Basement access job

I have a "crawl space" 7 feet high with a uneven dirt floor. It is pretty dry since I have had a 110 foot french drain put around the high side of the house to the drain area. The only access I have is a small 2 by 3 foot door. It is cinder block. I want to put in a 5 foot wide by 6 foot high garage type door on the end that has the greatest slope. Approximately 4 ft deep by 10 foot wide area of excavation with some moving of the discharge pipe and water main is required before I can get someone to cut the opening and put in a lintel. The bid for excavation including sloping the sides 45 degrees and spreading and seeding the yard with grass sloping to the street drain which is below the bottom of the crawl space was 1800. The guy is highly recommended and licensed and insured. I am
hoping that the block work with lintel, cost of a 5 + R door with installation and the excavation would be under 3000 for a good quality job. Is this reasonable for lawn mower and storage access for about 1400 square ft of dirt floor crawl space? Need some encouragement to spend the money just to open up the area. What do you all think? Thanks.

 

By the time you throw in a concrete floor slab, along with some extras and changes, it will total well over $6000. That's a good-sized chunk to spend on lawn mower storage. I wouldn't do it, but maybe you love your lawn mower (a lot) more than I love mine. In fact, I don't even love mine.

Why not park it in the garage? Or throw a tarp over it (about $25 for a decent one) and call it good? If neither of those options appeal to you, why not consider renting a small hoe and doing the dirt work yourself, followed by the block work and concrete job. Best guess at cost would be somewhat less than half of the total $6000 you're considering.

 

great thoughts to consider. It really is more of a want than a need to get this job done. Wish I could do it myself like I used to but health not as great anymore. These are all great considerations. Thanks

 

Why not go a bit wider and make it big enough to be able to put a car in there? You could put down brick in a part and have a barn-type workshop if needed.

 

the area of the opening is pretty narrow like at the end of an L shape so I can't go much wider than 5
ft. Just too narrow between the walls for a car. Good idea though. Thanks

 

*nod*

How would it work to use a couple of solid wood 32" wide doors, hinged at the frame, with one with a cane holding it fast into the ground, instead of a rolling door? More overhead room that way, even if there's a little bit of interior floor space lost to the door sweeps...