Basement in a London Home – Cost on the pocket  

A basement in your home is no doubt a bonus. An extra habitable space instantly ups the value of your home in case you are planning to float it in the real estate market. However, building a basement is not that simple. Due to its structural and construction complexity, the expense of carving it out and giving it a finished look sometimes acts rude to the pockets. 

The below pointers will help you understand in giving shape to a potential basement and factors affecting the overall cost:  

• If you already have a cellar, you have almost halved the cost of finishing a basement Vis a Vis digging out an entirely new one. 

• The basement built under the garden is not much functional as the one directly under your house. However, some opt for this, as it is a way cheaper. 
• The closer the water table is, the more challenging it is to avoid future damping; hence the added cost of prefixing it. 
• For Basement with an external access, shed an extra £6000 – £8000. 
• Another key factor adding to the expenses is the effort put in diverting sewers and drains. 
• Add to this, the land value, excavation cost, and type of waterproofing system. 

Depending on the size of a property and the amount of excavations, the cost of a basement addition in – 

• An average three bedroom London home is 4000£/m² – 5000£/ m². 
• A typical Victorian terraced house is £75,000 – £140, 000. 

Generic Breakdown of Costing 

• Fully fitted structural conversion – 300£/ft² + VAT 

• Structural shell and waterproofing – 150 – 200£/ft² 
• Conversion of the existing cellar – 750 – 1400£/ m² 
• New builds – 300£ – 450£/m² 
• Job cost – £200, 000 
• New basement underneath a garden – 1500-2000£/m² 

• Lowering a floor level and underpinning an existing cellar – 1500- 2000£/m² 
• New basement and underpinning – 2000£ – 3000£/m² 
• External access – 5000-7500£ 
• Engineer’s fees – 1000£ – 1500£ 
• Planning application – 165£ 

• Building regulation application – 750£ + value of the work 
• Party wall agreement – 700£/ neighbour 
• VAT – 20% by the registered contractors 
• Electrics, plumbing, staircase, plasterboard walls, flooring – 900£/m²+VAT  

With this information at hand and your budget in mind, you can pick the quality you desire and opt for a design that best suits your requirement.