Britain’s fastest snowboarder has spent three years turning a derelict basement into a beautiful apartment.
Jamie Barrow, 28, has transformed the property in Bath from a ‘dungeon’ into a dream home now worth almost half a million pounds.
Mr Barrow, who broke the Guinness World Record for the fastest speed on a snowboard in 2018 while being towed at 93mph by a vehicle in St Moritz, Switzerland, bought the apartment located in the basement of a Grade-I listed townhouse in 2017 in his quest to get on the property ladder.
He was working on the top floor flat in the building when he noticed it had an abandoned basement that had never been lived in.
Mr Barrow said: ‘At first going down there was quite scary, it was such a dungeon, it was so dark and you could easily get spooked but now it’s amazing.
Jamie Barrow, 28, has transformed the property from a ‘dungeon-like’ pit into a dream home now worth almost half a million pounds. Left: Before the renovation. Right: After
Mr Barrow bought the apartment, located in the basement of a Grade-I listed townhouse in Bath, in 2017 in his quest to get on the property ladder
He was working on the top floor in the building when he noticed it had an abandoned basement that had never been lived in
Mr Barrow said: ‘At first going down there was quite scary, it was such a dungeon, it was so dark and you could easily get spooked but now it’s amazing’
Professional snowboarder Mr Barrow, who went to the University of Bath, got into renovation to keep busy during the summer months of his snowboarding calendar
After a long process and getting planning permission for basement, it is finally his – and fully renovated. The property also comes with a private garden – which Mr Barrow said has been a life saver in lockdown
‘It’s taken three years to finish it. I applied to the owners of the building – Curo – to see if I could buy it off them.’
After a long process and getting planning permission for basement, it is finally his – and fully renovated.
Mr Barrow, who went to the University of Bath, got into renovation to keep busy during the summer months of his snowboarding calendar.
The Bath house was put on the market with Rightmove last week with a guide price of £475,000.
‘One of the things I was most proud about was replacing the flooring on the lower floor with Bath stone,’ Mr Barrow said.
‘At some point in its history people had replaced what we believe must have been Bath stone flooring (like in the upstairs bedroom) and put down a variety of leftover stones, and most were missing.
The house was put on the market with Rightmove last week with a guide price of £475,000 (pictured: The row of houses where the basement is located)
‘One of the things I was most proud about was replacing the flooring on the lower floor with Bath stone,’ Mr Barrow said. Pictured is the kitchen, dining and living area in the property
‘As Bath stone flooring is not something you can just order from a shop we actually went down the mine and saw our stone get taken directly from the ground to a local stone mason in Bath who then cut it in to the flooring you see now,’ Mr Barrow said
Mr Barrow, who went to the University of Bath, got into renovation to keep busy during the summer months of his snowboarding calendar (pictured: The property’s bedroom)
‘I just thought it was a real shame that it was being left to rot and ruin; it’s a stunning building in the centre of Bath,’ he said
‘As Bath stone flooring is not something you can just order from a shop we actually went down the mine and saw our stone get taken directly from the ground to a local stone mason in Bath who then cut it in to the flooring you see now.
‘I feel this is a lot more authentic for a building like this and very proud at how it has turned out.’
The property also comes with a private garden – which Mr Barrow said has been a life saver in lockdown.
‘It had no electrics or water and had been used as storage mostly. It has still got the coal hatch and some of the walls still bear the markings of that today.
‘We knew there was a basement down there but we weren’t allowed access to it as it was in such a bad way. There was no access to the garden which was completely overgrown and we had no idea what its real size it was.
‘I just thought it was a real shame that it was being left to rot and ruin; it’s a stunning building in the centre of Bath.’