Cellar conversion

[Mombingo]

We have viewed a property with a really decent sized cellar which we would consider converting if affordable.

Does anyone have any advice on this? Costs?
It appears to have good head height...is there a minimum which would indicate it's likely to be a straightforward/least expensive job?

Any wisdom welcome!

How high is the water table? You need to be very sure it doesn't intermittently flood.

Be worth getting a few quotes. Don’t always necessarily go for the cheapest - as that can become more costly.

It all depends on the condition of the cellar and what work you actually have done - as a rough estimate I would say in the region of £30k, but could be more, could be less! All depends on work required.

How does one check this?

Thanks. That figure fits with broadly what I was thinking.

I agree with PP on cost. We had quotes a few years ago for a cellar conversion and it was around the £22-25k mark. It did include a small side room for a utility as well as the main cellar room though.

Costs have gone up hugely. Obviously it will depend on a lot of factors like size, water table etc. We got a quote in 2017 for a basement which is two big rooms and two storage rooms, approx 500 square feet. In 2017 it was £40K ex VAT. The same job that we are getting done this year has been quoted as £80K ex VAT. We're going ahead because we don't want to move, but it makes less financial sense to do it now. We're in the Midlands

Oh forgot to say that some companies do just the waterproofing but others do the job start to finish. So it's really hard to compare apples with apples. I have no time or energy to coordinate tradesmen in a project like this so we went with the "start to finish" company, but waterproofing only came in at about £22K. I think we would have needed a builder to dig out the floor, get the old plaster off the walls etc. Electrics, plumbing. It didn't seem like we'd save loads of money in the end!

You also need to check the legalities.

If you're planning to use it as a bedroom then I believe it must have a window that can used as fire escape.

But the conversion company should able to advise on this.