Finishing Your Basement

Basement space can be used to create additional bedrooms and bathrooms for a growing family, a comfortable recreation room or home theatre for an active, mature family or even a private mini-apartment to meet the needs of a new trend: aging parents  moving in with their children, or grown children moving back home with their parents.

IDEAWISE Basements & Attics: Inspiration and Information for the Do-It-Yourselfer

Better Homes and Gardens Interior Designer

Products

Hardware

Tools

Wood Products

Books, Videos, DVDs

Woodworking Plans

Finishing

Glues, Epoxies, Contact Adhesives

Sanding

Design Ideas Basements

Home Page > Home Improvement

So you have decided to finish your basement?

When a family decides to finish a basement space, there are so many factors to consider it can seem overwhelming.

• What does your family want to achieve within the new basement?
• Are you looking for a play area, a family room, a work-out room, home theatre, bedroom, bathroom, kitchen, wet bar, etc.?
• Do you have the square footage required to accomplish what you want?
• How do you get started, and how long will it  take? How much will it cost, and is it worth the money?
• What if there's a huge beam in the centre of you basement?
• Do you have to have a building permit?
• Do you have to remove the items you currently have stored in your basement?

If these questions make your head swim, try this approach: look for the right team of design/build consultants to navigate you through these waters.

People often know they want their basement finished, but don't know how to put it all together, whether they have the necessary space, or even how to get started. Specialty design/build consultants are able to assess your needs and, after accurate measurements are taken, will design various blueprints to fit your requests. From these drawings you can choose the ideas that best suit your requirements and come up with a final blueprint. With this final blueprint in hand, your designer/builders will be able to determine what the cost of the basement finish will be, and provide a start-to-finish timeline on when the project will draw to a close.

When determining whether finishing your basement is going to be a worthwhile investment, you should consider several  variables.

• Are there comparable homes in your area with finished basements?
• How long do you intend to live there?
• Will the homes there increase in value, and if so, how fast?

With a little bit of research you'll be able to answer these questions and decide if finishing your basement is right for you.

Sometimes a basement has restrictions that need to be  considered during the design process. Such limitations can include steel columns or I-beams, HVAC trunks, underground plumbing, water meters, sump pumps, window wells, furnaces, water heaters, the height of your ceiling, and the existing floor conditions. Your design/build consultants should be focused on making these restrictions disappear into the architectural design of your basement while accomplishing your goal for the space.

Safety is an important factor to consider when construction of any kind takes place. Ensure all necessary building permits, applications for variances, and building code inspections are complete. All building and fire safety codes should be strictly followed, without exception.

For construction to begin, all items in the basement need to be moved to another location such as the garage or a  temporary storage facility. This allows construction to be completed without damage to your valuables or disturbance to the construction team.

After thoughtfully considering these questions, you'll be closer to determining your family's basement needs and how to fulfil them. Gathering all the information upfront will help you achieve those goals.

Patrick Condon is the President and founder of Finished Basement Company Inc. Headquartered in Denver, CO, Finished Basement Company is a design/build firm specializing in basement finish. Mr. Condon has handled every conceivable aspect of basement finish during his 2000 projects.

Related pages: Basements

Finishing Basement Walls, Furring, Shim and plumb

Resources: Home Improvement

Home Improvement & Woodworking Articles

Remodeling a Basement From start to finish Finishing a basement is one of the fastest and most cost-effective ways to increase living space in a home. Remodeling A Basement will help you visualize an inspiring range of.. Remodeling a Basement