Basement ideas?

[Skean Dhude]

Sounds to me like your caching and heads down issue is resolved. Just make sure the entrance is concealed and that the place is damp proof.

I would love somewhere like that.

[NorthernRaider]

Make sure its not in a Radon gas area.

[Dorset Lad]

Yes. I once lost my trousers to radon gas! Till it evaporated off over the weekend.

[Midnitemo]

If its sturdy enough i'd go down another 12-18 inches then get it tanked and vented.....voila secret storage/panic room/ huge cistern....some great options there

[Highlander]

I would not make an outside entrance, but make a larger inside entrance, and hide it the best I could.

.....although only 5 ft high,.. [ many houses in the UK have limited height basements MB ],..it wouldn't matter too much to me,...if its dry, then fine, it makes a great storage area,... if its damp, it still make a good storage area, just make sure your stores are in good damp proof containers

One thing I would buy, would be a set of castor wheels the type they move the likes of freezers with, then anything heavy is easily moved, bending in a 5 ft gap with a heavy box will not do your back a lot of good

Its a big space, it would be easy to build false walls around the sides to hide your stores

The most important thing would be to try if possible to hide the fact that the basement is there at all,... from the outsider looking at the house,... may be not such an easy thing to do,... but I wish I had such a space