Hi,

I'm just about to make an offer on a terraced house which has a cellar,
however the ceilings height is only about 5' 8".

It seems to have a concrete floor and is pretty damp (sorry I don't
have more details but we only had a brief look round the cellar.

Thye question I have how feasible, either professionally or DIY, would
it be to lower the floor say 1' so that all though still low the height
would be suitable to stand up in for the majority of people?

Any cost guess-timates would be appreciated if it would be a
professional/specialist building company job.

Many thanks for any advice (even if it is only to say "don't be so
stupid").

Dave

doh, thought it may be useful to say the size of the cellar is roughly
30' x 25'.

Dave
Norbas wrote:
Hi,

I'm just about to make an offer on a terraced house which has a cellar,
however the ceilings height is only about 5' 8".

It seems to have a concrete floor and is pretty damp (sorry I don't
have more details but we only had a brief look round the cellar.

Thye question I have how feasible, either professionally or DIY, would
it be to lower the floor say 1' so that all though still low the height
would be suitable to stand up in for the majority of people?

Any cost guess-timates would be appreciated if it would be a
professional/specialist building company job.

Many thanks for any advice (even if it is only to say "don't be so
stupid").

Dave

"Norbas" wrote in message
ups.com...
doh, thought it may be useful to say the size of the cellar is roughly
30' x 25'.

Dave
Norbas wrote:
Hi,

I'm just about to make an offer on a terraced house which has a cellar,
however the ceilings height is only about 5' 8".

It seems to have a concrete floor and is pretty damp (sorry I don't
have more details but we only had a brief look round the cellar.

Thye question I have how feasible, either professionally or DIY, would
it be to lower the floor say 1' so that all though still low the height
would be suitable to stand up in for the majority of people?

Any cost guess-timates would be appreciated if it would be a
professional/specialist building company job.

Many thanks for any advice (even if it is only to say "don't be so
stupid").


One is tempted to say the latter! If the cellar is "pretty damp", that's bad
enough, especially after a drought when the water table will be low (ie it
can only get worse). Lowering the floor 1" will be the same cost as lowering
it 6" (roughly), ie huge, given the area.

I would also not buy an older house on the basis of it "seeming to have a
concrete floor and is pretty damp". This statement is screaming out for the
response "get a full structural survey done", or at least a professional
survey of the cellar.


--
Bob Mannix
(anti-spam is as easy as 1-2-3 - not)

It depends on what you think you'll use the room for. It's only worth
doing if it fits with the balance of the house i.e. you have enough
bedrooms or other living space to carry it. It can be done but it isn't
cheap.

I recently lowered the floor in my basement but that was to get from
6'2"/6'3" to 6'7" which is high enough for almost anyone to walk in.
Basically if the walls go down far enough it's structurally
straightforward, excavate down, new floor and waterproofing (which
isn't stratightforward). However more likely is that the walls don't go
down any further leaving 2 choices. Underpinning or (given the size of
the room) use a reinforced floor with a ring beam to retain the earth.
This is effectively a reinforced concrete bathtub.

The digging is evil and usually with cellars there is no good way to
get the dirt out. Cost for mine is ~£8k but that's doing all the
excavating myself and the waterproofing. If it's never been used as
habitable space before (which sounds like it's the case) then you'll
run into problems with building regs on ventilation, ceiling height,
stairs and natural light levels.

Think twice and it's almost certainly not going to be worth it on a
terraced victorian house. Mine's a large Georgian town-house and it
balances the bedroom space since bedrooms cover first and second floors
so you need extra living space.

I doubt it will add any value and I certainly never want to dig a hole
that big ever EVER again!

Fash

Norbas wrote:
Thye question I have how feasible, either professionally or DIY, would
it be to lower the floor say 1' so that all though still low the height
would be suitable to stand up in for the majority of people?

I rememeber an edition of Property Ladder where this issue came up and
La Beeny told the punter that he'd be nuts to even consider it - it's
massively expensive and awkward, especially if you want it to be
'habitable'.

Obviously being a development for profit that was in terms of adding
value to the house immediately, whereas it can be a different scenario
if you intend to live there for a long time; nevertheless, if you really
need that extra space then you'd be better off buying a big enough
property in the first place rather than sinking money into a cellar
renovation.

David

Fash wrote:
It depends on what you think you'll use the room for. It's only worth
doing if it fits with the balance of the house i.e. you have enough
bedrooms or other living space to carry it. It can be done but it isn't
cheap.

I recently lowered the floor in my basement but that was to get from
6'2"/6'3" to 6'7" which is high enough for almost anyone to walk in.
Basically if the walls go down far enough it's structurally
straightforward, excavate down, new floor and waterproofing (which
isn't stratightforward). However more likely is that the walls don't go
down any further leaving 2 choices. Underpinning or (given the size of
the room) use a reinforced floor with a ring beam to retain the earth.
This is effectively a reinforced concrete bathtub.

The digging is evil and usually with cellars there is no good way to
get the dirt out. Cost for mine is ~£8k but that's doing all the
excavating myself and the waterproofing. If it's never been used as
habitable space before (which sounds like it's the case) then you'll
run into problems with building regs on ventilation, ceiling height,
stairs and natural light levels.

Think twice and it's almost certainly not going to be worth it on a
terraced victorian house. Mine's a large Georgian town-house and it
balances the bedroom space since bedrooms cover first and second floors
so you need extra living space.

I doubt it will add any value and I certainly never want to dig a hole
that big ever EVER again!

Fash


I think that tghis post says it all. Yes, it can be done, but te
cost/benefit of doing it is all on teh cost side...there are probably
better ways to spend the money.

The Natural Philosopher wrote:
Fash wrote:
It depends on what you think you'll use the room for. It's only worth
doing if it fits with the balance of the house i.e. you have enough
bedrooms or other living space to carry it. It can be done but it isn't
cheap.

I recently lowered the floor in my basement but that was to get from
6'2"/6'3" to 6'7" which is high enough for almost anyone to walk in.
Basically if the walls go down far enough it's structurally
straightforward, excavate down, new floor and waterproofing (which
isn't stratightforward). However more likely is that the walls don't go
down any further leaving 2 choices. Underpinning or (given the size of
the room) use a reinforced floor with a ring beam to retain the earth.
This is effectively a reinforced concrete bathtub.

The digging is evil and usually with cellars there is no good way to
get the dirt out. Cost for mine is ~£8k but that's doing all the
excavating myself and the waterproofing. If it's never been used as
habitable space before (which sounds like it's the case) then you'll
run into problems with building regs on ventilation, ceiling height,
stairs and natural light levels.

Think twice and it's almost certainly not going to be worth it on a
terraced victorian house. Mine's a large Georgian town-house and it
balances the bedroom space since bedrooms cover first and second floors
so you need extra living space.

I doubt it will add any value and I certainly never want to dig a hole
that big ever EVER again!

Fash


I think that tghis post says it all. Yes, it can be done, but te
cost/benefit of doing it is all on teh cost side...there are probably
better ways to spend the money.

Thanks for answering so quickly. I think I'll bin the idea, the house
is quite large and we don't need the space... I was thinking about
adding value to the house mainly and the extra room could have been
used I guess.

As you all advise, far too much work. I'll tidy it up somewhat and use
it as storage etc.

Thanks again.

Dave

For making it better for storage just put a raised floor in to keep
stuff away from the damp. Nothing sophisticated just a platform and
keep it away from the walls. Use treated timber and it should last a
fair while, and of course don't store stuff that is likely to go mouldy
in the high humidity.

I think you're making the wise decision.

Fash

"Fash" wrote in message
oups.com...
For making it better for storage just put a raised floor in to keep
stuff away from the damp. Nothing sophisticated just a platform and
keep it away from the walls. Use treated timber and it should last a
fair while, and of course don't store stuff that is likely to go mouldy
in the high humidity.

I think you're making the wise decision.

Fash

Some forced ventilation would reduce the damp no end, I suspect, and maybe
turn it into at least a decent storage area. That would be worth spending a
little on (ducting, fans etc).


--
Bob Mannix
(anti-spam is as easy as 1-2-3 - not)

The message .com
from "Fash" contains these words:

For making it better for storage just put a raised floor in to keep
stuff away from the damp. Nothing sophisticated just a platform and
keep it away from the walls. Use treated timber and it should last a
fair while, and of course don't store stuff that is likely to go mouldy
in the high humidity.

No need to go to the trouble of putting in a raised floor. Wooden
pallets are very useful for keeping stuff off damp floors and should be
easily available and either cheap or free.

--
Roger Chapman

Roger wrote:
The message .com
from "Fash" contains these words:

For making it better for storage just put a raised floor in to keep
stuff away from the damp. Nothing sophisticated just a platform and
keep it away from the walls. Use treated timber and it should last a
fair while, and of course don't store stuff that is likely to go mouldy
in the high humidity.

No need to go to the trouble of putting in a raised floor. Wooden
pallets are very useful for keeping stuff off damp floors and should be
easily available and either cheap or free.

--
Roger Chapman

Yeah that's a good idea, thanks again!

Dave