We are going to finish our basement. The ceilings are quite low so we need to dig out the basement and go down about 30". So far, we hare planning to do this work ourselves. Raising the house is not an option. Do you have any suggestions as to who we could contact (a) to make sure the house remains structurally sound and (b) to get quotes from a business that do this type of work. We live in Fergus, Ontario.
Answer:
The first thing you'll need is an engineer's report dealing with the structural integrity of the house itself and from there, you may very well need a soil analyses for the building permit that will not be issued unless you get one. I'm not at all in favour of digging down because of the possible dangers involved but a soil reading should tell you more about that. There are excavating contractors who can do the work for you.
