MoreSpace Basements

Choosing to have a London basement conversion is a great solution to combating a lack of living space.

Instead of turning to the ever rising cost of moving home, creating a basement under your home can substantially increase the floor space, not to mention the value of your London property.

Whether you want to convert an existing cellar or excavate a completely new London basement, we at MoreSpace have the knowledge and expertise to transform a once forgotten area of your house into a large integral part of your everyday living. Whether you are looking for a bigger kitchen, new bedroom, home office, den, home theatre, games room, gym or spa complex, utility room or simply just some needed extra storage space, a well thought out London basement conversion could be the answer.

The Technical Stuff

The first step is to excavate a section of the earth next to one of the exterior walls of the property. A small area of the brickwork below the ground level is then removed from the wall. A rolled steel joist (RSJ) is then fitted to carry the load of the wall above the access hole. This area will be used for the removal of soil and debris from the basement during its construction.

To maintain the structural integrity of your property and allow works to take place, we use a tried and tested method of underpinning to reinforce the foundations of the
house. This involves the excavation of alternate areas of ground throughout the basement. Reinforced concrete is then shuttered and poured under the existing foundations. Once this has set, the process is then repeated on the adjacent sections. This ensures uniform structural support throughout the procedure. Once the process is completed the floor level can be lowered to the new level of the foundations, which allows for a comfortable head height in your new living space (normally a minimum of 2.4 meters).

In a soil retaining situation like a domestic London basement, we use a sealed waterproofing system, supplied by the Delta Membrane Company. The membrane is fixed directly to the walls and floors of the basement underneath the plasterboard. This membrane is specifically selected so that it is compatible with the substrate in your property. The key security you have with this membrane system is that it is fixed in place mechanically which means it does not rely on binding to the substrate, as many products have done in the past. The studded structure of the membrane allows dampness behind the membrane to move in all directions unhindered, therefore the whole of the wall or floor surface takes the damp load. Because the membrane systems are only fitted by certified, supplier approved teams, they come with 30-year manufacturer’s guarantee!

Basement

On almost all our London basement projects, a twin sump and pump system will be installed. Water ingress that develops behind the studded membrane will be channeled into the sump chamber, which holds a self-contained pump that delivers the water to ground level to be disposed of through the main drainage system. The system used also utilises a back-up pump which automatically takes over should a failure occur to the primary pump, with both pumps retaining battery back-up to legislate for the event of a power cut.

MoreSpace is a London basement company experienced in all types of basement projects. Call for a free quotation on your basement project.

http://morespacebasements.co.uk/