Concrete added to basement floor. Cost of digging out?

Question

Will be purchasing a house from my mother. The house is in good shape, 3 floors with a basement (which makes it 4 floors). Planned on getting the house remodeled along with the basement. The problem with the basement is that right before she purchased the house about 13 years ago, concrete was added to the basement floor which made the basement lower. I'm 5'9 and have to bend over a little bit to walk around the basement. I haven't measured but there are exposed hvac ducts and even if those are covered that takes away even more height from the basement.

I have no idea why the basement floor was covered in concrete, but what would the cost be to get it jackhammered out. The space is about 650 sq ft, but since the hvac, water heater, etc is in the back of the basement, I'd probably only get 3/4 of the basement jackhammered (or whatever else they could do) to get the basement lowered.

So, any cost estimates? Any ideas?

Thanks!!!

Answer 1

so you would rather walk around upright in dirt or mud than stoop on concrete...i'm guessing stone foundation...so have it hammered out and dug down as far as they can and re-pour it...if you have to go below the first course of stone you can have a curb poured to contain the stone when they pour the floor...depending on the amout of depth you want and the accessibility to the basement , you could be looking at 8- 10,000 dollars

Answer 2

This would end up being a very big, expensive job.  It is also a potential minefield.  People don't go to the trouble of pouring extra concrete in their basement for no reason.  There may be a structural problem with the foundation or the original floor that has been repaired.  When you dig it all out, you may find out why this was done originally.  So you end up paying for the concrete removal, and then you have to address whatever reason this was done in the first place as well.  

All that means you need a structural engineer to look at this, figure out what is going on and whether it would even be advisable to remove the floor, whether the foundation would need bracing if the concrete were removed, etc.  Until you know exactly why this was done in the first place, I wouldn't start the demolition.  

It doesn't mean it can't be done, but just recognize going in you are probably looking at some serious money to address this.

Answer 3

Get a professional opinion first-

Answer 4

Also consider that the concrete may have been poured for waterproofing as well as just floor. If it was damp before the floor was poured you will have this problem if removed. Dampness will cause mold and along with mold comes many other issues.

The cost would be dependant on where you live and what kind of access there is to the basement.