Legal Basement

Putting a concrete basement into your brand new home or finishing an existing basement is one of the best investments you can make. Basements provide inexpensive space for a variety of purposes, from a family room or entertainment center to an office or extra bedroom. Concrete is the most popular material used to construct basements. It is also becoming the preferred option for finished flooring of basements because of its resistance to moisture and many design options.

What’s the best method of basement construction?
Basement construction is a popular trend as people try to make the most out of the square footage of their property. Home gyms, playrooms, wine cellars, swimming pools or car parking facilities are just a handful of the uses people find for digging downwards.

It’s interesting to note that costs will usually double for a basement than for a loft conversion.

Obviously, it’s far simpler to build a basement when you’re constructing a house from scratch, but even if you don’t need to worry about the complexities of excavation, there’s still a lot of factors to think about.

The big things that need to be considered are:

• The structure – What are the shell and core made out of and what footings do they sit on?
• Soil removal – if you can’t reuse it elsewhere on site, how are you planning to get rid of it?
• Waterproofing – This can be achieved through a combination of membranes, water-resistant materials, drainage cavities and pumps
• Lighting – There’s often a desire to get natural light into basement rooms via light shafts or walk-on glazing
• Fit out – A construction team is unlikely to get involved in decoration, but floor and wall finishings and built-in storage or seating may become part of the job
• Maintenance – A tough element estimate up front, but something that needs to be factored in, especially if pump drainage systems are in place