Couple Renovating Property Discover 'Secret Rooms' Hidden Under Floorboards
A couple in the process of renovating their rundown dream home made a very welcome discovery under the floorboards.
Laura Bradley and her husband Kyle knew they were taking on a big task when they moved into their dream home in Derbyshire in the U.K. "We bought the house knowing it was a project," Bradley told Newsweek. "The lady who previously owned it had passed away in her 80s, having lived here since 1962."
The previous owner had lost her husband at the age of just 37, in a turn of events that left her raising three kids on her own, with money tight. "She couldn't afford to heat the place so stayed in one room," Bradley said. "What this meant was the house needed an awful lot of work doing, with everything being dated."
One area of particular concern when the couple first moved in was the furnace, which was completely broken. "It was so old, you couldn't get parts to repair it, so we needed a new one. The plumber recommended replacing the whole system including all pipe works."
What started as an arduous and expensive process, however, took a different turn when, a little over a year ago, while looking for the pipework running through the house, Kyle and the plumber lifted up the floorboards in the main hallway to discover an entire extra floor that had previously been hidden.
"We honestly had no awareness of it throughout the whole buying process, so to find it later on was weird, having not been told about it; had it been a secret for a reason?" Bradley said.
Eager to find out if there were any "secrets" down there, Kyle descended into the depths, with Bradley on hand to document what they found. The resulting footage was then uploaded to her TikTok @lauraellenbradley, where it quickly went viral, racking up almost 400,000 views.
"Our house looks like a bungalow from the roadside but then drops down another floor towards the back down into the garden," Bradley said. "It is built into the hillside, so the space we found is under the house at road level, but then on the lower floor it is behind the wall."
From left: Kyle and Laura Bradley discover a whole extra floor to their house.
From left: Kyle and Laura Bradley discover a whole extra floor to their house.
TikTok/lauraellenbradley
It is an impressive discovery and one that could add substantial value to the property. There is work to be done, though. Over 70 tonnes has been dug out of the space, and the house needs to be property underpinned. Once this is complete, though, Bradley said they will have gained just short of 40 square meters (430 square feet), which will take the form of two new rooms and a generous hallway space with storage.
Bradley is keen to credit her husband for making this a reality. "This has only happened through sheer determination and blood sweat and tears of Kyle. If Kyle wasn't a builder, it would have cost an awful lot of money," she said.
"There has been hundreds of hours spent digging to make it even, and the underpinning being needed has been going on for over a year." The space has proper floors now and will soon have electricity, with plastering to follow.
The happy couple have grand plans for the space. "One room will be my gym, and the other is Kyle's 'man cave'/gun room as we are keen shooters," Bradley said. "The hallway will be a small office space under the stairs for me."
Bradley will be keeping her TikTok followers updated on progress in the weeks and months to come.
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