- What the papers say

London Lite Newspaper 2nd April 2008

RUNNING OUT OF SPACE IN YOUR HOME?
WHY NOT CONSIDER A SUBTERRANEAN EXTENSION-IT’S CHEAPER THAN MOVING.

Nick Jones, 43, an accountant, and his wife, 41-year-old Dyan, a classroom assistant, live in a four-bedroom Victorian house in Carshalton with their three sons.
The couple converted their coal-hole into a large living room with shower room in 2006. Local estate agents estimate the house to be worth £450,000 with about £100,000 added by the basement extension.
Nick says:” We converted the coal-hole for more space. We like the area and we knew there weren’t many period properties to buy around here. We excavated and extended a large amount of space and instead of the old basement we now have a lovely huge living room that opens onto the garden. The building work required quite a lot of excavation but we were lucky and didn’t need planning permission, only to conform to building regulations. It has given us a better quality of life and helps coping with three boys!
“The cost of moving is so high we decided to use the money we would have spent on stamp duty and agent’s fees on our home. All in all it cost about £100,000 to convert.
Keith Defoe, of Cellarwise, the company that carried out the works and who specialise in converting basements, says the biggest stumbling block is flooding.
“If you’re near a water source such as the Thames, then you are at a higher risk of flooding. Consult your local council, which will give you a risk rating. Damping is no longer a problem thanks to new building technology. Converted basements have become easily achievable.”

Daily Mail April 6th 2007

Create a best cellar - running out of space in your home? Its time to dig deep and create a basement retreat says Graham Norwood.

When it comes to living space, size does matter. But how do you make your home roomier if you can’t afford to move house and planners have refused to give the thumbs-up to a traditional, above ground extension? The solution is simple-go down. Although creating a basement in an existing home is a complex piece of engineering, it is the most effective way for many home-owners to increase both the living area and the value of their home.

So what does it cost? Most specialists charge £40,000.00 to £200,000.00 to build a basement, depending on its size and where the house is. Cellarwise says an existing cellar can be transformed into a comfortable, full-size basement in 12 weeks but it may take 20 weeks if it has to be dug from scratch. “The smallest property we’ve worked on was a ground floor, one bedroom flat, the new basement doubled its size,” says Keith. ”You’re beginning to see them everywhere now,” says Cellarwise Keith Defoe. ”People have gone up, they’ve gone sideways and with so little space around, the only way is down”

In Hackney, Cellarwise have turned the basement of their five-bedroom Victorian house into a retreat. They have added a home cinema, office-cum-music room, bathroom and utility room where previously there was barely enough headroom to stand upright.
To gain access, specialist builders Cellarwise dug a large hole in the driveway, knocked out the wall below the bay window and began the laborious task of underpinning the house.
“They literally shovelled the earth out,” says the client. “It wasn’t that disruptive and it didn’t affect our living space at all. We were surprised at how much natural light comes in now. The ceiling height is good, so it doesn’t have that dark and dingy basement feeling.”
The new basement took four to six months to build and cost £145,000. The client suggests allowing an extra £2000 for council and surveyors fees.

CASE STUDY 2 – Evening Standard 2005.

Down under in Canada

For Canadian Michelle Burn-Forti, a home without a basement simply doesn’t feel right. “They are a fact of life at home in Canada. Where else do you store things such as tennis racquets and cricket bats?” she says.
In the family home in Acton, Burn-Forti and her photographer husband, Dan, have extended and remodelled their ground-floor living space and built a new multi-purpose basement room leading from the kitchen. This provides storage space, utility area, loo and dark room.
“Having two growing boys, there’s always sports equipment lying around, endless pairs of shoes and loads of washing, so the basement is ideal for coping with all that. It also accommodates bulky items from the kitchen such as a fridge-freezer” says Burn- Forti.
The building works were extensive and involved excavating hundreds of tons of earth with a small digger. This basement was slightly easier to dig than in many projects because it was not placed directly under the house. The new extension was built over the top.
Project architect Ben Parker of CYMK believes that using a specialist contractor is important. “They know which are the most appropriate systems, take care of health and safety issues and provide a guarantee for the completed works” he says. In this case the specialist company was Cellarwise.
The completed space is reached by steps from the kitchen and it receives light from glass panels set into the floor.
The budget for the new extension, plus basement, a central heating system, new kitchen and refurbished living space was £130,000. The ground floor area has been increased by more than 645sq ft and 280sq ft for the basement.

Keith Defoe from Cellarwise has yet to come across a project in London where making a basement has proved impossible. “Of course some jobs are more difficult and therefore more expensive than others, but there is always a way” he says.
While prices do vary considerably according to circumstances, he reckons new basements cost in the region of £2000 a square metre. “It may appear expensive, but if you look at the value of your house and work out how much each room is worth, it’s easy to calculate the value of your new basement”.
Before embarking on a basement conversion, extension or new excavation project, Defoe suggests checking out what permissions may be required by the local authority. “Most people will need planning permission, and if the works involve underpinning, you’ll need architects drawings along with a structural engineers calculations. On top of that there are considerations such as fire escapes which may need to be built into the design”.

Cellars

Basements

Vaults