Basement specialistsin Kensington ,W8, SW7 & the garden squares.
Basement excavations, conversions and waterproofing across Kensington: Kensington High Street, Holland Park, South Kensington, Queen's Gate, Kensington Church Street and the garden square addresses.
Our own 25-strong team · Free site visit and quote · 25-year warranty.
Kensington basements are consent, heritage and precision.
Kensington's stucco-fronted Victorian townhouses, garden square addresses and listed buildings make heritage the dominant constraint on every SW7 and W8 basement. Add RBKC's specific subterranean development policy, garden square access arrangements, and often three flanks of party walls, and you have a project that punishes any contractor without in-house consent capability. UHM has completed more than ten basements across Kensington in the last decade.
All W8 and SW7 postcodes, plus adjoining W11, W2 and SW3. Deepest coverage in South Kensington, Queen's Gate, Kensington High Street, Kensington Church Street, Holland Park and the garden squares.
Call or email and a director will get back to you to arrange a free site visit at a time that suits you.
Stucco-fronted Victorian townhouses, garden square addresses, Grade II listed buildings, converted mansion flats, mews houses and heritage terraced stock across the RBKC.
Full basement excavations under stucco-fronted townhouses, cellar conversions to wine storage and cinema rooms, heritage-appropriate waterproofing retrofits, and light wells engineered inside garden square consent constraints.
Every basement discipline, under one roof.
Every UHM basement discipline is delivered across Kensington, adapted for heritage and consent constraints. Each service link below explains the technical detail, with the caveat that Kensington consent programmes routinely exceed build programmes.
Basement Excavation
New basements dug beneath Kensington's stucco-fronted townhouses, heritage-appropriate sequencing under Temporary Works Coordinator sign-off.
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Basement Conversion
Fully habitable Kensington lower-ground floors, wine cellars, cinemas, spas, listed-interior sympathetic.
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Waterproofing & Tanking
BS 8102 Type C cavity drainage across Kensington, Delta Registered, 25-year insurance-backed warranty.
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Underpinning
Structural underpinning across Kensington's listed and stucco-fronted foundations, Temporary Works Coordinator on every job.
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Cellar Conversion
Convert existing Kensington cellars, wine, cinema, study rooms inside listed frontages.
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Damp Proofing
Diagnostic damp surveys across Kensington, targeted damp-proofing sympathetic to listed fabric.
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Sump & Pump Systems
Twin-pump, alarmed sump systems installed and commissioned across Kensington.
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Basement Extension
Downward extensions in Kensington where outward extension is prohibited, full RBKC planning service.
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Light Well Installation
Engineered light wells for listed Kensington properties, consent-aware, heritage-appropriate detailing.
Learn moreWhy Kensington homeowners choose UHM.
Kensington basement projects fail primarily on heritage sequencing and consent programme control, not on engineering. A directly-employed team with in-house RBKC consent capability is the single biggest predictor of a project delivered without heritage disputes.
One accountable team, start to finish
Recent and live projects across Queen's Gate, Kensington Church Street, the garden squares and Holland Park side streets. Every one delivered by our own 25-strong directly-employed team.
RBKC & garden-square fluent
We manage RBKC Building Control, conservation area consent, listed building consent, garden square trustee liaison and Party Wall Awards routinely | inside the project scope, not as extras.
Heritage-appropriate underpinning
Kensington stucco frontages and listed lime-render façades demand sequenced underpinning under Temporary Works Coordinator sign-off. UHM does that in-house, with our own team on every heritage detail.
The specific problems Kensington basements face.
Kensington basements are constrained less by ground and water than by heritage fabric, consent programme and neighbour surveying. Every UHM design starts by engineering those constraints out.
Listed stucco frontages
Kensington's Victorian townhouses are typically stucco-fronted with lime-render skins that will crack visibly if underpinning sequences shift façade loads incorrectly. Hit-and-miss underpinning under Temporary Works Coordinator sign-off is non-negotiable.
Garden square access & consent
Many Kensington addresses back onto private garden squares governed by trustee agreements. Access, muck-away routes, temporary works and light-well placement often need trustee consent alongside RBKC planning. UHM manages both.
RBKC subterranean policy
The Royal Borough's basement policy restricts depth, projection into gardens and construction management. Projects that ignore it get stopped mid-programme. UHM plans against the policy pre-tender.
Listed building consent lead times
Grade II listed Kensington townhouses need listed building consent for internal alterations affecting historic fabric. That consent time is real | 8–16 weeks typically | and UHM builds it into the programme up front, not after tender.
Structured stages, no shortcuts.
Every UHM project, whether in Kensington or elsewhere in London, runs through the same disciplined sequence. You'll always know what's happening next, who's doing it and when it completes.
- 01
Free Kensington site visit
Director-led survey of your SW7 or W8 property | measured, photographed and listed-building noted.
- 02
Fixed written quote
Structural strategy, BS 8102 waterproofing spec and RBKC conservation notes | priced in writing.
- 03
Consents & Party Wall
RBKC Building Control, conservation area consent, listed building consent, garden square access, Party Wall Awards | managed end to end.
- 04
Build on-site
Directly-employed team on your Kensington site. Heritage-appropriate methods, garden square protection, careful street logistics.
- 05
Handover & warranty
Sign-off, twin-pump commissioning, 25-year structural and waterproofing warranties.
Do you serve Kensington?
Yes. Kensington W8 and South Kensington SW7 are core UHM areas with completed basement projects across the garden squares, Queen's Gate, Holland Park and Kensington Church Street.
How fast can you reach Kensington?
Get in touch by phone or email and we will arrange a free, director-led site visit at a time that suits you.
How much does a Kensington basement cost?
Kensington basements are typically at the higher-specification end of our workload, with substantial consent programmes. Every quote is written after a real site visit with heritage and consent time priced in transparently.
Do you handle RBKC Building Control, conservation area consent and listed building consent?
Yes. UHM manages RBKC Building Control, conservation area consent, listed building consent and Party Wall Awards as part of the standard scope.
Can you work on listed buildings in Kensington?
Yes, subject to listed building consent and appropriate heritage sequencing. Listed jobs need slower work, more consent time and Temporary Works Coordinator sign-off, we plan for it in the programme.
Do you work with Kensington garden square trustees?
Yes. Where a Kensington address backs onto a private garden square, we liaise with the trustees on access, temporary works and any light-well placement alongside RBKC planning.
Serving South & West London
Book your Kensington site visit.
Free, director-led, heritage-aware. On listed and garden square Kensington addresses we'll walk the frontage, note constraints, and price the work realistically in writing.
- Free site visit
- Free written quote
- 25-year warranty
- £10M insurance
- Directly-employed team