Blasting Through Foundtion Wall To Create Fish Room.

[cm11599ps]

Don't get excited, there are no pics in this thread of construction. lol

Here's a shot of my backyard. We live in a 2 story house but the bottom level is sunk in the ground a bit. I'd say the actual floor of the downstairs is about 3-4' below ground.

First off, do you think we'd be able to keep the existing deck and dig underneath it as long as we support the deck somehow? If not I guess a teardown and rebuild would be in order. I don't mind digging the thing by hand if it saves me a ton of money. There's no rush so I could take plenty of time to do it. FWIW, the bottom of the deck is 4' as you can see by the white lattice work Those are standard 4x8 pieces. I'm figuring we could support the deck on the new foundation walls when the time comes.

What I'm considering is putting a tank and fish room in the area under the deck which is basically wasted space currently. The actual size of the excavated area would be about 12x16 so the dimensions of the fish room would be a bit smaller than that.

Any tips you can give me in advance of this project? Any ballpark figures? This room isn't going to be finished at all since it's going to be a dedicated fish room. I'm thinking of going with about an 11' tank, about 340 gallons.

 

[dzfish17]

Let me start by saying that Im not a general contractor but I would think that you should remove the deck. Thats alot of dirt to move in a tight area.

You will also need to get in there with a jack hammer to take out the footing and pour cement for the fish room.

I would have a general contractor give you an estimate as there is alot to be done on a project like this. Maybe you can do all of this but its more than most homeowners would want to take on by themselves.

Looks like a fun project, good luck.

 

[JVJordan]

I'm not a contractor per se, but do work in construction.

Definitely plan on removing the deck. The excavation needs to be done by a backhoe or mini-ex. Depending on the depth and the cut, you may need to shore the opening while the walls and foundation is put in. It is probably cheapest just to plan to take out the concrete flatwork to some distance from the excavation and avoid the shoring issue.

Then there would need to be some demo of the existing foundation/structure at the location you want the new room. The house above the foundation at that location is probably supported by the same, so you would have to retrofit the existing with some sort of horizontal beam at grade level.

Then the new room could be formed-footer, block wall, drainage tile, backfill, then on to the interior framing, utilities, finishes, etc.

I think you need Holmes on Homes.

Good luck!

 

[palmer373]

since it sounds like you need to take out the deck, may i suggest reuseing most of the wood? take an extra day or two to pull out each board can save some $$ in buying new deck materials IMO.

 

[cm11599ps]

Thanks for the help so far everyone.

You're probably right about the deck. I just didn't want to remove it if you REALLY didn't have to. Even if we do remove it then I would most certainly reuse the wood in the same configuration. The actual size of the room I want is just about the same size of the deck itself. The room would extend to the top part of the stairs and be about 2-3 less then the width of the deck.

Taking the deck apart doesnt' seem like it would be that difficult at all and we are pretty handy people anyway. At the very least do you think we'd be able to leave the roof of the deck in place? The shingles from the actual house extend right on to the deck covering, that's why I'm asking. At the lowest part of the deck roof it is about 10' from the ground.

I would most likely be removing the concrete patio because it's old and not very nice anyway.

Since we have a cesspool and not a sewer system here I was planning on putting in a drywell for my water changes and such. I don't want to put salt water into my main cesspool.

 

[dave.m]

I'm not an expert of any kind, but don't you have to draw up plans of what you're proposing to do and get them approved by your local govt buildings inspector? They won't necessarily tell you the right way to do it, but they will tell you if you are doing anything wrong or illegal. If you go too far overboard with your method you could end up negating your homeowner's insurance if you contravene local building codes and it leads to problems down the road. Best to get expert advice before you begin messing with a foundation.

Dave.M

 

[mx838]

Why dont you just remove the deck and then reuse it? I would say take it off in one piece and then reattach it after. I when removing my deck gave it to my neighbor and he just moved it after I pulled it off. He only had a small ammount of wood to replace to make it fit on his house. I am a contractor and there is no reason you cannot do this.

 

[on the spot]

I'd cut the deck off and sell it. You have a nearly three season porch there now, kind-of...plus the expenses you are looking at...I'd turn that porch into a sun room. Windows all around, hip roof with cathedral ceiling. Add a nice porch down below, maybe wrap the staircase around the corner, cut out the big pad behind the garage, add some shrubs, a few trees, maybe a pond for the dog, and a BBQ.

Now you have something...