Basement flat

Starbrite

I'd love to live in a basement flat.......

Just thought I'd share that with the "Group"

sooz

Lower ground rather than full basements are nicer. It's not just an estate agent term. The lg will be basement at the front and ground floor level at the back. So not all the windows look onto a large white wall/lightwell. Private gardens are a huge bonus.
In London, do watch out for the tube lines. They can be a bit rumbly.
It's not that bad living down in the 'servants quarters' if you have a lovely large private garden. And even better if there is a garage at the bottom of the garden too. But you tend not to have all the nice detailing that upstairs has - lower ceilings, no original cornicing, no fireplaces.

kmmr

I suppose I live in a lower ground floor then, based on that description. We have huge high ceilings though.

There are plenty of really basement type places I would avoid. I think if you have to step up more than 3-4 steps to the garden it can be a bit dingy.

abankerbutnotafatcat

sooz wrote: »

Lower ground rather than full basements are nicer. It's not just an estate agent term. The lg will be basement at the front and ground floor level at the back. So not all the windows look onto a large white wall/lightwell. Private gardens are a huge bonus.
In London, do watch out for the tube lines. They can be a bit rumbly.
It's not that bad living down in the 'servants quarters' if you have a lovely large private garden. And even better if there is a garage at the bottom of the garden too. But you tend not to have all the nice detailing that upstairs has - lower ceilings, no original cornicing, no fireplaces.

Thank you, we have a lower ground floor (town house with steps up to the front door/ground floor and steps down to the lower ground) and it's just as you described. I tend to refer to it as a semi-basement and our front part is not all below street level. The ceilings are 8ft in the lower ground floor and 9ft in the rest of the house.

Sooz, you seem quite knowledgable about these type of basements - have you any idea what type of flooring would have been original? Our house is 1900ish and we've currently got the dreaded laminate all over this floor and don't know what to expect.:)

sooz

Mine was Georgian and had a concrete floor (under the manky carpet, cork tiles, dodgy laminate & iffy Lino). Pipe work caused issues! No idea what should have been there originally I'm afraid. Earth probably

phoebe1989seb

I've lived in two 'basement' type flats.....one a rental when I was a student - that was very large (compared to the typical student accommodation my friends lived in), full basement but it was also very damp. I met DH whilst I was living there and he often reminds me about my kitchen diner that was full of cats and fungus!!! Additionally it had serious security issues not least because it was the basement of an old late Georgian building converted to office use, with all the remaining floors from ground floor up being inhabited only during office hours. One weekend I went home to my parents' house only to find on my return that someone had broken into an office through a ground floor rear window then burst through the door connecting my hallway with the rest of the building (and which was kept securely bolted on both sides). They took all my valuables which I had perhaps stupidly left behind.....although I was insured of course

Obviously that scenario is unlikely to be repeated in a privately owned basement flat, although the second time I was burgled there the burglar got in through a skylight window above a rear bathroom extension......and my DH to be and I were in residence at the time so managed to frighten him off :eek:

Later on the first property we owned was also a basement flat - this time a semi-basement that had a vast (36') living room and a large bathroom with enormous corner bath (the height of 80s taste!). It also had an area of patio garden which was nice, but quite dark as the main garden belonging to the ground floor flat was on the higher level. During the two years we lived there we had no damp issues whatsoever. Our front bay window was half above ground and we could have looked up the skirts of passers by had we been so inclined We were much happier there, but the one bedroom was very small so we sold it soon after our son was born.

Starbrite

This one doesn't look dark, damp and tiny to me...

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-33158506.html

nzseries1

For most of 2010 I lived in a basement flat, my biggest worries were people hanging out in the communal areas by the back entrance and the noise from the neighbours above, but of course noise from above can happen in any floor except the top. The flat was south facing so always got lots of light. And since mine was one of only two flats where you went downstairs from the front door instead of upstairs, you didn't have people constantly walking past the flat door or standing outside talking which was nice. So it's good and bad.