The Citizen, 2011-10-20, Page 16PAGE 16. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 20, 2011.Improvements made with home on stilts
How do you expand a basement
upwards when you already have the
house built?
This is the question that the
Chamneys faced when they found
they needed some more living space.
Eldon and Elaine Chamney of
RR1, Auburn were finding their
over-100 year-old-home a bit
cramped and they needed more
space, but the basement, which was
small and not water-tight, wasn’t a
space they could expand to.
They didn’t want to tear down the
house and start from scratch, as there
was sentimental value in the home.
“It would’ve broken my heart if
we had to tear it down,” Elaine said.
“We have a lot of memories here.”
So the Chamneys were facing a
dilemma; they didn’t want to expand
the footprint of the home, but
building up wasn’t that feasible.
Fortunately, a contractor they
hired told them about how they
could increase their living space
without tearing down their home or
changing it significantly.
Simon Vandriel, A representative
of VanDriel Excavating, told the
Chamneys they could raise the
house, move it on to stilts and dig
out and expand their basement with
a new foundation, and then replace
the home.
Through CT Structural Movers,
based out of Port Elgin, the
Chamneys were able to not only
keep the home they loved, but
expand it downward, eventually
resulting in a basement that was not
only three feet taller (by being a foot
deeper and two feet higher above
ground) but also far better suited for
keeping water out, and thus more
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Expansion
Eldon and Elaine Chamney of RR1, Auburn expanded their basement after moving their home
onto stilts. It was the only way to make the changes without taking the home down or making
significant changes to it. (Photo submitted)
By Denny Scott
The Citizen
Continued on page 18