Making a Flat a Palace :)

[Surfless]

Hello all,
I've recently pitched into the home improvement market and bought a ground floor flat in Portsmouth - with a completely habitable basement - made up of three rooms.

With the kitchen already done and complete and the bathroom done too I've moved onto the entrance hall/dining room, which I have merged into one room, and taken up the carpets to reveal some scruffy but restorable floorboards.

I've got big plans for the underground section of the property - one room (15 x 20) is a lounge, the second (12 x 20) is going to be the master bedroom - currently its a big store/dump room - while the third room (which wasn't even on the plans when I bough the house - found it by mistake) is going to be an en-suite (its 6 x 15).

This bathroom needs thought and I'll be interested to hear from anyone who has ever installed an underground bathroom, or who has built their own bath - I plan to make a 6 foot by 5 foot tiled tub/jacuzzi with lights, steps and jets - and would be interested to hear from anyone who has gone down this route themselves. Do I need special grout/sealant for the tiles as I am essentially building a small swimming pool I guess and the last thing I need from such a fixed structure is for it to leak or collapse...!

The master bedroom is going to be the last thing that gets done and I am considering some integrated stuff in there also - wiring and speakers for TVs - that sort of thing.

Any input welcome on all fronts - I'm a complete novice and although its all gone to plan so far I can't help thinking its more luck than judgement

 

[bernardgreen]

Basements flood, either by water coming through the walls from ther surrounding ground or from excessive rain that over runs the drainage system. Sometimes this has to be allowed to happen otherwise the basement tries to float up stressing walls and flooring above it.

So before you start scheck that out.

If you do go ahead based on a very low risk of flooding then keep all eletrics as high as possible so they are above flooding. Have the ability to be able to isolate ALL electrics in the basement while leaving the rest of the flat with lights and power.

There is another problem you may encounter and that is having to pump all waste water and sewage up to the sewer if the sewer in the street is close to the surface. There are pumps that do this.

Bath....make the shape out of stainless steel. ( Go with some sketches to a company that fabricates one off bits and pieces for the food industry . ) Then fit a beech or similar water resistant timber inner liner This way the decor of the bath does not have to be water proof.

 

[Surfless]

cheers for your help Bernard - the stainless steel idea is a good one - basically then the shell of the bath that actually gets stood/sat on is designed more for comfort that being water tight - am I reading that right?

 

[bernardgreen]

cheers for your help Bernard - the stainless steel idea is a good one - basically then the shell of the bath that actually gets stood/sat on is designed more for comfort that being water tight - am I reading that right?

Yes, The liner can be anything you like, We have a stainless steel shower tray made to fit between the joists with the intention of lining it but the good appearance of the stainless and the well made welds meant we never did line it.

The liner need to be removable to reduce build up of debris between liner and steel.

 

[The_Golfer]

Absolute must - visit rentaqueen.com Every palace should have one!!!

 

[gcol]

If you go down the route of having a large stainless bath/tank made, just make sure you can actually get it down there. Would be highly annoying if it won't fit through doors etc.