Do I have a cellar or do I not?

[prbaxter]

Hi all,

I've found an old sketch of my house and it says there used to be a stairway to a cellar in the hallway, however the hallway is screed so I cannot lift any boards to investigate.

There are a couple of airbricks outside under the level of the floor. I was thinking of getting a snake camera and some strip lights to stick through the holes to have a look but I'm not sure this will work.

Any ideas anyone? Obviously, I could smash a hole in my hallway floor but the mrs will probably put me in it and seal it back over if I do that!

 

[rjm2k]

What about other rooms, can you lift any boards in those? There would normally be signs outside even if they were blocked up now, like a coal chute or window etc.

 

[prbaxter]

no, concrete/screed floor all the way through. The house is 300 years old so I think the cellar will either be really rubbish or really grand.

 

[TheVictorian]

If you have a concrete floor then the cellar will have been filled in at some point in the past I'm afraid, not uncommon unfortunately. There would have been a suspended wooden floor originally, unless the house is very grand in which case the cellar may have been vaulted brickwork.

The cellar at the front of my house is intact, but there was originally one at the rear too (evidenced by an arch of bricks externally at patio level) but that has long been filled with concrete.

 

[Dextraneous]

What about adjacent/neighbouring properties?

 

[prbaxter]

i've had my iphone take a few photos through the airbrick and although I couldnt see much, I did see what I thought was a sparkle of light from the opposite airbrick. I wonder if I can stick a touch at one end and take some photos from the other side. Getting light down there isn't easy.

 

[prbaxter]

it's a detached property, there are no houses like it nearby.

 

[rjm2k]

What about a bit of fishing line with a small weight on it, push through the air brick making sure it's through any cavity and see how much line it takes?

 

[prbaxter]

thats a good idea... I could also use string and see if it is wet when I pull it back up. It may have been blocked off for a reason.

 

[rjm2k]

Did you find out?

 

[prbaxter]

not had chance yet. will have another look this weekend and report back!

 

[jay679]

Shouldn't be too big a job to remove an airbrick to enable you to have a much better look inside. Just a matter of either using a bolster or an angle grinder to remove the mortar, then mortaring it back in afterwards. Even if you break the airbrick in doing so, they are cheap as chips unless its a really fancy one.

 

[jabuzzard]

Possibly even easier is to get a cheap USB inspection camera. Have a quick search on eBay. You can get a waterproof camera with 5m+ of cable with LED illumination on the end for ~£15.

Even if you do remove an air brick you will probably get a better idea of what is down there with an inspection camera.

Some of them can even be used with an android tablet with the right software.