This was one of the most exciting warehouse conversion projects I have ever worked on.

When the current owners bought their homes from the developer, no one knew this huge basement existed! It was discovered by accident when one of the new owners was digging in the garden against the outside wall of the house and revealed an arched brick lintel which turned out to be over an old window boarded up with dirt.

Another reason why the basement had been able to be kept secret for so long was the fact that the ground floor of the houses was made of concrete, this was possible because the basement ceiling was encrypted arch brick.

The two neighbors agreed to share the project, which ended like this…

New window wells, one at each end of the warehouse, were created as permanent fixtures but also serving as temporary holding points for removal of dirt and debris in the initial stages of work and later as entry points for new materials. to complete the cellar conversion.

The original flooring was brick and was removed to give more height. It was fascinating to see that the brick floor (about five to six layers of brick) was ridged with drainage channels under the floor, which served to keep the basement dry. Underground channels led to an underground sewer that ran 400m underground to a trench (where the ground was lower than the basement floor).

The use of underfloor piping has made a bit of a comeback in the last 15 years and the outlet today is a sump chamber with an electric pump, so it was interesting to see how the Victorians took a similar approach to what we think of as the ‘ modern method!

Therefore, the underfloor ducting was replicated with a custom built ducting system under a new modern concrete floor with a finished level some 450mm below the original and a sump and pump system with a battery. back-up that replaced the original sewer drain outlet. The walls were covered with an insulating anti-damp membrane and covered with plaster. The client wanted to maintain the appearance of the red brick arches, so these were sandblasted and coated with a clear sealer.

The original one-room basement was divided in two with a new block wall, and to access them from the houses above, a circular hole was cut in each, through the brick arches with diamond drills, large enough to accommodate a metal spiral. staircase that looks very striking in the center of the room.

Click to read more about the history of this warehouse conversion case and others.