Is it worth doing a basement conversion?

[UntamedShrew]

DCs are 3 (twins) and 3m, we are currently trying to decide if we should do a basement conversion or not. We plan to be in the house for the next 8 years or so.

We are considering doing a conversion but can't decide if it'll be worth the hassle & cost. So I'd love to hear from anyone with one, how do you use it?

Our plan would be utility plus playroom, but someone has said to me that their kids don't use theirs as they prefer to be in the kitchen where mummy is etc.

So maybe a gym would be a better idea and we will just live amid the sea of toys in the living room...

Otherwise it could just be a really expensive way to add a utility, is my fear :S

Thanks in advance for any thoughts.

Friends of ours did one last year, but they are in SW London, their house is worth £1m+ and they aren't ever going to move. They have put in a downstairs 'den' with a loo/shower, which is actually much smaller than I was expecting when that's what they said they were doing - not sure that I think it's worth it for the hassle and expense, but it's not my house!

I think that it will depend on where you are living - probably in London, with a house upwards of £750k, then it may well be worth it; if your next step is into a house into 7 figures, then you'll be spending £70-£80k on stamp duty and moving fees anyway, so if you can extend, create value and then move, then it may be worth the money. Your best bet would be to talk to an estate agent and find out what they think because then you will know whether it's worth investing that sort of money for 8 years or whether you won't get it back and would be better off saving it for moving.

We are SW London too so similar monopoly money houses...

I guess I'm not asking so much about financial return, more 'worth it' in terms of a positive impact on family life, how you use the space etc.

Eg do your friends use the den? Does this mean they don't use the sitting room above? I know people who do this waste of a much nicer cosy room

Friends of mine did it and kitted out the basement as a playroom. It was good to keep bigger toys and playstuff, (easels, train sets, a tv/ dvd, craft table etc) and the nanny used to do activities with the kids there but when the parents were home the whole family would be together upstairs and rarely thought to use the playroom.

Agree with others about the added value question though. I've seen them best used when they have been kitchen/ diners.

Wouldn't it be a bit inconvenient to have a utility room in the basement? Arent you just going to spend a lot of time carrying things up and down the stairs? And do you actually want to go and spend time in an underground gym?

(We have a cellar that from time to time I wonder about converting, but can't really think of anything useful to do with it.)

p.s. I grew up in a house with a utility room in the basement, and although we were very used to it, in retrospect it must have driven my mum mad when we were little and a lot of washing needed doing.

From what I see over here in Canada, they're mostly used as play rooms. Or the TV room and if they're big enough, have a guest bedroom down there too. Yes the kids like to be with their parents upstairs, but if you're going to be there for another 8 years, I'd do it. In a couple of years when yours are more independant they'll play down there happily I imagine. We lived in a house when DS1 was 2.5 with a basement, he didn't want to play down there on his own (can't blame him), but we used to be on the treadmill down there and he'd play or watch a film while we worked out. Now he's a couple of years older and we have DS2 I'm pretty sure they'd play down on their own.

We just need to move back into a place with a basement to prove that theory.

They don't use it as much as they thought they would, but I think it's a long term plan - ie the children are small at the moment - when they're larger, I think they think it can be a teenage crash pad sort of space. Personally, I don't think it's been worth the money or expense.

My SIL lives in Brussels and has a basement, but it's a large kitchen/living space and opens onto the garden due to the change in levels - on that basis, it was worth it.