Originally posted by @Mike B.:
@Alex T. What The contractor recommends and his price.. are good. I speak from experience. I did a basement dig down in a philly row home. Basically you dig 2-4 test holes. 4 is the best.. do it along the wall towards each corner. Make the hole approx 1’x1’ so you can see and measure down. You dig down until you see there’s no more original foundation on the side and you measure from bottom of the original foundation to the bottom of your joists. Subtract 4” and that would be the new ceiling height. As correctly noted, digging below that in philly you need underpinning, architects and engineers as required by code. To give you an idea tho, digging down, pouring new slab, waterproofing and framing, drywall and lighting to finish out the basement fully can run total of 10-15K for everything.
What Mike said is spot on. It’s definitely an expense, but a basement in south philly is essential to getting full value with lower days on market. I would Put the work in now- your contractor sounds like he’s giving you a fair price. It’s worth the expense in my opinion.
