A basement with a twist in Dullingham, Newmarket

When a couple in Cambridgeshire wanted to add a dedicated space for playing snooker, they decided to excavate a basement room specifically for the purpose.
Your home is your oyster, and if you get the chance to design a house from scratch, then why not add a gaming or entertainment room to add a fun factor. “Our clients wanted a room for a full size snooker table,” says Simon Kelliher from Refresh Renovations in Cambridge. “They didn’t want to take up more of the outdoor space and they also didn’t want it to impact on the rest of the house.”

Designing a basement addition

So the decision was made to create a basement snooker room. “The idea was that it became a retreat away from the rest of the house,” Simon says. Building a basement, however, is not without its challenges as any imperfections can cause water ingress at the least, or major structural issues at the worst. Simon explains that the Refresh team used internal and external tanking and included a sump with pump in case of any water ingress.
Other issues also affected the build. While clearing the site, the team discovered a WW2 bomb that needed to be removed and detonated off site. This meant an increase in project costs. Unforeseen problems can occur at any stage of a building or renovation project, and it pays to have an experienced project manager on board who will be able to manage any issues quickly and efficiently, as soon as they arise.
With Refresh Renovations, the clients benefitted from having one point of contact who kept them in the loop at every stage of the process. The team follows a proven process that takes customers from initial consultation all the way through to the completed build. With a focus on planning, the concept and feasibility will be discussed in detail early on, followed by the preparation of working drawings and costing. Once the scope of the project as agreed, the actual building work can begin.