When it comes to making an extra room in your house, sometimes a larger external home extension isn’t enough. Not only are such home extensions costly, they are also irrelevant if you have a basement. Instead of constructing a new room, why not convert your basement into a large study, living room, kitchen, mini gym or utility area? Here’s how you can do it:
Get an Estimate
The first thing you need to do is to call your architects or local building contractors that speacilize in basement waterproofing and have a discussion with them. Tell them how you would like to have your basement restructured. The experts will evaluate your needs and provide an initial estimate of the costs, project requirements and estimated date of completion.
Plan the Work
After the initial estimate, a full survey of your required basement conversion is carried out and proper design ideas are suggested. Once a particular design is selected, a planning application is prepared. During this time, the basement specialists also help achieve a Party Wall award by contacting the neighboring properties. Once you have obtained that award, you will then receive a general idea on the timeframe of the project.
Begin with Construction
Basement reconstruction begins with excavating the subfloor below ground. The foundations are then reinforced with underpinning techniques, or engineering steel beams to support the existing structure of your house. For this purpose, a structural engineer is generally consulted. Furthermore, the internal load bearing walls, concrete pads and floors need to be reinforced as well. This process is then followed by installing a basement tanking system and reconfiguring the entire drainage system along with existing manholes.
Once the basic construction is complete, the plumbing, electrical and drainage works need to be inspected by an expert. At this point, any damaged, broken or inappropriately placed plumbing works are rectified and rearranged. As a homeowner, make sure that the basement has a proper waterproof shell which is ready for the next stage of fitting.
Give it a Finishing Touch
Finishing touch involves a careful attention to detail. This covers all aspects of basement redesigning – ranging from electrical and plumbing works to insulated screed-covered floor reconstruction. At this stage, all first and second fixe items (e.g. carpentry and painting and decorating) should comply with all the Building Regulation standards. As a final step, you can ask your building contractor to organize the overall lighting scheme and add the furniture.
Hope this information was helpful.
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