Basement ideas?

[CharlesHarris]

Jonas has the right idea. If the house is on a hill, rent a "ditch witch" which they use for trenching utility lines and sewers, and lay perforated drain pipe downhill at least 1 metre below finished cellar floor level to carry away ground water. If there are not wall vents, make penetrations for 10cm pipe every 2 metres around the perimeter at ceiling level and cover with 1 cm wire screen to keep rodents out. If there is an outside entrance, make one suffientlly large to park a small car, such as a Cooper Mini. The "garage" mechanic's room and ramp are your cover story for you storage. Remove the existg dirt floor, excavating suffiently to have 2 metres of overhead clearance. Then put an underlay 10cm thick of compacted gravel over the floor, covering the trenches for the draiin tile.

It should be easy enough to install electrical drops for ceiling outlets below existing fixtures in the ground floor rooms above, but it is best

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was unable finish and edit above before connection timed out, but to meet lical code requirements, consult a licensed electrician if you are unable to obtain any needed permits and have the work inspected yourself.