Adding A Basement Underneath A Current House‏

Q: I live in Northern California, and I would like to add a full-sized basement below my house. At present, my house is an older Craftsman-style house from the 20s, with nothing more than a 2-3 feet crawlspace. Our house is incredibly tiny, and we need more space! I grew up in the Midwest, where we had basements, and I would like to have one now. To complicate matters even more, I would like the basement to be larger than the house itself, so that I could later expand the house and add an additional floor above the current one. Perhaps it would make more sense to just tear down the house and start from scratch, but the house has a lot of character. However, character or not, if it will be so outrageously complicated and/or expensive to add a basement below the existing house, I will probably go that route. What are all of your thoughts?

A: Basements were created in order to house the furnace and coal necessary to heat the home in colder climates. They were never considered to be "livable" space.

To add a basement under a currently built home is possible, it means jacking up the home and excavating underneath - an expensive project and subject to local ground conditions - it is generally less expensive to add a second story.

Building the basement bigger than the footprint of the current home adds the complexity of supporting the home using beams and then of course there is the problem of capping the area that is not covered by the home.

In the long run I think it would be less expensive to demolish the old home and start over

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Sound Proofing‏

Q: This is my dilemma. I live in a row house that is attached on one side to my neighbors. This is not a problem of getting along but the wall we share is one course of brick work and then plaster on each side, so there is no insulation and thus- I can hear every word, footstep and their baby crying, - and I'm sure like-wise. Without spending a fortune- what could I use on the wall to buffer the sound - but not add width- this is the hallway and it is narrow enough at the moment, really narrow. Also this leads straight to the circular staircase, so there is a curve in the wall as well. My thought was to use felt with maybe some kind of insulation. But don't know what to use trying not to create a big project- just reduce the amount of noise I can hear. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

A: There are numerous ways to obtain some level of soundproofing. The first thing you must do is to determine how the sound is actually being transmitted from one apartment to the other.

Follow the link for specific information on finding the transmission path and shutting it down.

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Fuses to Beakers‏

Q: How hard is it to change an old electric box that uses fuses into a new electrical panel using circuit breakers? Can just anyone do this or is there instructions in doing it? Or is an electrician needed?

A: In order to change out your old fuse box to a new breaker box, you have to be able to turn off the power to the old box. In most cases there should be a main switch located close to the fuse box that does this.

Be aware that changing the fuse box to a circuit breaker box does NOT provide you with more power. The amount of power you have is subject to the electrical service provided by your electrical utility. If you need more power to your home you will definitely require an electrician, as a permit will have to be obtained.

You can learn more about converting a fuse box to a breaker box by following the link.

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Why is my circuit breaker tripping when I flick the light switch‏?

Q: I'm in the process of renovating my basement. I installed 4 "cans" in the ceiling ran about 30 feet of 14-2 to a switch, then about 20 feet back to the panel to a 15 amp breaker. It works great until I turn the switch off and back on. When I do that the breaker trips. I only have 60 watt bulbs in the cans. Is it a faulty switch or is it overloaded, wrong wire size?

A: Wire size is not the problem.

You will need to troubleshoot the circuit. I would start with the switch and the connections in the switch box.

60 watts times 4 bulbs is only 2 amps, well below the 15 amp breaker.

Follow the link to learn more about troubleshooting electrical circuits.

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