If you’ve long used your basement as simply a storage area, you might have underestimated what immense potential you could reap from turning that basement into habitable space. Better still, that subterranean space could lend itself especially well to somewhat creative and quirky uses.
So, rather than just create an extra living room, you could repurpose your basement as a home cinema, since the surrounding soil of the earth would provide an organic kind of soundproofing. Alternatively, you could make your basement a games room complete with, say, darts and ping-pong gear.
If you fancy regularly indulging in an activity more physically exerting than either darts or ping-pong, though, you could have a swimming pool built into your basement. Unlike an outdoor pool, this indoor one wouldn’t consume garden space and could be used right throughout the year.
In most instances, the project of converting an existing basement or cellar of your home into living space would be unlikely to need planning permission as long as an array of specific conditions is met. These include that the conversion work will not create a separate standalone unit, significantly change how the basement is used or affect the property’s external appearance.
You are likely to need planning permission for your basement conversion if it would involve lowering a cellar’s floor level to improve the ceiling height, as this part of the work would be classed as an extension under planning law. Furthermore, you would need planning permission in order to convert the cellar of a home that is a listed building or located in a conservation area.
If you are working from home, a home office in the basement could be just what you need to work comfortably and without unhelpful distractions. If you run an entire business from home, you could even give the underground space its own separate entrance for when clients visit.
Your work might require you to do research – and you might not have to visit a library across the street to do that if you fit out a library in your basement instead. You could even give your basement a spa room to relax in after a long, strenuous day of work.
Nonetheless, if the idea of an underground spa room at your home does appeal, you should heed the importance of damp control in the basement where this room will be fitted out. You can trust us with undertaking various relevant measures, including waterproofing and damp proofing, in that basement.
Often, a gym membership can feel like something of a waste – not necessarily because you don’t visit the gym but instead because you don’t quite end up visiting it enough. However, it’s easier to use a home gym regularly, and that’s largely due to its accessibility.
When you ask us to convert a London residential basement on your behalf, you can expect us to make that space suitable for all of the gym gear you would like to use in it. This equipment could include exercise bikes, rowing machines and, of course, trusty treadmills.
You can easily contact us to arrange for our expert team to suitably transform and equip your basement for your fitness-conscious lifestyle. It’s easy to phone us on 0203 409 0115 to book a free consultation – and, through our website, you can ask us to visit your basement so that we can assess the possibilities.
It’s easy to get in touch with us to discuss your ideas for how you would like to develop a property with our expert assistance.
