Basement

[spoonhead]

I need help. It hard to discribe but when you walk down to my basement there is a wall to the right with a hole in it and then in there is a 20 by 18 foot room with a soil floor. I was just woundering if i could dig the floor down concrete over it. Add studd walls and lights and plug sockets. Then use it as a gym. lol sorry if what i said didn't make sense

 

[Frederick]

It really depends how deep your footings go down. If you need to dig below them to get adequate headroom you need to think about underpinning which will hugely increase the price of the project.

If you are putting electrics down there you probably need to think about some kind of waterproofing. The easiest option is a cementitious coating such as Vandex (BB75 or Unimortar). Cavity drainage membranes require less surface preparation, but you really need a sump with alarm and backup with these systems which adds to the cost.

 

[JohnD]

You might find that the walls in the unexcavated section were built in trenches with footings of the same depth as the excavated part of your basement. You will be able to see this if you dig a trial pit. The trench would need to be wide enough for a bricklayer to have stood in (unless it was filled with a concrete strip).

You should not dig below the top of any concrete that the brick walls are built on as this will weaken the wall.

How old is the house?