Excavating a basement

I've recently acquired a property which has a large basement space which isn't being used for anything. It is about 6 foot tall so to do anything with it I could do with it being a bit taller. Can I excavate a down further? What trouble might I face and what do I need to consider.
Thank you.

Asked by June on 16th Jan 2021
Expert Trade Answers
"Hi June, yeah you can but you might find the foundation needs a bit of work doing to them, might find the water table might be not too far down. I’m happy to come and have a look."
Answered on 16th Jan 2021 - Member since May 2020 - report
"If excavating below the base of the wall foundations, you will need to be careful not to cause subsidence or damage to the foundation. Did a test pit next to the foundation to determine the depth."
Answered on 4th Feb 2021 - Member since Oct 2017 - report
"You should only find drainage further down but you can’t dig past your footings to the house."
Answered on 26th Jan 2021 - Member since Jan 2021 - report
"You can away go deeper because there will be at least 400mm under the floor. The only things you will find is drainage and services. When you come across the footings that the lowest you will be able to go. Hope this can help"
Answered on 16th Jan 2021 - Member since Dec 2020 - report
"Yes you can excavate another two foot but you have to consider the house foundations. The best thing to do would be to dig test holes by the side of the inner brickwork of your home in the basement and ascertain just how deep the foundations of the house is before commencement of any work. If the bottom of your house foundations are deeper than the two foot then you can go ahead with the excavation but if the foundations are not deeper than the two foot you will have to underpinn the existing brickwork. You will need engineers calculations as it is a structural job. Better to keep yourself informed!!"
Answered on 16th Jan 2021 - Member since Jun 2020 - report
"I've done one and nothing there and another had soil pipe so had to dig down and drop pipes down another foot not to much trouble"
Answered on 17th Jan 2021 - Member since Mar 2019 - report
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