It is like a mining operation. There's a lot of concrete, a lot of earth, a lot of steel...

12 April 2012

We have between 35 and 40 projects on the go at any one time. We get enquiries from all sorts of people, not just those in rich areas but those who can't move, as their home is not worth what they want.

There is no planning issue with the depth you go and you can get ceiling heights the same as first-floor level rooms.

We are up about 10 per cent on the same time last year. Jobs cost anything from £175 a square foot to £300 a square foot. We do the structure and also fit it out internally.

You have to check ground conditions so we do geological tests to determine what we are dealing with, whether it is clay, or sand, whether water is present or not. At most places there is, so we have methods of pumping it out.

We do build in, as a matter of course, complex pumping systems and back-up pumps and alarms and battery back-ups so it is fail-safe.

A lot of the projects are dug out by hand, or we use mechanical diggers or mini excavators. It can take about 12 weeks to form a structure, and up to 20 weeks for a full project.

It is like a mining operation. We tunnel down and then underpin the floors above with steel supports.

There is a lot of concrete, a lot of earth, a lot of steel put in. It is a big job.

We put a big hoarding around the property, around where we are excavating, and round the skip and any machinery in the street. The conveyor belt then excavates the soil over and into the skip into the road.

We fill about three skips a day usually. The skip is large, about 4.5m long, and that does not move. Then one of our grab lorries comes along and takes the soil out, which then goes to landfill.

We normally take over between one and two car parking spaces. We have anything from four to 14 men working on a site at one time.

We have five swimming pool projects at the moment, a couple of flats, leisure spaces, media and family rooms, storage spaces, wine cellars. Rather than selling, or investing in the stock market, people are investing back into their property, getting the extra space they want without selling.

Robin Knowles is MD of the London Basement Co, Twickenham

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