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I just bought my first home and right now we have a storm door entrance into our basement. This kind of baffles me why they put in a below-grade storm door because half of the exterior wall is exposed. On top of that, there is a somewhat steep downhill grade in the back yard already. I have a small backhoe that I've used for work in the past and I want to remove the remaining dirt from the exterior wall to make my basement into a walkout. So my question is:

Is this something that would cause any structural problems and what issues might I run into if I remove the dirt?

Other Info:

  • The other three basement walls are either completely below grade or over half below grade, its just the back.
  • I have been running excavators since I was a kid and am not an amateur.
isherwood
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Matthew R.
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1 Answers1

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Knowing very little about your home's design, I can only say that it's unlikely that you'd cause problems by excavating along that wall. Backfill soil is almost never a structural component of a building. In fact, it causes many problems.

It is possible that you'll encounter drain tile or other utility items that you'll need to deal with. Drain tile that's above the footing would need to be routed elsewhere or left in place.

isherwood
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  • Hey thanks! I looked up the drain tile issue and think I would be able to handle that! Thanks for your answer! – Matthew R. Sep 07 '16 at 21:46