Basement Conversion Project in Didsbury, Greater Manchester, UK

The large basement area was located under a single-fronted, double-backed property, known locally as a “Cheshire-semi”. The basement area comprised of three very large rooms, a corridor, and a “coal room”. The owners wanted the basement to be waterproofed and remodeled to provide the following rooms:

Second kitchen and utility room
Bathroom
Large living room
Store room and Wine Cellar

Converting the Basement

The project was carried out by specialist basement conversion company, Best Cellars North West.

The first task was maximise available headroom in the basement area by excavating the floor as far as the depth of the existing foundation would allow. A new concrete floor slab was then laid.

Because of the age of the basement, it was decided that the integrity of the brickwork could not be relied upon to provide a reliable surface on which to apply a traditional tanking system. For this reason, the Oldroyd Xv Cavity Drainage System was chosen. BS 8102:2009 [1] describes this as a “Type C” system as it diverts water to a sump or discharge point rather than physically attempting to hold back water pressure.

Oldroyd Xv membrane was also applied to the floor area. An Aquadrain perimeter drainage channel was laid around the perimeter of the basement at the wall-floor junction to provide additional drainage capacity and to divert any water ingress towards the basement sump system.

[1] BS 8102:2009 “Code of practice for protection of below ground structures against water from the ground”.