Building on a sloped lot in East Tennessee
A walkout basement can add a floor for less than an addition. Here is what the slope, the soil and the drive will cost you.
Questions about your own project? Call (865) 555-0142 and a builder answers.
Most of the lots left inside Knox County are not flat. That is not bad news. A slope can give you a walkout lower level with daylight and a view, often for less per square foot than the floors above it.
What the slope costs
Expect $58,000 and up for a walkout basement: excavation, poured walls, waterproofing, a drain to daylight and framing. Steeper lots need retaining walls, which we price separately once the engineer has seen the soil report.
Soil and rock
East Tennessee has clay that holds water and limestone that turns up where you least want it. We order two soil borings before the foundation design, about $2,400 with the survey, because finding rock with an excavator costs far more.
The driveway
A long, steep drive can cost as much as a kitchen. We walk the drive route on the first visit and put a number on it before you buy the lot, if you ask us early enough.
Planning something like this? A builder answers, weekdays 7 to 5.
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