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Effect of cellar conversion on house price?

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We're considering converting our cellar - and since this is an expensive job, I'd like to think about what value it would add to the house.

 

It's a 2-up 2-down, 2 bedroom terrace in Crookes, with attic converted to the 2nd bedroom. When we moved in, the cellar had previously been tanked, but not properly converted - more like a garage - it was slightly damp and only used for storage. We currently have a freezer and drier down there, and use it for paint etc storage - it needs a dehumidifier to keep the place dry and usable.

 

We're looking at having it properly waterproofed (membranes, sump, etc) and properly plastered, lights, etc. We'd like to use it as a proper utility / storage room. We'd use a company which offers 10 year insurance backed guarantee.

 

Can any estate agents / valuers etc tell us approx what difference (even in %) adding this extra room would make to the house price?

 

Cheers :thumbsup:

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We're considering converting our cellar - and since this is an expensive job, I'd like to think about what value it would add to the house.

 

It's a 2-up 2-down, 2 bedroom terrace in Crookes, with attic converted to the 2nd bedroom. When we moved in, the cellar had previously been tanked, but not properly converted - more like a garage - it was slightly damp and only used for storage. We currently have a freezer and drier down there, and use it for paint etc storage - it needs a dehumidifier to keep the place dry and usable.

 

We're looking at having it properly waterproofed (membranes, sump, etc) and properly plastered, lights, etc. We'd like to use it as a proper utility / storage room. We'd use a company which offers 10 year insurance backed guarantee.

 

Can any estate agents / valuers etc tell us approx what difference (even in %) adding this extra room would make to the house price?

 

Cheers :thumbsup:

 

I genuinely don't think its worth the money in terms of investment. If you need the space, then fine. As a buyer, comparing two similar houses, I'd only pay an additional £2k or so, and its likely to cost you £10k or more to do the job properly. Plus of course, cellars were never designed to be dry...they are all damp. Tanking it always leaves you with saturated bricks behind the concrete covering - it never really drys out.

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I genuinely don't think its worth the money in terms of investment. If you need the space, then fine. As a buyer, comparing two similar houses, I'd only pay an additional £2k or so, and its likely to cost you £10k or more to do the job properly. Plus of course, cellars were never designed to be dry...they are all damp. Tanking it always leaves you with saturated bricks behind the concrete covering - it never really drys out.

 

As a buyer, I would pay an extra 5k probably dependant on how recent it has been done and whether it can be used as a proper room rather than just storage.

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I genuinely don't think its worth the money in terms of investment. If you need the space, then fine.

It's because we need the space, rather than trying to make money. If it can add some value, that's a bonus.

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We're considering converting our cellar - and since this is an expensive job, I'd like to think about what value it would add to the house.

 

It's a 2-up 2-down, 2 bedroom terrace in Crookes, with attic converted to the 2nd bedroom. When we moved in, the cellar had previously been tanked, but not properly converted - more like a garage - it was slightly damp and only used for storage. We currently have a freezer and drier down there, and use it for paint etc storage - it needs a dehumidifier to keep the place dry and usable.

 

We're looking at having it properly waterproofed (membranes, sump, etc) and properly plastered, lights, etc. We'd like to use it as a proper utility / storage room. We'd use a company which offers 10 year insurance backed guarantee.

 

Can any estate agents / valuers etc tell us approx what difference (even in %) adding this extra room would make to the house price?

 

Cheers :thumbsup:

 

it will add some value but probably not the full amount it would cost.

 

IMO the best thing it will do is give you more useable space and if you eventually sell and if it's between yours and another 2 bedroomed house without a cellar conversion yours will sell quicker and maybe more people wanting to buy it!

 

ps i don't do cellar conversions so this is genuine advice :thumbsup:

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a friend of mine does these and I have seen his work - pm me if you want a contact number

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We have 3 cellers and have had 2 converted for our own use for storage and a gym, both are a selling point but can not be classed as a room as there are no windows, so will not improve much on the value, but should sell quicker if we go that route, or so the estate agent told us.

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We are just thinking about doing our cellar too. Smallish room 3.5m*3.5m proper tanking job to a usable room with a window. Will need some digging down (30cm) to create headroom. Does anyone have an idea of how much this is likely to cost?

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We're considering converting our cellar - and since this is an expensive job, I'd like to think about what value it would add to the house.

 

It's a 2-up 2-down, 2 bedroom terrace in Crookes, with attic converted to the 2nd bedroom. When we moved in, the cellar had previously been tanked, but not properly converted - more like a garage - it was slightly damp and only used for storage. We currently have a freezer and drier down there, and use it for paint etc storage - it needs a dehumidifier to keep the place dry and usable.

 

We're looking at having it properly waterproofed (membranes, sump, etc) and properly plastered, lights, etc. We'd like to use it as a proper utility / storage room. We'd use a company which offers 10 year insurance backed guarantee.

 

Can any estate agents / valuers etc tell us approx what difference (even in %) adding this extra room would make to the house price?

 

Cheers :thumbsup:

 

In todays market I doubt that you'd make your money back, or even 50% of it.

If you need the space it's probably easier than moving (again given the market), but do it because you need it, not as an investment.

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We are just thinking about doing our cellar too. Smallish room 3.5m*3.5m proper tanking job to a usable room with a window. Will need some digging down (30cm) to create headroom. Does anyone have an idea of how much this is likely to cost?

 

Last time I checked it was >10k. How much greater I think depends on what exactly you specify and who you get to do it.

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We are just thinking about doing our cellar too. Smallish room 3.5m*3.5m proper tanking job to a usable room with a window. Will need some digging down (30cm) to create headroom. Does anyone have an idea of how much this is likely to cost?

 

'Digging down' is not always a feasible option as it can/will undermine your houses foundations meaning underpinning is then needed!

Underpinning is NOT worth doing and makes a house very hard to sell and hard to insure as well.

Im not saying this is the case with your house, just that 'digging down' is a common phrase that people say when thinking about converting their cellar!

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Is there some kind of test that has to be done to check if foundations are deep enough?

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