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The best way to go about converting a basement depends on its current condition and what you’d like to use it for.

If you’re happy with its size and structure, and just want to turn it into useful storage space, then your project shouldn’t be too complicated. You’ll simply need to make sure it’s damp proof and waterproof – either by fitting tanking or a cavity drain membrane with a sump and pump. You may also need to invest in new flooring, fit basic lighting, and plaster and paint the walls and ceiling.

If you’d like to turn your basement into living space, then you’ll need to think about ventilation, insulation and heating. If this involves creating a kitchen or bathroom, you’ll also need to incorporate plumbing.

If you want to extend your basement, add lightwells, or fit windows and a sunken garden, this makes things much more complicated. You’ll probably want to hire an architect or basement conversion building specialist to help you with the design and planning, and you’ll need a structural engineer to help you ensure your property is sufficiently supported.

Most companies will make the building control application on your behalf and ensure that all the work is completed to the right standards. When a building inspector has inspected it, you’ll get a certificate. It usually takes around 6-8 weeks after completion to come.

How Much Is Plasterboard?

Do you wish to install plasterboard in the nearest future? If yes, then you’d probably want to know the amount it’s going to cost. Here, we’ll give you a detailed plasterboarding prices breakdown to help you calculate an estimate for your project.

A plasterboarding project including the cost of both materials and labour with the use of a high quality panels is about £4 to £5 per panel. Therefore, if you wish to calculate on the basis of a standard room about 12x12ft would cost about £500 to £600. However, this price can fluctuate significantly depending on the professional as well as the quality of the materials you wish to incorporate in completing the project. We’d recommend that you hire the services of a professional with accreditation as he would provide you with a detailed quote with no hidden charges or costs. To give you a clearer idea, we’ve taken the time out to put together some estimated costs of employing the services of a seasoned professional plasterer to supply and plasterboard your home or office. Let’s take a look!

• A 6 x 12ft room with panels and plasterboard should have an average cost within the range of £250 to £400 and duration of one to two days.

• The individual cost of plasterboarding or drywalling a standard 12 x 12ft room should have an average cost within the range of £500 to £600 and duration of one to three days. These includes 60% for materials used (£330), 30% for tradespersons (£165) and the remaining 10% for waste removal (£55) to give a total cost of £550.

• A 12 x 24ft room with panels and plasterboard should have an average cost within the range of £1000 to £1200 and duration of three to six days.

Are you considering a dormer loft conversion for your home? If yes, then you’d probably want to know how much it costs. Unfortunately, due to the several variables and influencing factors, a precise answer can not be provided for all dormer loft conversions. In this article we’ll give you a vague idea of the general cost so you can set a more realistic budget and start planning.

There are three main types of loft conversion which includes the Velux, Dormer, and Mansard. Out of the three types, the dormer happens to be the most common type and possesses a small flat roofed extension with a window. The dormer loft conversion will usually cost within the range of £25,000 to £30,000.

The price for a smaller dormer loft conversion, mid range dormer loft conversion and large scale dormer loft conversion will be at £2,000 to £7,000, £10,000 to £30,000 and £40,000 to £60,000 respectively. However, you should take note that the prices given are all based on varying influencing factors such as the type of installation that is selected, the type of the rood, en suite conversion as well as other customization. Changes in price can be as a result of the materials required and the extra time per labour that’s needed to complete this home improvement project by the tradesmen employed.

Furthermore, a dormer loft conversion average cost will also depend on the type of dormer you opt for. Here is a list of the most common applications:

✓ Blind dormer loft conversion - £3,200 to £4,400

✓ Recessed dormer - £1,300 to £1,850

✓ Barrel roof dormer - £3,000 to £4,600

✓ Gable dormer - £5,500 to £7,500

✓ Hipped roof dormer - £5,600 to £6,660

✓ Pedimented dormer - £12,700 to £23,100

✓ Flat roof dormer loft conversion - £13,800 to £21,600

Generally, extensions can be a very tricky undertaking - where it can be quite difficult to have a clear comprehension of the rules, regulations as well as costs. Therefore before you rush in to kick start your ground floor extension project, it’ll be wise to get a good grip on the cost. In this article, we’re going to give you a rough estimate of the cost of a ground floor extension. Let’s take a look!

Just like several other home improvement projects, the cost of constructing a ground floor extension is based on a number of things which includes the size, materials used, your location, the quality of the tradesmen or company hired and lots more. For instance, if you happen to reside in London, the cost of your ground floor extension is going to be a lot higher than the other regions.

The single cost of a ground floor extension should fall within the range of £1,500 per square metre to about £2,000 per square metre. However, if you happen to live in London or the South East, this price can reach up to £1,900 per square metre to about £2,400 per square metre. These prices are for good quality ground floor extensions only. Basic or low quality extensions would naturally cost less while superior quality extension will cost more.

Now looking at the size of the ground floor extension, if you’re looking for a size of about 5m x 5m, you can expect to pay a price within the range of £32,000 to about £36,000. And as usual, in London or the South East, this price can reach up to £50,000 or even more. And that’s just for constructing the extension. If the other relevant costs like the 10 percent to 15 percent professional fees for the architect, planning application (if needed), building regulations and more, the price goes up.

Refurbishing a house brings about a plethora of benefits. These includes an increased sale value, an improvement on your quality of life or even simply to make it more visually appealing. All these are great when you look at them, but one thing that happens to be an hindrance for several homeowners is the cost of getting the project done. You may wish to set a budget, plan and prepare before commencement of the project, but the fact remains that, when it comes to refurbishing a house, nothing is certain. In fact, it’s advised to always expect the unexpected and have a lot of cash in reserve just in case something goes wrong. There are a wide range of factors that can play a key role in the overall cost of a house refurbishment. Minor refurbishment that should cost around £30,000 can easily go up to over a whooping £150,000 for a total transformation. Most of this cost will be expended on labour, and the next most significant expense, which is sourcing materials.

In general, the cost of your refurbishment project will depend on some factors which includes the size of the project, the materials used, the refurbishment or renovation level, the location of the property, the quality of the contractor hired and lots more. To estimate the cost of refurbishing your property, you can follow these simple steps:

✓ Write down a detailed list of all the things that needs to be done per room and try to be as specific as possible.

✓ Carry out a research of the labour cost in your area as well as the raw materials’ cost (here, you can make use of guides such as home advisor).

✓ Add an extra 10 to 15 percent on top of the calculated estimate for uprisings and repairs.

✓ Talk to your contractor to get a more accurate quote.

Tiling a porch roof is a very important but laborious and difficult task. A project of this magnitude will require a large investment in planning and preparation way before the actual installation process takes place. It can be a brand new porch roofing tile or a replacement of the existing one, either way it’s crucial to get the right technique. If you lack proper training or experience in this field, we’d recommend you hire the services of a reliable professional probably within your local area to guarantee the best results and to save yourself some time and money. This guide will give you a good insight into the porch roof tiling process. Let’s have a look!

• With the crown looking upwards, put the first tile on the batten and centre the tile from side to side.

• Hammer a 10d nail at the base of the tile and into the batten (make sure not to overdrive the nail).

• To provide a much needed support, apply a little mortar under the first tile.

• Identify the inner end of the first tile and place another tile on top. Take a measurement from the outer end and adjust the end of the second tile to fit.

• Just like you’ve done with the first tile, nail the second tile into the batten.

• Position two tiles at the both ends of the ridge and proceed with the installation just as you’ve done with the previous tiles.

• Take a measurement of the distance across the ridge from the first tile’s outer end. Once done, you can then calculate the number of tiles required by subtracting 16 inches from your measurement and divide the answer by 8.

• Beginning at the second tile on one end of the ridge, install the half the number of ridge tiles towards the centre of the ridge. Now install the remaining tiles working from the opposite end to the ridge’s centre. At the centre of ridge should be a key tile with mortar.

Cement is a crucial element in bricklaying that’s widely used in both construction as well as finishing works. Generally, they’re used to aerate concrete blocks, connect bricks, prepare plaster, floor levelling as well as the making of precast products. The major reason cement is one of the most common construction materials as its incredible ability to hold structure together. To get a cement plaster, you’d simply have to mix cement with both water and sand. However, when you mix cement with lime, sand and water, you’ll get a mortar.

For cements mortars to be used inside joints, you’ll have to include 1 part cement at the minimum to not more than 2 parts sand by weight which should be dry mixed and moistened with enough water to allow for troweling and packing without falling apart. Generally, the cement sand ratio in a mortar is in between 1:2 to 1:6. The cement and sand mix ratio is largely based on the importance of the project.

Cement provides a plethora of uses in bricklaying and these includes:

• Preparation of cement concrete

• Preparation of cement mortar

• Building fireproof and thermal proof structures

• Building chemical proof structures

• Serving as a grout material

• Building hydrographic and frost resistant structures

• Manufacturing precast members

• Constructing aesthetic concrete

• Constructing cement concrete roads

There are several types of cements with each having its specific purpose. For instance, the type of cement more suited to building a fire proof structure is a high alumnia cement and to build a hydrographic structure, cements like expanding cement, hydrophobic cement, pozzolana cement and quick setting cement are the best bet. Acid resistant cements are more useful in building chemical proof structures, portland cements are best suited to making grout materials, while coloured cements are preferable to building aesthetic structures.