My builder said a 9-foot basement wall was impossible, but we found a way.

We wanted a walkout basement for our sloped lot in Asheville, and our first contractor flat out refused, saying the soil couldn't handle it. I called a geotech engineer for a $1200 site assessment, and his report showed we could use a stepped footing design. Has anyone else had to push back on a builder's initial 'no' with hard data to get what you wanted?

3 comments

3 Comments

jamie_white26d ago

How much did that engineer's report end up saving you versus the first builder's quote?

fiona_young25d ago

Spot on, it's like @jamie_white's point about saving money. I see this everywhere, people in jobs just defaulting to "can't" instead of looking for the "how.

dylanmurray26d ago

Man, good for you for not taking that first no as the final answer. I've been there with a contractor who said a cantilevered deck was a bad idea on our property. Had to bring in my own structural engineer's drawings to get them to even consider it. Sometimes you just gotta do the homework yourself to prove something can work. Feels great when the data backs you up.