Victorian house with a cellar

[luckycat888]

Would you buy one? Keen to hear your experiences if you’ve owned one before - especially any problems you’ve had!

I’m thinking of buying one but never owned a period property before. A bit nervous.

Ask to view after a lot of rain. Cellars are prone to damp and sometimes ponding or flooding. We had to tank ( line with cement) and put a pump I’m ours.

Not enough information — what state is it in? What did the survey say? What are the electrics, plumbing, heating etc like? When was it last rewired? The cellar would be way down my list of things to consider.

I love old houses but you definitely need to be prepared to take the rough with the smooth!

Our last house had the cellar completely tanked and converted into a flat. Our current house has a damp and manky cellar but we don;t need the space so we just put stuff down there that won't spoil.

Pros are space for hot water tank, boiler, wine rack and wiring, pipework etc are easier with space under the house.

Cons are damp and manky as mentioned.

Ours was a nightmare. We were at the bottom of the hill so obviously got all the rainfall. Had to have a pump fitted which ruined our lawn, We couldnt use the cellar at all.

Bloody brilliant IMHO. I had a small one in my last place. It only went under the hallway, so it wasn’t huge. It had been tanked but was still damp, but I had a dehumidifier which did the job well. It was like a dreamy walk in storage room. Far more accessible than a loft. Not big enough to have been extra rooms.

The only problem is that it becomes oh so easy to hoard things...

Thank you for all the responses! The rest of the house has been completely modernised but I don’t want to be sold by all the shiny new fittings which could just be there to distract from inherent issues

having a damp cellar isn’t a problem if that’s what it’s designed to do.
having a pump isn’t an issue if needed, the cellar is there to take and release water, it’s the very purpose it exists.

ensure it has good air flow. Do not tank it as that will cause damp because the water will not have anywhere to go!

@Tortephanti had no idea! Why do people tank them then?

To keep the damp out of the room and make it useable, never heard the 'release water' line. Having lived in old terraced houses lots if you go down the cellar it should be fairly obvious what kind of 'state' it is in. There is often a 'coal hole' to deposit the fuel into which might have been blocked up and so you'd need to check for ventilation, they were made to be 'open'. Our last one just had a grate over the coal shute - make sure it's padlocked shut! :)

Some can be they have been built for different purposes.
Re why in general - too many people, even professionals don't understand old properties, and many are becoming unsaleable/habitable because of inappropriate work being done to them. Or sales people selling their product with total disregard for what the best for your property.
It's a whole area I have learnt so much about since buying an old listed house. It's fascinating and scary at the same time.
If you are on Facebook I would suggest you join "your Old House conservation and repair UK' group and ask on there. Each situation is different and its a group that you will learn a lot from if you go ahead wit the home.

My niece has a huge old Victorian house with a cellar. Hers has been tanked with aqueous plaster board then skimmed over and is used as a huge play room with comfy sofa and coffee table.

I grew up in a medieval house with a lovely, dry cellar. My parents kept all sorts down there; old decorating/gardening equipment, the lawnmower, wine, cat food, a chest freezer, etc.

It was seeing the cellar that persuaded me to buy my current house. Just love it. It’s now spare bedroom, bathroom, utility room and surplus stuff from the kitchen room (agree about the hoarding 😳). I have a dehumidifier down there and have no problem with damp.

Ours is an old coal cellar that we use for storage. You can't stand up in most of it, but it is useful. We do use a dehumidifier in there sometimes as it can get damp. No flooding in the rain.

I lived in a lovely Victorian house with a cellar. It was used for coal and to store wine, and the DC had a dartboard down there and used the space to hang out. It was cold, but we never had a problem with damp.

Never waterproof ie tank a cellar

People do it because they are wrongly sold it by companies who make money doing it

Ensure it’s allowed to breath
Just like it was built to do

check out Period Property U.K.
books such as
Old House new house by Marianne Suhr
and
SPAB

Not an add
Im an architect and specialise in older properties

As does Marianne Suhr
and of course SPAB are beyond reproach when it comes to this area of the building world.

We have one. It's a great place to store "stuff". It's a bit damp but a dehumidifier solves that and at a cost so low we don't notice it on the electricity bill.

Never given us a problem and we have always lived in Victorian or Edwardian houses.

If you want to go full on and have the cellar tanked to solve the damp issues it will cost serious money.

A number of houses in our street have been "tanked". Nobody reports any serious issues that I have heard of.

You MUST get a reputable specialist firm though.

Building decay is a slow process. They won’t see rotting timber that’s hidden for example
but it will all be rotting

Lots of tech support from professionals.
and No firm that does this to old buildings is reputable. In doing so they can’t be. It’s against all technical guidance