What is a bench footing and is it a cheaper alternative to full underpinning for gaining basement space in Moncton?

A bench footing is a stepped concrete ledge poured inside your existing foundation wall, allowing you to lower the basement floor without excavating beneath the original footings. Instead of digging under and extending the full foundation depth (traditional underpinning), a bench footing creates a sloped shelf of concrete along the perimeter walls, typically 12 to 24 inches wide at the base, that transfers the load of the existing footing down to the new, lower floor level.

The main appeal of bench footings in Moncton is cost. A full underpinning project on an average 800 to 1,000 square foot basement runs $30,000 to $80,000+ depending on depth and soil conditions. A bench footing approach to lower the floor typically costs $15,000 to $40,000, making it roughly 40 to 50 percent less expensive. The trade-off is usable space — those concrete benches eat into your floor area along every perimeter wall, reducing your finished square footage by 10 to 15 percent. In a basement that is already narrow, this can make a noticeable difference in how the room feels and how furniture fits.

In the Moncton and Dieppe area, bench footings work reasonably well because the sandy and silty soils drain better than the heavy clay found in Saint John, which means less hydrostatic pressure pushing against the new lower slab. However, Moncton's shifting sandy soils can settle unevenly, so a structural engineer must design the bench footing system to ensure load transfer is stable and does not cause differential settlement. This is not a DIY calculation — get it engineered.

When Bench Footings Make Sense

Bench footings are a good fit when you need to gain 12 to 24 inches of headroom and your existing footings are relatively shallow. Many 1960s to 1980s homes in Moncton have footings that sit only 3 to 4 feet below grade, leaving basement ceilings at an uncomfortable 6 feet or less. A bench footing lets you drop the slab enough to reach the minimum 6 foot 5 inch ceiling height required by the NB Building Code for habitable space, without the full expense and disruption of traditional underpinning.

If you need to gain more than 24 inches, bench footings become impractical because the benches themselves grow too wide and tall, consuming too much floor space. At that point, full underpinning is the better investment despite the higher cost.

Waterproofing is critical regardless of which method you choose. Lowering the floor brings you closer to the water table, and Moncton's spring thaw from March through May raises groundwater significantly. A new interior drainage system and sump pump with battery backup should be part of any floor-lowering project — budget an additional $3,000 to $8,000 for this.

Before committing to either approach, have a structural engineer assess your foundation and a basement contractor evaluate the soil and water conditions at your property. The engineer's report typically costs $500 to $1,500 and is money well spent — it determines whether bench footings will work for your specific home or whether full underpinning is the safer route. A building permit is required for either method in Moncton, and the city's building inspection department typically processes permits in 1 to 3 weeks.

If you are exploring options for gaining headroom in your Moncton basement, New Brunswick Basements can match you with local contractors experienced in both bench footings and full underpinning — free of charge.

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Looking for experienced contractors? The New Brunswick Construction Network connects homeowners with qualified professionals:

• Thirty Four Renovations
• Gionetterenovations