We live in a two-up, two-down end-of-terrace house. We have already opened up our loft space for our son’s bedroom and now we are wondering what might be involved in opening up the space below the ground floor to create a basement. We have been told that these houses do not have true foundations and may have been built on earth. Ideally we would like to turn it into a utility room, a playroom or a study. Do you have any suggestions as to how to go about this? And is it even possible?
MB, Dublin 8
The short answer is that anything is possible. The technical difficulties of putting a basement under an existing building are generally surmountable, although this is one of those occasions when all architects will bow to the expertise of the engineer.
The issue of cost will need to be examined at an early stage