Matters to consider when finishing a basement

Finishing the basement will always be an investment that can increase the resale value of your home while let you enjoy the benefits of the added living space, the basement can be an excellent part of the house with many uses, from an entertainment room to an office or an exercise room, among so many others.

Having the luxury of a finished basement in the home in many cases can make or break a potential buyer will to purchase the house. Unfinished basements are a deterrence to many buyers.

The benefits of finishing your basement will always outweigh the cost of doing the job.

Once the decision is made there are few things to take in consideration :

Finishing the basement will eliminate easy access to most of the electrical wires or plumbing pipes that are usually exposed in an unfinished basement. We finished a basement once just to find out that the home owners liked our work so much that had decided to do a massive kitchen renovation in the main floor that required moving electrical and plumbing to a new location for an island. Luckily we were able to get access to pipes and wires lifting the kitchen floor, but it would was a lot easier to run all those cables and pipes through the open basement ceiling just like it was four weeks before. Thinking ahead will save money in the future.

Family needs for space change with time, and even if the urgency for extra space or rooms seems not a necessity at the present time the needs for a bathroom or an extra bedroom could be reality in the future. If the renovation budget is not large enough to pay for these additions at this time at least it would be good to extended to cover the plumbing and electrical rough ins
Remember, when you are renovating your home, the renovation project can always be done through faces as long as every step is guided for one master well detailed plan.

In cold climates the most important part of remodeling a basement is how to insulate the walls and floor of your basement. Faulty insulation procedures are the main cause of mold. Understanding how vapor barriers work will help at the time of insulating your basements walls and prevent mold problems to develop in the future.

Insulating the concrete or block masonry walls before framing the basement walls it is the proper way to start the project. Spray foam or foam boards can be install to achieve the separation of the foundation walls from the framing and insulation products that promote mold growth. Omitting this procedure is a regrettable mistake at the time of renovating a basement.

Framing the basements walls is an straight forward procedure with some minors modifications to adapt to the conditions of the basement. Fiberglas insulation can be use to insulate the studs wall cavities and spray foam is a perfect option to insulate the rim joist cavities above.

Insulating basements floor is an important factor to consider when intending to create a comfortable warm energy efficient space. There are a variety of products in the market that can be use, but the height of the basement will dictated which procedure will be most suitable to install without losing a considerable amount of space between finished floor and the ceiling of the basement.

The building codes required a minimum ceiling height of 84 inches over the majority of the floor area. Other areas as bathroom, hallways and task areas can have a ceiling dip as low as 76 inches. All bedrooms window need to be at last 5.7 square feet.

Fireproofing the basement from the rest of the house will help to make a safer home. One way to achieve just that is installing Roxul Safe and Sound insulation in the ceiling joist cavities. The insulation will work as a retardant in the case of a fire.

If you are converting the basement to a rental apartment or mother-in-law suit soundproofing the basement can be a good way to go as well. Sounds get through in two ways, it can be transmitted or leaked. Preventing leakage can be as simple as sealing all openings while preventing transmission will required procedures to block, absorb or insulate the sound. In generally soundproofing a basement will depend on two things, how much soundproof you want and how much you can spend to achieve it. Nevertheless is something to ask yourself before entering a basement renovation project.

Taking care of the proper heating and cooling of every room in the basement will require to have the duct work necessary to distribute the warmed or cooled air in the most efficient way. This need to be taking in consideration at the time to place the interiors wall to make sure they can properly host the duct work.

Choosing the most appropriated lighting for the basement is an important decision to consider at an early stage of a basement finishing project. Recessed or surface mounted lighting fixtures require a different preparation that starts long before the walls and ceiling can be insulated and boarded up. Recessed lights make the room to feel much more spacious but are more difficult to install and it can be challenging to get them symmetrically laid out.

A bathroom in the basement is always a valuable addition to any home and one that for sure will make a difference in the overall price of the home.

Either you are looking for a plain or a more decorative finish look in your basement they are details that will bring a more charming feeling to the basement. The form and style the stairway or entrance to the basement is design will have an impact in the way the basement integrates to the rest of the house.

The inclusion of custom built cabinets in the design will enhance the look and style of the project while helping to maximize the storage space available.

The combination of plaster, drywall and wood materials and tones will bring warm and elegance to any design chosen for a basement renovation.

The basement is an ideal location for professional designed and built entertainment room due to its conditions to insulate sound among other reasons.

Laundry room located in the basement are always a good idea due to the minimum damage risk in case of flooding.

Most of the high end custom homes we had worked on have a designated space in the basement for a wine room, a walk in humidor or/and a home theater, basements are very welcoming to these kind of spaces.

But in generally basements can accommodate any room as long as they are design and built with great attention to details. I always remember an amazing office we built for a customer in the back part of the his home's basement behind hidden doors that simulated a bookshelf. There was not a better place in the whole house to build such a private place.

It is my personal experience that once we finished the basement of our own home we found our self spending more time enjoying our space down stairs and using less and less our main floor family room.

Basements when renovated with taste and functionality on mind can become in one of the most captivating spaces in the whole house.