For some years houses built in this country have not included cellars and basements, but in many old buildings there is a great deal of waste space in the areas below ground level. These basements are often dark and damp, and there is a tendency to think of them as useful only for storage – particularly of food or wine – because of the all-year-round equable temperature.
A basement is also the obvious place for anything large and heavy, such as machinery because the strengthening of supporting walls and floors that would be required anywhere else will not be necessary here. It is a good place for heavy oil-storage tanks for central heating, especially where the local authority insists on a catchment pit – that’s an extra impervious surround to the tank in case of leakage. In some buildings, where a pump is needed for distributing water, the tanks may well be stored in the basement; but except for these and similar examples, better use for this valuable space should be considered.
Town Planning-bylaws
When deciding whether to give planning permission for new houses or changed usage in existing houses, the authorities consider rooms as “habitable” (bedrooms and living-rooms) or “non-habitable” (bathrooms, storage, garages, work-shops, etc.), and all building land is zoned to dictate the number of people permitted to live in any given area, taking only habitable rooms into account.
Complications will of course arise when changing the use of space from non-habitable to habitable. You will have to take questions of access, drainage facilities, security against unwarranted entry, means of escape in case of fire, and many others, into consideration, but first the new room will have to conform to local regulations concerning provision of adequate daylight, ventilation and minimum heights of rooms.
- If you own a house with a basement here are some points to consider:
- Are you making the best use of it?
- What would the planning and bylaw authorities let you do with the underused space?
- Could the room usefully serve a second purpose?
- Is it free from moisture?
- If damp, what type of damp-proofing would be most suitable.
