Finding my cellar

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Snowyy

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Hi
Moved into my house a few years back and have recently been going through some documents I found relating to the house. One of the documents is the schematics for the house as it was in 1988 and another one with proposed alterations which is how the house is now, both documents show a cellar line but I don't know where it is or if it is still there as it might have been filled up with cement during the extension maybe for improving foundations? Is there anyone who understands the drawings below or have any ideas where to start? In the original drawing there is a "DU to cellar" which has dissapeared in the new drawing, the room with the stairs is a utility that has a concrete floor, and kitchen also has a concrete floor. As the line of the cellar is still shown on the new drawing I'm assuming it still exists, and it looks like a fair sized area.

Line of the cellar before.jpg


Line of the cellar after.jpg
 
Have you checked under the stairs for a hatch leading down to the cellar?
 
Get a shovel and do some excavations. I suggest digging in the lounge and tunnel sideways. If you dig in the hall you might just fall through and twist an ankle.
 
Alec_t said:
Have you checked under the stairs for a hatch leading down to the cellar?
Click to expand...

In the utility the entire floor is concrete and the underneath of the stairs is in there, the bottom of the stairs is in the lounge which is carpeted, I did lift the carpet up a while ago and the area partially tiled and then the rest floor boards, couldn't see any access points then.
 
is your house the same as others in the road?
worth asking neighbours.
 
On a serious note, how old is the house? The plans are from 1988 - is this when the house was built? Can’t see cellars being in any house less than 70-80 years old.
 
do you have air bricks at low level around the utility area?
in the Existing drawing it indicates cellar steps.

no need to dig inside the house - remove a few low level, outside bricks, being alert to any DPC or DPM, and drive a steel bar down at an angle to search for a void.
or dig an outside pit, and then go sideways - if the foundation and footings for the wall are conventional and shallow then its doubtful that there's any cellar
 
Last edited:
bobasd said:
do you have air bricks at low level around the utility area?
in the Existing drawing it indicates cellar steps.

no need to dig inside the house - remove a few low level, outside bricks, being alert to any DPC or DPM, and drive a steel bar down at an angle to search for a void.
or dig an outside pit, and then go sideways - if the foundation and footings for the wall are conventional and shallow then its doubtful that there's any cellar
Click to expand...

yes there are air bricks around the house (1st brick) but not outside the utility,
 
most likely a coal cellar, I would have thought. So handy for access from the servants part of the house.

if the original stairway has been filled in, you might be able to take up a floorboard and see what space remains.

much less effort than excavating and trying to tunnel in from the side.
 
if there are no air bricks at the utility and no sign of spaced replacement bricks then its doubtful there ever was a cellar the size of the footprint in the drawing - because such a cellar would have been ventilated from outside.
 
Snowyy said:
In the utility the entire floor is concrete and the underneath of the stairs is in there,
Click to expand...

Rare, but I have sometimes come across domestic cellars under concrete slabs before (not lost or hidden ones). It is common in commercial building.
 
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