Unaware that there was a terrifying room hidden beneath his home, a father was shocked to see it.
Ben Mann and his wife Kimberley Jane moved into the early 1900s house in 2015, and Ben couldn’t believe his good fortune when he found a hidden staircase leading to a former cellar.
Until they noticed broken floorboards and made the decision to investigate, the couple was unaware that the secret area even existed.
Ben, 39, decided to put the underground cellar on hold while rebuilding the rest of the house when the couple discovered it was filled with water and debris.
There were some rotten floorboards, and the seller of the house wouldn’t let me look around until we were settled in, according to Ben, a sign maker.
“I had a suspicion that something was hidden beneath after observing that several of the homes in our neighborhood had cellars and steps leading down.”
“I bet and thought I could find the stairway; I hacked the hatch open and found a flooded cellar.”
“There was a foot of water and debris on the ground, and it was in terrible shape. All of the floors and joists had to be replaced since they were deteriorating. I considered it a fun bonus even if it needed a lot of maintenance.”
The couple decided to transform the old cellar into a state-of-the-art home theater and playroom for their 1-year-old daughter Bella when work on the hidden area finally started.
The deteriorating cellar was converted into a home theater for £4,500, complete with a projector, bar area, and a specially constructed sofa.
Ben declared, “I used a lot of old items and did a lot of secondhand shopping. I created my own pumping system, which allowed me to complete the work myself and save a ton of money. Due to the project’s ongoing nature, the work started in October 2020 and was only recently finished.”
“The facilities include a large lounger, shelving racks, a popcorn maker, a sweets vending machine, a mini-fridge, a projector, and a bar area. It’s around 12 square meters, and we’re happy we found it because it’s a completely useful place.”
