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Pros and Cons of Employing Services of Basement Experts


Pemu

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Good morning everyone

Was hoping I could get some detailed opinions on the pros and cons of employing the services of someone who specialises in basements (especially for a first time builder who only had moderate DIY skills). 

I came across this particular service and I assume there may be more out there:

http://basementexpert.co.uk/

Any comments generally on the topic or the particular service above will be greatly appreciated.

 

Primarily I'm talking about this type of professional services as opposed to basement contractors who do everything end to end. 

Edited by Pemu
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As with all things building, you should get three quotes for such work, you should visit their previous work sites, talk to previous customers, ask for references etc.

 

Having built my own basement I can say, it’s not too difficult to get things right yourself, you need to start with a good design, pay particular attention to the details and have a good, well experiences, team of contractors doing the work.

 

PS. Having re-read your post, I’m left wondering why you’re considering such a service? What are the things your worried about, those of us here who have built a basement probably have the answer.

 

 

Edited by Triassic
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As your proposed basement is on the end of a terrace in London, I think you do want some planning advice on the local attitudes and policies. that probably wants to come from a local Planning Consultant or Architect who has been involved in similar.

 

Or perhaps from pre-planning advice from the Council (££). It will not bind them. But may tell you their attitude.

 

I would take probably split it into paid for advice up front on a time basis as orientation, consider whether I needed a pro for the design and planning stages - I would treat those together with a bonus payment for getting planning, and then consider the build.

 

In London I would not want to be left without access to an immediate expert, depending slightly on whether I was paying for expensive infrastructure like scaffold on pavement licenses etc.

 

Ferdinand

Edited by Ferdinand
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On 21/05/2019 at 07:11, Triassic said:

PS. Having re-read your post, I’m left wondering why you’re considering such a service? What are the things your worried about, those of us here who have built a basement probably have the answer.


I'm not entirely sure. Ideally, I would love to do without and if there really is sufficient advice and experience here that would be wonderful. I guess a part of me thinks since I came across these services, I should at least explore it and ask others' advice so I don't regret it later if it transpired that I should have gone down that route and I didn't pay any attention to it. 

 

On 21/05/2019 at 09:11, Ferdinand said:

In London I would not want to be left without access to an immediate expert, depending slightly on whether I was paying for expensive infrastructure like scaffold on pavement licenses etc.

 

Do you mean the type of expert I linked or do you have another type of expert, and if so, what type or perhaps do you even have any recommendations?

Thanks all again

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My basement expert was the structural engineer, he was the one with the knowledge to design the basement, to calculate the amount of reinforcing necessary, the specification of the concrete, the insulation requirements and the waterproofing. 

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3 hours ago, Pemu said:

Do you mean the type of expert I linked or do you have another type of expert, and if so, what type or perhaps do you even have any recommendations?

Thanks all again

 

Potentially that type of expert - try looking for past planning apps for similar basement projects to yours, and lift the names of the designers, consultants etc off the reports relevant to your type of project.

 

The scenario where imo such an expert (and one the Council will listen to) becomes important when a BCO or a Planner says you have something wrong. At that point you need someone to hand or on call who can answer such questions if you or your team cannot do so. My point is that in such circs overheads can mount faster in London eg if your site stops for 3 weeks, as it is all so much more controlled.

 

I normally look as far as possible for people with relevant qualifications and local experience on similar projects. It may be that your architect or even the Party Wall person is such an expert.

 

Or you can find other ways to manage risk.

 

I'm too far away to make recommendations in London.

 

F

Edited by Ferdinand
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On 21/05/2019 at 02:07, Pemu said:

Good morning everyone

Was hoping I could get some detailed opinions on the pros and cons of employing the services of someone who specialises in basements (especially for a first time builder who only had moderate DIY skills). 

I came across this particular service and I assume there may be more out there:

http://basementexpert.co.uk/

Any comments generally on the topic or the particular service above will be greatly appreciated.

 

Primarily I'm talking about this type of professional services as opposed to basement contractors who do everything end to end. 

 

I built a basement with no previous experience. 

 

I saw this guy's page when doing research, useful info but as a one man band I'd not consider him for the actual build.

 

The only 'experts' you need are

 

1) an architect to design the basement in conjunction with the rest of the house (i.e. as a living space) and to get you through planning 

2) a SE to design the spec of the basement (waterproofing strategy, steel & concrete etc..). They will require a comprehensive ground investigation report which they or you can commission

3) a construction contractor , experienced in the conditions with which you will be working (not necessarily 'basement Experts')

 

What is important is that you can get an insurance backed warranty from the contractor or the concrete / system provider once the basement is complete, otherwise you will not be able to include the basement in your overall warranty and may have issues re-mortgaging or selling in the future.

 

For my build, it was a detached house on a relatively large plot so the basement was easy enough - did not need to invoke party wall and ground conditions were straightforward. I contracted with a local ground-worker experienced in underground structures (parking garages, etc) and they subbed out the steel and concrete works. We used a Sika waterproofing system which was inspected during the pours and signed off by Sika with a 15 year warranty. TF house built over the top (SE was main point of liason between firms to ensure appropriate loads from above were understood etc.)

 

A local friend used a turnkey basement provider (Glatthar, usually present at the self build shows) and they were good also, especially given they had quite challenging ground conditions (an underground stream ran through their plot!). They were very professional but not cheap - we got quotes and it was about 50% more than our eventual option.

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Can anyone recommend any basement experts, structural engineers with basement experience, etc., who serve the North London area. I want to perhaps try to speak to at least 3 before committing to anything with one of them. 

Thanks

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8 hours ago, Pemu said:

Can anyone recommend any basement experts, structural engineers with basement experience, etc., who serve the North London area. I want to perhaps try to speak to at least 3 before committing to anything with one of them. 

Thanks

 

I'll send you a PM with my engineer - based in Bath but do work all over. Can also ping you the details of the Uxbridge based firm I used to build it.

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I have looked at Basement Expert and Phil Sacre.

 

He worked on a Grand Designs scheme in London where there was not a proper site investigation or temporary works design and consequently it was a disaster.

 

https://www.homesandproperty.co.uk/home-garden/interiors/design-news/grand-designs-couples-dream-of-escaping-rent-trap-by-building-londons-smallest-twobedroom-house-a114956.html about 10 mins in.

 

I think he has posted on here before.

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11 minutes ago, Mr Punter said:

I have looked at Basement Expert and Phil Sacre.

 

He worked on a Grand Designs scheme in London where there was not a proper site investigation or temporary works design and consequently it was a disaster.

 

https://www.homesandproperty.co.uk/home-garden/interiors/design-news/grand-designs-couples-dream-of-escaping-rent-trap-by-building-londons-smallest-twobedroom-house-a114956.html about 10 mins in.

 

I think he has posted on here before.

 

I met the UK directors of Glatthar when planning my basement, they did one for a friend and did a very high quality job (at a high quality price). As my site & ground conditions were pretty straightforward (my friends were essentially building in the Thames riverbank), I was able to do it cheaper by building in-situ.

 

They were scathing about him. 

 

While some of his advice is useful (general design principals etc) and he de-mystifies a lot of the building process, I'd  be wary of using a one man band and a secret ad-mix etc.

 

We used a very competent concrete team who did all the steel, shuttering and pouring and were able to spot mistakes in the engineers drawings which were quickly corrected.

 

They used a warrantied Sika system (admix, water bar & expanding plugs for the shuttering holes) which was all supervised and signed off by a Sika rep, who then issued the warranty.

 

The groundworker essentially dug the hole and filled it back in, following the SE's spec. 

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One other thought - like most building, there is a fixed and variable cost with basements that makes smaller ones quite expensive per M2 and larger ones much less so.

 

While we had a variable cost on muck away, concrete, steel, insulation & backfill that was proportional to the footprint & wall perimeter, the crew spent quite a bit of time building the two key pieces of vertical form work  (one a corner section with window, the other a flat wall piece) and were then able to cast two sections at a time and rotate around the slab in a very efficient manner. Only took a few weeks in total.

 

They had a rule that one section needed to have at least 3 or so days of curing before they'd cast a fresh section against it  - I think this was so the waterbar could be adhered to relatively dry concrete.

 

So there was that fixed time plus plant mobilisation etc which will be pretty much the same whatever the size of basement.

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