but after covering for ducks etc,

The ducks ......

add two additional sill plates for a 108” basement ceiling.

Leave well enough alone. It’s a basement.

@ksc36, any reason why you prefer using the sill plates instead of using the 10' form? Thank you!

@GreenDesigns, our home is relatively small in the neighborhood, so we wanted to make basement as livable as possible...

Patricia is correct!

Stop fretting about 3". In this case, size isn't everything. Your basement won't live any different or any better with the lost 3" but it will dramatically effect other aspects of your house to try and recapture or increase it.

There are times when another 3 inches will make a world of difference, this isn't one of them.

My advice is to leave well enough alone, it will be fine.

However, the two sill plates is a much better option than another 1' of foundation showing.

What will the cost increase be to go to 10'?

We regretted not going 1-2 blocks higher on our basement with our new build. We still had about a 9' ceiling in the basement but our first floor was pretty much grade level and having it up a foot or so above grade would have been better, imho.

@shead - thanks for all your comments. the extra cost is $5k for both options... i am not a construction expert so I am not sure what "consequences" would come from 1' increase in foundation other than it showing up more from front elevation....

Do not increase the height. Put money somewhere else, later on.

the extra cost is $5k for both options... i am not a construction expert so I am not sure what "consequences" would come from 1' increase in foundation other than it showing up more from front elevation...."

Well your house will be 1' higher than you planned. You have to get into the house from the front, back, probably garage...

Additionally, depending on the facade you either have an extra foot of brick, stone, etc., or exposed foundation. Which, may look great and appealing or might destroy value created by exterior aesthetics far in excess of value created by the extra 12" in basement.

How many steps do you have leading into your house now? Because 12" is probably going to add two. In fact, 3" may add a step which will make it questionable as well.

I’d probably choose the 10’ (9’9” finished ceiling height) option. Have you ever seen the show NCIS? If not, search for pictures of Gibbs’ basement. His basement has a super-high ceiling and he’s building a boat in it. :)

Btw, to avoid the extra above-ground foundation height, you could always investigate the possibility of digging down one feet deeper...

This is our front elevation. With 3”, builder said it will probably add a step...

And it will require a change in facade look and framing for the garage to remain at grade and the house to be 12” taller. Plus the stairs in the garage to house will intrude roughly another 2’ into the garage space, likely negatively affecting the ability to house a car in that bay.

That is not a minor change. It has major repercussions that will cost well above the 5K cost being discussed for “just” the extra height of the wall.

And it will require a change in facade look and framing for the garage to remain at grade and the house to be 12” taller. Plus the stairs in the garage to house will intrude roughly another 2’ into the garage space, likely negatively affecting the ability to house a car in that bay.

Not if you raise the driveway to meet the garage.

GD makes good points to consider. In our case, our garage was on grade with the house meaning we had NO step up from garage to the rear entry. That part was actually nice. We accomplished that with our dirtwork, footings, gravel/concrete in our garage.

The elevation you show is the elevation shown by Frank Betz Architects. It looks like there are 5-6 steps going from grade to the front porch. Will your lot and grade support that look EXACTLY? Most often they don't and there will be variances in height. You need to find out exactly how many steps you'll have as it is now with the shorter basement height.

Which requires major site work, regrading, fill dirt, and compaction. Again affecting the home’s appearance negatively in an unplanned way and costing a great deal of money.

"Again affecting the home’s appearance negatively...."

Well, that remains to be determined. It might actually make the house's appearance look better as it would have in our case.

This is a picture of the plan with walk out basement. So our foundation would show a lot more than this, I am assuming?

We stayed in an air bnb once that had like 12ft ceilings in the basement. It was really really dramatic and so cool, but after the initial impact of walking down the stairs you got over it and it was like every other room.

Our new basement has 9ft ceilings like yours does now and it feels so much bigger than our old house that had standard. I honestly dont think you will notice the 3 inches and in long run wont really notice if the extra 1ft if you go that route. I would save the 5K and use it towards other upgrades or decorating your new house.

You're not understanding. It all depends on the grade/slope of your particular lot and how far they are digging down to start your foundation and how much excavation work will have to done for backfill, drainage, etc.

Simplistically, if they are only digging down 8 ft but pouring the walls 10' tall, you are automatically ~2' above grade with the walls. If they dig 10' and pour 10' walls, you are approximately AT grade. If they can only dig down 5', you're going to be 5' above grade with 10' walls....make sense?

The dig depth can be determined by a lot of things, some of which are within control and some which are out of someone's control (like hitting rock). You need to find out what the dig depth will be and what the exterior elevations will look like for YOUR house. Those are things you need to know regardless of what you do about the basement so that you don't have any surprises later.

How are you only losing 3" for ducts? Typically, for approximately 9' finished ceilings, you need to pour the basement at 10'.

I have renovated many houses where the ceiling height was limited by the existing structure. What I have discovered is that any ceiling height greater than 8-0 is very noticeable. In other words, adding 4" to an 8-0 ceiling is very noticeable and at 8-6 people will think its 9-0.

I also visit older homes with prospective buyers. I know an 8-0 ceiling because its exactly as high as I can reach with my heels on the floor. My clients inevitably say a ceiling is low if its less than 8-0 high but they think its tall if its only 2 or 3" taller than 8-0.

I wouldn't think twice about leaving a basement ceiling at 8-9. As many have already told you, an additional 3" would not make a difference.

I'm used to 9' ceilings from my houses. In our last condo, our ceilings were exactly the same 8'9" you're worried about. I never ever noticed them feeling low and in fact people would constantly comment about our high ceilings.

Spend your $5000 elsewhere.

I assume basement was not started at this time...

> The initial base height for basement ceiling is 9' but after concealing ducts etc, the actual height is 8'9.

Probably incorrect... 9'-0" wall - 4" floor + 1.5" plate +.05" drywall = 8' -9". HVAC wrapped ducts will take it down another 1'.

The preference

1) Do nothing, leave it alone

2) If the footers were not poured go with 10'. Most likely will require +2" (10" wide walls). Personally, I do not have a clue why GD stating that excavating 1' deeper will require any elevation redesign? Unless you already have footers.

3) Plates hack ... would not be my choice.

IMO if you insist on doing it live with the result you have been given good ideas and you still insist .I could find many things to spend the 5k on that would actually make a difference

Yes BT is correct in that areas with ductwork will be lower than 8’9’. I really appreciate everyone’s help and expertise.