In the beginning…
We are pleased to present: Another Awesome Project!
We broke ground a few weeks ago on a new home project in the south end of Vancouver. The final house will include a secondary suite and there will be a separate laneway house on the property. The whole project was designed by Green City Builders’ in-house design team and is now in the more-than-capable hands of our crew.
Things are moving fast: The basement and main floor framing go up on top of the ICF (insulated concrete form) foundation.
This street front design for the main house.
Understanding Underpinning
Underpinning is when the earth beneath an existing foundation is excavated and a new foundation is poured directly under the old one to provide more structural strength and increase the height of a basement. We do this a lot in older homes with basements under 6 feet high when the homeowners wishes to convert the basement to a secondary suite or another full height level of the home. During the process, the house is supported with temporary walls and posts which eventually get replaced with new full height walls and posts, and the deeper foundation. Installing new drain tile around the perimeter of the house is usually one of the last steps of the underpinning process. It is technical and unglamourous work, but something we find very rewarding.
Existing basement and foundation before underpinning.
The old slab is demolished, temporary walls are installed and the old supports are removed.
Footings for new 8 foot posts are formed.
A close up of a form after the first pour.