Something to watch out for is the difference between someone submitting a quote vs. an estimate. A quote will always be more comprehensive but often you will find that these companies come for an initial visit and provide an estimate which when broken down will no doubt be missing key and expensive items !

Theres a basement company that has been doing 5+ basements on Fernlea Road in Balham over the past year. Can't remember the name but their sign is outside one of the in progress basements.

We also used Paul Blount as our architect and would definitely recommend him. Very reasonably priced too.

We had Estbury come round to give us a quote for a potential basement conversion a few years back, we decided not to go ahead at that particular time (as we didn't need the extra space), but if we did then I'm sure we would have gone with them as we saw examples of their work on properties nearby. However we are seriously considering doing the basement conversion now, as our little family is growing and we can't afford to move into a house, so we'll get Estbury back to re-quote, and possibly Qualitas based on the feedback on this site.

We have also been stung by a cheaper quote which missed out huge chunks of work for our side return extension - for example, 'doors' were included in the quote, but we naively assumed that they would be white and beaded to fit in with the character of the property...they came just as plain wood, without handles so we had to fork out extra to modify them, etc... big learning curve there!

With regards to the fit-out, I found that our builders didn't really bother with the 'finishing' - they appear too keen to move on to the next job, and we had to keep dragging them back in to do the finishing touches.

Be good to hear feedback from others regarding their building works.

Would just like to say that we used Qualitas & whilst they seemed more expensive (on paper), when I broke down all the quotes, there's was the most comprehensive & incldued EVERYTHING I had discussed with all the compaines when looking for a quote. The project came in on budget with only one unforseen amount of around £1.5k (tiny percentage of whole budget). Later on I looked back & realised that if we had gone with a cheaper quote from a different company, it would have ended up costing a lot more in the long run as there was so much missing from the cheaper quotes. Am currently dealing with Mascot for some smaller building refurb works (getting quotes) & again, they do seem more expensive, but again, they do include everything.....
Just something to bear in mind; look at all the quotes & compare what is / not included.

We have just got quotes for a new basement and here are my conclusions!

Estbury - refused to come out and visit and just sent a standard quote based on the sqM size. Went straight in the bin as we wanted more than a basement but they don't want to listen.

The london basement company - took 3 phone calls and 5 weeks to get a quote out of them after a site visit. They were then 50% more than the other quotes for a basement and house refurb (ie £200K more!). I would not recommend them at all.

Qualitas - massively expensive

Mascot bespoke - good company, not the cheapest but seem like they would provide a good product.

Good luck with your hunting!

Hi,

We have just used BH Basements for ours and were really impressed. They are part of the Building & Handyman Group who have businesses in Battersea and Fulham, so they take care of the fit out too as they do all that kind of thing already. The basement team have over 20 years experience and were really good - when our neighbours did theirs with another company a few years ago, we and the other neighbours had bad cracks etc, but there was absolutely nothing! They also use Paul Blount as the architect......
Def worth getting a quote as their prices were very competitive too....
Good luck, def worth doing!

Hi,

My husband is an architect, and has done basements - obviously I can't count as a recommendation, being a little biased, but he has worked for several people who use NappyValleyNet who he could put you in touch with.

Anyway, you can see more of his work on his Facebook page (company is called Thomas & Spiers Architects, and he is Christophe Spiers): https://www.facebook.com/thomasandspiers

Sophie

We are two thirds in to our basement conversion and are using both Estbury for the dig out and the new Estbury fit out team. So far we are delighted with how things have progressed and are being managed. The works have been on schedule and minimally intrusive. We also used the architect recommended through Estbury (Paul Blount) who was efficient and reasonably priced. We also got qualitas to quote but they were fairly rude and never sent me a price so they obviously didn't want the job!
There are advantages and disadvantages to having different dig/fit/architect (such as Estbury do) parties involved, but you get more flexibility and a better price (i think). The only down side was with our party wall agreements so I recommend you get those in place as soon as possible, as ours dragged on and slowed us down horrendously.
I hope this helps a little. Good luck with your work!

I am currently in the middle of having my basement converted (just completed the dig and waterproofing) and am using Ashville Inc LTD on New Kings Rd. I am the first on my road to do one. I choose Ashville becuase they do a fixed prcie quote and a turn key service which means they source all the interiors etc. They were not the cheapest quote but neither were they the most expensive.
So far they have been fabulous and I would not hesitate to reccomend them.

I approached Estbury, but the receptionist was quite snooty and they would not come and quote as they said my project was too small for them. I am extending the current basement and will have room for a sitting room, utility and bathroom, but I am not going under the whole house. Ditto, olbc also said my project was too small for them, but they did produce me a quote to go under the whole house and if my project was bigger I would have gone with them.
Hope that helps

My basement was finished by Qualitas just over 12 months ago & I would still recommend them. They have a great Architect on board their team so you don't need to go separately. You are welcome to come for a look & a chat if you want?! My neighbour's just used Estbury & whilst she was happy with the dig out aspect she IS NOT happy with the fit our team. Problem is, one of her friends only signed up to the dig out aspect with Estbury because of her comments, but now is struggling to find someone to take on the fit out as companies don'e like to do one half of the job apparently. Worth noting I think!

Hello - i've read through lots of basement company recommendations on here, but now i'm looking for some RECENT recommendations if possible. Has anyone had a basement dug out in the last 12 months, and would you recommend your builder? I see Estbury's sites all the time so they must be good(?), is there anyone else around? Thank you thank you!

Architect recommendations would also be fab - especially for someone who is used to dealing with period houses.

Thanks