Hi! We have 2 story home with the lowest level being a walkout basement. When we were building, we filled in the area underneath the garage with gravel and poured our garage floor. Now I am wishing we hadn’t done that because we need more space for an in law moving in. Can we cut an area out of the basement wall and dig out the gravel and make that area useable? Or build an addition to our house?
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If the conditions are right you can have finished space under the garage. It would require the use of hollow core slabs or commercial type steel pan after removing garage floor and gravel. The hollow core or steel pan will need to sit on a ledge on the foundation wall. You probably do not have a ledge there now. One thing for sure is that you will need to consult an engineer. Before you pay an engineer I would have a foundation company take a look. A good reputable foundation company will be able to tell w/in a few minutes if it’s easily doable and they can advise as if it’s cost effective. It’s hard to recommend the best route w/out seeing the existing conditions. However, I do think that an addition would be more cost effective (again depending upon existing conditions). Also, the addition will probably be a more comfortable living space w/ more natural light.
hmmm, under the garage for an in-law...is this in-law done with hospice?
Doesn't sound like you would have the required natural light, ventilation and egress windows and doors to make this a 'habitable' space. If you were to relocate utility rooms to this area and convert existing ones...maybe, but insulating and moisture abatement will be a nightmare, maybe a bit less if you follow "jlyda's" advice and remove the existing garage floor and dig it out.
Go Addition and your local building official will be less offensive.