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How much to make my basement habitable?

6 replies

LadyWellian · 17/02/2015 20:25

We have a sort of cellar; it's a big area (at least 25 x 15 feet) but only about 4 feet high, so a bit tricky to do anything useful with - we've got the Christmas tree and decorations down there but that's basically it.

Having converted our loft we are really short of storage space and I would love to make the basement into a big storage room with power and light where I could perhaps put a bigger freezer and a tumble dryer as well as lots of shelving.

Has anyone done anything like this? I don't want to do a full 'grand designs' living space; it doesn't need any windows and only needs to be about 8ft (if that) ceilings. But the hatch is tiny and I wonder how all the rubble etc would come out. We could run stairs down through our under-stairs cupboard (as we wouldn't need it any more with all that storageGrin).

I tend to hear about basements costing much more than lofts and if it's £100k it would never be worth it (though I think that's more the price for the fancy living space type ones). I presume we'd need party wall agreements. We could work around the pillars that are down there but they'd presumably need to be lengthened to get to the required ceiling height. If it was £20k I'd be right in there. I keep thinking "but it's half way there already"... am I being unrealistic?

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SunnyUpNorth · 17/02/2015 23:02

There was an episode of grand designs in a flat in London where they dug down from the low cellar. They took all the rubble out through a little conveyor belt they rigged up. I wouldn't have thought it would cost anywhere near £100k and if you literally just want to dig down and tank it with nothing else fancy then can't see it being too much-but I don't really know! Get a couple of local cellar companies in?

RandomMess · 17/02/2015 23:07

Depends on the foundations mainly I should think...

I too would get some specialist firms in and get quotes and ask exactly what it would involve.

ScaryChicken · 18/02/2015 04:47

No idea I'm afraid but I'd like to know too as I would consider doing this

RandomMess · 18/02/2015 08:52

Hmmm I think to just dry line our existing space (although large) install pumps etc. was £25k at that is NW prices!

As it was existing there was no digging out, party wall agreement needed etc. Also had easy access for the digger etc. to level out the floor and lay the concrete etc.

LadyWellian · 18/02/2015 09:31

Thanks for responses. RandomMess I had my hopes up there for a bit but it does sound like it might cost a fair whack based on your experience. Why did you need pumps? Was your basement wet? Ours seems fairly dry but of course I can't say if it would be if we dug down another 4 feet.

I haven't got the money at the moment so I would feel a bit like I was wasting people's time to have cellar companies around to look (also I'm not sure if we have local cellar companies - our bit of London is still up-and-coming enough that most people are still doing their lofts and haven't thought about digging yet). OTOH, if you don't ask...

Party wall agreements for our loft were not expensive, as I recall.

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RandomMess · 18/02/2015 21:32

Our rooms were dry until it rained at which point part of it had water flowing through it!!! If you want to use it for storage you would have to have it dry lined and pumped because if dry lining was enough then we wouldn't have needed the pump either???

Ours is converted to habitable space - was a garage & coal cellar and a bit of croft area that needed a few feet digging out but overall it's probably 24' x 20' floorspace? I know one of the people who we got to quote has also set up a firm in Brighton.

It may be cheaper because of what you want etc. but a decent person will insist on doing it to building regs, after all if it collapses...

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