Total Home - Spring 2015

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6 | TOTAL HOME MAGAZINE SPRING 2015
FEATURE
RENOVATION
Taking Downstairs
Up a Level
Unfinished Basement Converted into
Functional Living Space
athy is the proud owner of a
99-year old home in the historic
Uptown West neighbourhood
of Waterloo. Originally built
in 1916, this charming two storey house
was big in character but small in usable
living space. An unfinished basement, the
so-called “creepy cellar”, was only used for
storage and laundry. With a height of only
6 ½ feet, rough floor and whitewashed
walls, Kathy says “it wasn’t really nice to do
laundry in a dirty space like that.”
Unsure about how to increase the living
space in her home without increasing the
overall footprint, she spoke with a colleague
who had recently hired Way-Mar to dig out
their basement floor and complete a full
height basement renovation.
She also heard from others that Way-Mar
has done numerous projects in historic
homes with a great reputation for innova-
tive solutions while maintaining the char-
acter of these older buildings. Kathy went
to and submitted an inquiry
through their contact form.
Paul Fretz, a project manager at Way-Mar,
visited Kathy’s home to see if a similar solu-
tion could be employed. In Kathy’s words,
Paul is a “smart guy and an excellent prob-
lem solver” and he soon had a plan to dig
down and create a finished basement living
space with a finished height of 7’ 8”.
As with most older homes, there were
challenges to overcome for Paul and site
foreman, Harold Lichty. The load bearing
K