There are two big design issues. One: how do you get down to the basement? You’ll need to think about the effect it will have on the ground floor of your house - and you’ll have to fit in a staircase somehow, unless you do it from outside.
And two: how do you get natural light in? You don’t want to be in a dungeon. You might extend out into the garden a bit, dig out some of your garden so you have natural light from the back.
David Cameron had a bay window at the front of his house – they dug out all of the front garden and built a bay window in the basement, so he had a light well at the bottom, and they put a mesh over the top of it so you’ve still got natural light at the front – and he’s got natural light coming in at the back, too, which is good.
It’s all about structural work and waterproofing. You need a bloody good company who can give you a 25 year guarantee. A basement conversion is one of the trickiest things to build and people get damp coming in after 12 months if it hasn’t been properly tanked.
For more information, including case studies, see our in-depth feature on basement conversions.
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