Many homes built in the early 1900’s have short low head height basements, not suitable for living spaces. They were intended for storage and utility purposes only. They are usually musty, not really waterproof, and a dump spot for many unused items we collect over the years. Most people need to duck or bend over when going down into them.

Fast forward to today’s property values and now these basements provide the least expensive way to double the livable size of your home. There is a whole industry around raising the house, and making a full height lower level basement, remodeled with or without rental suite. The cost? Far less than building it from scratch.

Check out the time lapse video of a recent house raise in New Westminister:

Most people that have one of these homes have a similar story: The kids are growing up here, and they love the neighborhood and have made friends and enjoy their community. But the house is getting too small now so they start looking for other bigger homes to buy. But those homes are out of the neighborhood they love, or so expensive its seems not worth it. That leads them back to their house and wondering if they can get what they want with a major renovation. And many of these houses have low ceiling basements that can’t be used for living.

Raising the house and doubling the usable footage of the home is a cost effective way to stay in the neighborhood you love and have room for the family. Call a reputable builder with this kind of experience to do an initial feasibility review and provide some guidance to the likely investment and experience doing it.