UNDERPINNINGCALGARY
Concept of the same basement finished as a warm family room with oak floor and linen sofa
Demonstration project 01

UPPER MOUNT ROYAL

Basement Lowering

Clear height · illustrative

6′5″ → 7′8″

Area
900 sq. ft.
Structural phase
10 weeks

Illustrative, excluding design & approvals

The challenge

The family loved the house and the street. What they didn't love was ducking under a 6′5″ basement that felt like storage, not living space. A narrow side yard meant every bucket of soil and every bag of concrete moved by hand, so the plan had to account for access before it accounted for anything else.

Objective
More comfortable family space in an older home.
Constraint
Restricted access for material handling.
Concept
An assessed underpinning and floor-lowering scope.
Illustrative unfinished Upper Mount Royal basement with low ceiling, exposed joists and bare concrete
Before · illustrative
Conceptual planning section for Upper Mount RoyalExisting clear height 6′5″. Proposed clear height 7′8″. Conceptual support extensions shown below the existing footings. GRADECEILING · FIXEDCONCEPTUAL SUPPORTEXISTING SLABPROPOSED FLOOR · CONCEPT6′5″7′8″
Conceptual planning diagram · not a construction drawing

Scope summary

  • 01Structural work to the assessed design
  • 02Excavation and disposal
  • 03Service coordination
  • 04Slab-related work

CAD $118,000 illustrative structural-scope value

Full interior finishing is excluded from this illustrative structural scope.

Illustrative completed structural shell with new concrete walls and slab in the same basement
After · structural shell · illustrative
Concept of the same basement finished as a warm family room with oak floor and linen sofa
Finished-space concept · beyond the structural scope

A taller structural shell. The finished family room is shown separately as a concept, beyond the structural scope.

Illustrative review
“We wanted more height downstairs but had no idea what was involved. The explanation of the structural work versus the finishing budget was especially helpful. It was a big project, but we understood what we were agreeing to.”
★★★★★ Laura K. — Upper Mount Royal

Thinking about a
basement like this?

Next project · 02

Haysboro