Discussion
Struggling to find any info so thought I would ask the collective.
We have half decent sized semi detached and when built in the 60’s the floors weren’t done properly and have sunk (moved) and never repaired. So let’s assume everything else is fine but it’s just the concrete floors that need digging up and replacing.
I enjoy making life difficult and thought why not add an in floor wine cubby with a step or two, so nothing big. Then I thought why not build a small pantry as that would actually be useful but would require a roof over it not just a hole.
Has anyone done, seen, read anything along those sort of lines.
We have half decent sized semi detached and when built in the 60’s the floors weren’t done properly and have sunk (moved) and never repaired. So let’s assume everything else is fine but it’s just the concrete floors that need digging up and replacing.
I enjoy making life difficult and thought why not add an in floor wine cubby with a step or two, so nothing big. Then I thought why not build a small pantry as that would actually be useful but would require a roof over it not just a hole.
Has anyone done, seen, read anything along those sort of lines.
You can but you need to consult a structural engineer.
A basement of any kind is a box of concrete and steel. You also need drainage and likely internal " egg crate " to allow water seepage to sink to the sump
I doubt very much the old style basement ( dig a hole but damp that is fine ) will pass building regs. I have not tried I have only done real basements of habitable rooms so I don't know the non habitable rooms rules.
My suspicion is that this will be many ££ and as above with then get scope creep to a full basement !
A basement of any kind is a box of concrete and steel. You also need drainage and likely internal " egg crate " to allow water seepage to sink to the sump
I doubt very much the old style basement ( dig a hole but damp that is fine ) will pass building regs. I have not tried I have only done real basements of habitable rooms so I don't know the non habitable rooms rules.
My suspicion is that this will be many ££ and as above with then get scope creep to a full basement !
Not sure about the building regs side of it but check out Spiral Cellars. Not cheap though.
PhilboSE said:
Not sure about the building regs side of it but check out Spiral Cellars. Not cheap though.
I once worked with a chap who had one of those, wasn't with a glass door though it was a lid tiled like the rest of the kitchen floor.Jeremy-75qq8 said:
You can but you need to consult a structural engineer.
A basement of any kind is a box of concrete and steel. You also need drainage and likely internal " egg crate " to allow water seepage to sink to the sump
I doubt very much the old style basement ( dig a hole but damp that is fine ) will pass building regs. I have not tried I have only done real basements of habitable rooms so I don't know the non habitable rooms rules.
My suspicion is that this will be many ££ and as above with then get scope creep to a full basement !
It would have to be almost entirely done diy to make it remotely feasible.A basement of any kind is a box of concrete and steel. You also need drainage and likely internal " egg crate " to allow water seepage to sink to the sump
I doubt very much the old style basement ( dig a hole but damp that is fine ) will pass building regs. I have not tried I have only done real basements of habitable rooms so I don't know the non habitable rooms rules.
My suspicion is that this will be many ££ and as above with then get scope creep to a full basement !
I was thinking along the lines of big hole, tank it with layers of damp proof material, make forms and pour concrete to make a box (maybe add insulation if needed), then roof and door/flap.
I think the stumbling block would be structural engineer and or planning as it’ll probably be essential and I’m not in the position to spunk that sort of change for something whimsical
Having visited Canada in the 1960s and been impressed with their basements, my Dad decided to design his second self-build with a basement. The walls were breeze blocks and the ceiling of the basement woodwool slabs, supported on a mixture of internal walls and reinforced concrete pillars. The basement floor stepped up under the double garage, which enabled a car maintenance 'pit' on one side that was a hole in the basement ceiling. It also enabled a sailing dinghy to be stored under the garage if necessary.
The garage end of the basement did occasionally see a little moisture come through, however the rest of the basement was remarkably dry. The oil-fired boiler for the central heating was in the basement, which meant it was warm in the winter but cool in the summer.
The garage end of the basement did occasionally see a little moisture come through, however the rest of the basement was remarkably dry. The oil-fired boiler for the central heating was in the basement, which meant it was warm in the winter but cool in the summer.
Edited by GliderRider on Tuesday 15th July 03:00
I think it must depend on how the foundations of the house work?
If the wall foundations go down to rock or something, it's different from if they are relying on 'soil mechanics' to avoid them moving.
Some houses have quite deep voids under the floors if they've been built on a sloping site.
If the wall foundations go down to rock or something, it's different from if they are relying on 'soil mechanics' to avoid them moving.
Some houses have quite deep voids under the floors if they've been built on a sloping site.
Mad Maximus said:
It would have to be almost entirely done diy to make it remotely feasible.
I was thinking along the lines of big hole, tank it with layers of damp proof material, make forms and pour concrete to make a box (maybe add insulation if needed), then roof and door/flap.
I think the stumbling block would be structural engineer and or planning as it ll probably be essential and I m not in the position to spunk that sort of change for something whimsical
Guess what the owner was up to?I was thinking along the lines of big hole, tank it with layers of damp proof material, make forms and pour concrete to make a box (maybe add insulation if needed), then roof and door/flap.
I think the stumbling block would be structural engineer and or planning as it ll probably be essential and I m not in the position to spunk that sort of change for something whimsical
https://www.bathecho.co.uk/news/community/a39-clos...
Unless you're really sure then it's going to be a lot of expense for little gain. It's bad enough just replacing the floor slabs without doing extra fiddling too especially if it's just going to be for a relatively tiny space at the end.
Also, while the many pictures of house collapses after half-arsed excavations are quite funny I suspect the neighbours whose houses ended up joining the rest of the semi in a hole were less amused. Excavations can be a bad idea/very disruptive at best, and you have no idea what the ground or the foundations are like including for the party wall.
Neighbours will likely be enormously cheerful about the whole thing.
Also, while the many pictures of house collapses after half-arsed excavations are quite funny I suspect the neighbours whose houses ended up joining the rest of the semi in a hole were less amused. Excavations can be a bad idea/very disruptive at best, and you have no idea what the ground or the foundations are like including for the party wall.
Neighbours will likely be enormously cheerful about the whole thing.
There is a reason why basement extensions are generally only seen in very specific locations (I.e. Prime London) where the impact on value from the additional plan spaces might at least come close the justifying the cost.
In a typical existing house, adding a basement purely for storage will be a non starter in terms of any reasonable cost justification, certainly by the time you’ve involved structural engineers, specialist waterproofing designs, party wall surveyors etc etc…
With the greatest of respect, I doubt the cool wine cellars posted above get installed very often in a semi in Slough…
In a typical existing house, adding a basement purely for storage will be a non starter in terms of any reasonable cost justification, certainly by the time you’ve involved structural engineers, specialist waterproofing designs, party wall surveyors etc etc…
With the greatest of respect, I doubt the cool wine cellars posted above get installed very often in a semi in Slough…
LimmerickLad said:
Crikey me. I might just stick a safe in the floor and squash the idea. GliderRider said:
Having visited Canada in the 1960s and been impressed with their basements, my Dad decided to design his second self-build with a basement. The walls were breeze blocks and the ceiling of the basement woodwool slabs, supported on a mixture of internal walls and reinforced concrete pillars. The basement floor stepped up under the double garage, which enabled a car maintenance 'pit' on one side that was a hole in the basement ceiling. It also enabled a sailing dinghy to be stored under the garage if necessary.
The garage end of the basement did occasionally see a little moisture come through, however the rest of the basement was remarkably dry. The oil-fired boiler for the central heating was in the basement, which meant it was warm in the winter but cool in the summer.
That’s pretty cool. The garage end of the basement did occasionally see a little moisture come through, however the rest of the basement was remarkably dry. The oil-fired boiler for the central heating was in the basement, which meant it was warm in the winter but cool in the summer.
Edited by GliderRider on Tuesday 15th July 03:00
Just a point on your floors.
Chap I used to work with bought a 1960s bungalow cheaply after a previous sale fell through. The previous purchaser had a structural engineer look at the floors as there was a gap to the skirting, SE advised digging and relaying the floors, purchaser pulled out.
Second chap agrees a greatly reduced price, his structural engineer advises lowering the skirting. Large profit made on resale.
Chap I used to work with bought a 1960s bungalow cheaply after a previous sale fell through. The previous purchaser had a structural engineer look at the floors as there was a gap to the skirting, SE advised digging and relaying the floors, purchaser pulled out.
Second chap agrees a greatly reduced price, his structural engineer advises lowering the skirting. Large profit made on resale.
C Lee Farquar said:
Just a point on your floors.
Chap I used to work with bought a 1960s bungalow cheaply after a previous sale fell through. The previous purchaser had a structural engineer look at the floors as there was a gap to the skirting, SE advised digging and relaying the floors, purchaser pulled out.
Second chap agrees a greatly reduced price, his structural engineer advises lowering the skirting. Large profit made on resale.
Yeah my family have suggested such. However the sink has long since settled but it dropped 1.5 to 2 inch in the worst corner so it needs doing (I can feel it constantly). We are going to live here at least until the early teens have fled the coup and we’ll just be left with the much younger two. I’ll take it up and do it properly and will prob add underfloor heating depending on how I feel at the time. Also it will only help even if it’s a little to get some decent insulation in there. Apart from maybe a bit of consultation it’ll all be diy so as cheap as it’s going to be. Chap I used to work with bought a 1960s bungalow cheaply after a previous sale fell through. The previous purchaser had a structural engineer look at the floors as there was a gap to the skirting, SE advised digging and relaying the floors, purchaser pulled out.
Second chap agrees a greatly reduced price, his structural engineer advises lowering the skirting. Large profit made on resale.
LimmerickLad said:
Oops!"Conversion of redundant store at lower ground floor level to 1 bedroom flat with on site parking for 2 vehicles".
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