Finishing a basement is an excellent way of increasing the value of your home. The amount a basement can add to home improvement is often not thought about. The good news is that you don't actually have to always go through an exorbitant cost to transform this room.
If you research and understand a few basic things in renovation, such as waterproofing the basement, understanding how lighting works, and knowing how to do repairs, you can drop your costs down considerably as you will not need to get in a professional to do these things for you.
So here are the things you need to think about:
1)Building codes
You will need to research what building codes are required for basements in your area. If you don't know the building codes you can make some major mistakes, as these revolve around ceiling height and waterproofing, plus many other things. Even having the ceiling too low by an inch is going to render your room outside of the code, and you will not be able to sell the house legally if you wanted to. You need a building permit, as well, before you continue.
2)Plans
You really can't dive in heads and feet, you must first plan how you are going to do things and what the basement will look like. This will also help you to make sure things fit within your budget. You have to draw up your basic layout and probably also get some professional plans done for the building department. You will need to do research and find out what they require.
3)Things to remember around a basement
Basements usually get damp very easily and are prone to be a breeding ground for mildew.
This is why you will need to look at what waterproofing options you've got - one that will also insulate the room in case of flooding, as the basement can usually flood quite easily.
Remember, too, about the plumbing and keep in mind where to put things like pipes etc. if you are going to install a bathroom. You don't want to have pipes sticking out of the walls in places where you actually will want to put furniture. Your walling options need to be considered here as well. There are many panel walling solutions such as the Owens Corning system which will suit well, but they need to be incorporated in your plans in terms of space.
4) Floors
You have plenty of flooring options but not all will suit your needs. Tiling and vinyl flooring are the most popular for basements, as they do well against moisture. Carpeting can present problems as well as hardwood flooring, simply because of the damp.
6) Light
Effectively planning the lighting in the room is often overlooked. Try and keep the basement as open as possible with large doors and if you can have a window then take advantage of that fact.
A mix of direct and indirect lighting is needed when it comes to artificial lighting.
Combine this with the use of mirrors and ensure that you use fluorescent light bulbs or anything that looks more natural. Your tiling and walling colors contribute to the lighting as well, and remember to place the lights in a place that suits the room (for example, if you intend to make it a library make sure there is good lighting around a reading area).
These are things you really need to consider and this article serves only as a starting guide to finishing a basement.
Lee Anderson was born in New York, New York where he was raised in the corporate business environment where both his parents were involved. After inheriting a substantial part of the business, Lee decided to expand the business horizons by traveling to Europe and the Far East. Privileged with enough time to spend with his family, Lee spends the rest between over-viewing his business interests and his other passion, writing.
For more on Lee's views please visit: http://www.basement-carpeting.com/
