In the past, the cellar was only used as a storage room, but today it often also fulfills quite different functions. The basement is much more than just a practical storage space for garden furniture or the washing machine. The possibilities for expansion are correspondingly diverse.
The basement: more than a storage room
In the past, the cellar was used primarily for storing food, but today it is often considered an extension of the living space. Whether fitness or hobby room, guest bedroom or sauna – a cellar offers many possibilities in modern homes. If you’re invested into playing games, or your kids need a space to play video games, then a gaming room is also a great extension.
Anyone who wants to expand his cellar into a living or hobby space needs good planning. Above all, ventilation and thermal insulation must be right so that no mold forms in the rooms in the basement. For the feel-good factor, the right lighting is also a decisive criterion.
The right light for the cellar
Anyone planning to build a new house can reach the right amount of light in the living or hobby cellar with little effort. This is especially true for so-called high cellar: These basements project between 50 and 100 cm out of the ground, so that large window openings can be easily inserted.
Somewhat more complicated it is with an already existing cellar, because here window openings cannot be increased arbitrarily. Nevertheless, to let enough light and air into the cellar, a light shaft in the cellar offers itself . These shafts were formerly mostly made of concrete or brick. Today, they are usually made of plastic. Frequently polyester is used, which is reinforced with glass fibers to ensure the stability of the shaft.
So that the light shaft in the basement as little as possible dirty it is advisable to install a special light shaft cover next to a conventional grating. Best suited for this is a cover made of stainless steel. Anyone who lives in a flood area must also make the light shaft watertight. Such a seal can also be retrofitted to older houses.
So high are the construction costs for cellars
Basement or foundation plate? This is an important issue for many potential home builders. The financial situation usually determines this, because depending on size and surface, the construction costs for cellar in a conventional single-family home make a difference between 50,000 and 70,000 dollars.
Foundation plates are often much cheaper. The disadvantage: There is no additional space available for a cellar. In most cases, the planning of a cellar is therefore much more useful despite the slightly higher costs. Another argument for Keller is the possible resale value of a home.
A survey of basement contractor in London has shown that a house without a basement can be sold much more difficult than a house with a basement. If you want to save costs and are gifted, you can reduce the construction costs for a cellar by around 20 percent. Only the shell should build a construction company – the rest can be expanded in-house. An alternative to this is a ready-made cellar.
Prefabricated cellar as a cheap alternative
Prefabricated cellars consist of concrete parts, which can be machined by the manufacturer and individually tailored to the needs of the client. On the construction site, the prefabricated components are assembled in a modular system in just a few days and connected seamlessly.
Since the individual parts are manufactured by machine and the construction also runs much faster than in a brick cellar, significant cost savings are possible – and without loss of quality. Even in the case of a budgeted budget that has not been calculated, therefore, no builder has to do without a cellar.