# Crawl space or basement



## Dave (Sep 10, 2016)

Live in Wake county, NC. I'm in the planning phase. I want to turn my "basement" into conditioned, usable space. The whole "basement" is unconditioned space, accessible only from the exterior of the house. It's got vents in the walls.

The house is built into a hill. So half the "basement" has 12 foot ceilings and a concrete floor. The other half is a dirt floor that slopes up to about 4' ceilings.

Most of the space is slightly below grade, except one wall is at grade. This means a good portion of the walls are actually wooden stud walls.

So do I have a basement, a crawlspace, or both? Finishing a basement and encapsulating a crawlspace are both separate sections in the code book and I don't know which applies here.


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## fatboy (Sep 11, 2016)

Welcome!

I am not familiar with the NY Code, I would suggest first an appointment and sit down with the plans and your local building department. It would seem on the description, that yes, you could have both a basement, and a crawl space present. I would guess a demising wall to separate them could be the answer, to complete a thermal envelope to create the habitable space. Again, your local inspector or plans examiner is the best place to start. 

Good luck, and keep us posted.


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## JBI (Sep 12, 2016)

Other than 'NY' should be 'NC' I agree with fatboy. Both crawl space and basement, though the 12' ceiling height sounds like your basement may be a story above grade under the Residential Code (strange but possibly true). Absolutely check with the local Authority having jurisdiction for an accurate evaluation under the applicable codes.


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## Dave (Sep 12, 2016)

Thanks for the input, I will check with the local building department, but that helps clear things up.


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