my first home, and my DIY mad boyfriend!! HELP,ADVICE NEEDED

[username237]

HI everyone, i wouldnt normally have anything to do with DIY research but im starting to get a bit worried!! Let me fill you in...

 

at training the other day i ruptured my achillis tendon and im now in a pot/on crutches. I live with my parents at the moment but am currently in the process of buying my first home with my boyfriend of 5 years. Most of the searches have come back from the solicitors and it looks like we may even have the keys in a couple of weeks.

 

im off work with my injury and im relying on mum and dad for just about everything. When we do get the keys i will not be able to move in cuz my boyfriend works mon/fri 9am/5pm and as such there would be no one in the house to help out if its needed. My boyfriend has said he wont move in until i do, which i think is nice. We have decided however, that as he is a bit of a handyman (he's a plumber) he is going to do up the house bit by bit so that when we do move in it will all be sorted.

 

He has been thinking about adding an extra room to the house which i think is great, althought we're on a bit of a tight budget at the moment. Its originally a 1 bed terraced, but the bathroom was turned into a 2ndbedroom and there is an extension on the back which is now the bathroom (sounds odd but its really nice!) We've got a loft and a cellar.

 

My boyfriend has had an idea to turn the cellar into a room, and his initial thought was a bedroom, which i didnt like the sound of. I mean, no windows, it will dark, might get cold and damp. But if we were to turn it into another room in general, it would add value on the house. Although i'd rather have a loft conversion my boyfriend thinks its a lot more expensive, and we would need a new roof cuz ours isnt in the best of shapes.

 

My main question is this, has anyone ever had a cellar conversion done? Whats it like, is it expensive, was it worthwhile, is it something you might need a specialist in to do, or do you reckon someone generally good at DIY could tackle it? Id be grateful for any advise, or shared experiences.

[Kicks]

Id be grateful for any advise

 

OK, stay off that leg.

[username237]

yeh thanks

[aefibird]

My main question is this, has anyone ever had a cellar conversion done? Whats it like, is it expensive, was it worthwhile, is it something you might need a specialist in to do, or do you reckon someone generally good at DIY could tackle it? Id be grateful for any advise, or shared experiences.

 

Fisrtly, welcome back to KF! Nice to see you back on the forums.

 

Sorry to hear about your leg - get well soon!

 

Well, as for your house, I'm guessing that yours is pretty similar to mine, seen as we live in a very close area of the UK. It's a terraced ex-pit/steelworkers house, right? The bathroom/bedroom conversion switch sounds exactly like how my house is.

 

I had the cellar of my house converted a couple of years ago. Well, I say 'converted' - it is partly done, but I've not finished it off because it got soooo expensive. Tip - leave your job at the law firm and become a builder...

 

Firstly, you had to be the size of a very small hobbit to be able to stand up in my cellar, which meant I had to have the floor lowered. Me and a gang of 'willing' mates (I plied em with beer) once spent the best part of a week doing that. There's only one way into and out of my cellar, as the old coal chute has been bricked up, so all the old floor had to be dragged up the steps and through the house. My carpets have never been the same since... There was brick dust and bits of rubble and things everywhere. I think that if I'd just decided to detonate a bomb in the cellar that it couldn't have made more mess.

 

Because there was a massive dividing wall in the cellar I had to get that removed if it was to become a decent sized room. Trouble was, that 'massive dividing wall' was also a supporting wall, so I had to get a team of professional builders in to secure the ceiling of the cellar and make sure that the house would be supported in other places if I took that wall out. It ended up that I have two large pillars in the centre of the cellar to provide support as well as other technical stuff that I didn't fully understand that basically means that my house won't collapse. That cost sooo much to do.

 

After that came the electrics. it was only after getting in an electrician to survey the cellar that he discovered the rest of my house needed rewiring too. So, after getting the electrical work done in the rest of the house I ran out of cash to get electrics put to the cellar. I've got electric lighting in the cellar now, but it now needs central heating running to it in order to be able to use it. Then the walls need plastering and the floor finishing off and carpeting and decorating and a zillion and one jobs that all make me wish I'd gone into the building trade instead of the teaching profession...

 

Anyway, good luck with your cellar project! Mine was a toss-up between cellar or attic (loft) conversion. I plumped for cellar, but I wish now that I'd gone for the loft instead.

 

BTW, which area of Sheffield is your new place in? Good luck with moving in. I hope you enjoy yout new home!

[battousai16]

sounds more or less like my room. i wouldn't do it, it's cold, damp, and miserable down there. i have a window, since you have to have a window in a bedroom in the state of WI, but it goes under a stair case. not worth it.

[ovine king]

first thing would be get your surveyor back in (hopefully you got one to do a check before you decided to buy...) and have a look at the basement.

 

he should be able to tell you exactly what can be done and how much it might cost.

 

next step would be to get a builder in to have a look as well.

 

the basement (or maybe a dry sump foundation) is a very fragile thing.

 

if it goes wrong, it's not just your house that suffers and 'suffer' is a massive understatement.

[username237]

first thing would be get your surveyor back in (hopefully you got one to do a check before you decided to buy...) and have a look at the basement.

 

we only decided on the bog standard survey, probably not the best option but we've had that much to pay out in solicitors fees etc that we couldnt afford it.

 

aefibird, that was just the kind of hands on experienced advise i was after, thanks. i think i would rather go for a loft conversion too, but i guess it would be nice to make some kind of a function rm for the cellar as well, i think i will pursuade the bf to get the professionals in rather than try it himself! Or even better spend the money on making the main rooms how we want them first!!

 

your house sounds exactly like the one i have bought, its in the 'crookes' area of sheffield.

 

one small question i forgot to ask in my original post, theres a solid fuel fire in the front room, a cast iron one. i think its an eyesore and wanted rid straightaway to replace with an electric fire but everyone else, and i mean everyone i have said this too have said i would be crazy and i should keep it. what do you reckon? are they worth a few bob? or are they just nice in winter? ive never had one before, but i cant see the attraction! maybe once ive moved in and we try it i mite like it...

[aefibird]

Keep the solid fuel fire - it'll head the rest of your house just from that! They can be a good thing to have, although electric or gas is a bit more practical.

 

I'd try and persuade your b/f to go for a loft conversion... after you've done up all the other rooms!

[CloudDragon]

I would suggest adding dormers or skylights to your loft conversion, lets light and a little warmth in during the winter, and acts as a chimney during the summer venting the heat out.

[CloudDragon]

Oh, and btw, welcome back!