hiring a qualified basement services contractor to do the conversion for you. This is necessary because digging out your crawl space can be an extremely dangerous job, one that must be left to professionals.
Also, contractors can do the conversion quickly and safely. When they do this, they essentially add a full floor to our home. A rancher suddenly becomes a two story home. That new basement can have added rooms like kitchens and bathrooms and can expand your home’s space dramatically.
Sounds great, right?
Is
it too good to be true? Are crawl space conversions to basements too
expensive for the average person? Are they so complicated and labor
intensive that they are beyond the reach of normal people?
Are they Easy?
In
the old days, conversions were a huge pain. They require a ton of work
and the work is highly specialized. And, to make things worse, the cost
of hiring a professional was much too prohibitive.
However, things have changed dramatically!
Now,
you can hire a contractor to do your crawl space dig out for a pretty
reasonable price. And, most professionals offer financing, so, you can
pay off the job in time while the value of your home sky rockets!
A
dig out is, as it sounds, a contractor digging out the area under your
crawl space. They actually dig out the area underneath your home and
continue to a depth and width that allows them to now create a full
basement.
They pour cement floors and walls to give the new room
it’s form. It is then waterproofed and finished, giving your home a ton
of new found space to store your goods or to add rooms to your home.
What about the cost?
Obviously,
all this work isn’t super cheap. Especially in the old days where the
home owner was required to come up with the whole amount up front. But,
again, things have changed quite a bit.
Now, you can finance, the
jobs are cheaper than ever because of advances in equipment, and, rather
than being a cost, adding a basement is a great investment where you
actually see a huge return on investment.
It is not at all
uncommon for the home owner to regain more than 100% of the money they
put out. In fact, returns of 130 – 150% are pretty common. It’s one of
the few times that doing a home improvement job can actually MAKE you
money rather than just costing you loot.
The process is not for
the average home owner and a professional should always be used because
the job is dangerous if you don’t know what you’re doing. Remember, you
have to dig under your home… special support beams are needed and
highly specialized equipment is used. This is not for the amateur.
Adding
that basement to your home does so much for your house, your mind and
your family. It gives you more room to live and work and play. It also
pads your wallet because of the amount of money a dig out will generate
when it’s time to sell.
Start by calling a qualified contractor. Ask around for referrals and find someone who you can trust. Then have them do a free estimate for you…any good contractor will do one. Then, when you find one you are comfortable with
, go ahead and get yourself a huge basement.