May 17, 2011 by Synergy Guru
If you have decided to finish or remodel your basement, you are in for a treat. Basement remodeling offers almost unlimited opportunity to add living space for your family. It will also increase the value of your home when you sell it. Finding basement remodeling ideas can be fairly easy using magazines and the internet.
Before you go too far designing your basement remodel, there are a few very important things you will need to do.
- Check for radon gas.
- Check for dampness, leaks, mold or fungus and correct those problems.
- Seal any cracks in the floor and/or the walls.
- It is a good idea to apply a sealant to the concrete or other building material used to construct your basement.
The next step is to begin to design your basement remodel. It can save a lot of time and a number of headaches if you begin your design by sketching out the floor space in your basement. Next, mark your sketch to show important things you will need to consider in your design
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- Show where any windows are located
- Indicate an exterior door
- Indicate the point(s) of access from the main floor
- Locate and indicate on your drawing, the location of your fuse box or circuit breaker box, shut-off valves for water, gas, etc. (You will need to design around these items to keep them accessible.)
- Indicate the location of any plumbing access pipes
- Indicate the location of appliances – furnace, heat pump, water heater, washer and dryer, etc.
- Indicate the location of any support poles or beams
- If ducts for heat and air have already been installed, you might want to include a reminder of the location of any ducts or duct work you will need to accommodate when you install a ceiling.
Now you are ready to use the basement remodeling ideas you have seen and create the design for your remodeled basement. Here are a few money-saving, labor-saving, and time-saving tips for your design:
- Place any new bathroom, kitchen, laundry room, etc that will use water, as close as possible to existing plumbing. You might save a bundle by being able to connect with existing main lines.
- Decide if you need a second point of access from the first floor to the basement. For example, if you will use part of the basement as an in-law suite or a teen suite or a guest room, you might want a second (more private) stairway.
- Determine how you will work around and still provide access to shut-off valves, circuit breaker boxes, etc.
- Find a creative way to work with support poles or beams. Will you enclose them in a wall? Will you cover them with a fiberglass column? Will you just build a box around them?
- Where are the most logical places to create storage? It probably makes sense, for example not to use the limited space near windows for storage.
- Decide where you will construct walls and whether interior walls should be insulated or covered with sound board to reduce noise in other parts of the basement.
Some of the most popular uses for finished basement space are:
If you gather your basement remodeling ideas and plan carefully, you can finish your basement and provide a large amount of additional living space for your family. Attending to these considerations for safety and careful planning will result in a smooth remodeling project that can be done either all at once or in stages as you have the money to finish it.
You will probably find more basement remodeling ideas than you can possibly use, but with careful planning and a design that accommodates appliances and other areas that must be accessible, you can finish or remodel your basement with very few headaches. In fact, you will probably have a lot of fun.
Category: Basement Finishing Tags: basement, company, contractor, design, finishing, game room, home, ideas, remodel, remodeling, theater | Comments Off
by Synergy Guru
The basement of many homes is neglected, left undecorated and kept unlivable. If you are one of these people that has held off working on your basement finishing, I suggest you think again. Consider the incredible potential that lies just below the main floor of your home. Think not only about the square footage that making your finished basement functional would add to your family’s space, but think too about all of the great ways you could put that space to use.
Think about all of the things that have been added to the collections and treasures of everyone in your family. In no time a home can go from being barely filled to becoming overfilled. The extra set of golf clubs or fishing rods, you know, just in case. The boxes and crates filled with craft supplies from the latest and greatest sales. The stuffed animals that your now teenaged children don’t want to live without. I’d like to suggest to you that one of the biggest and best reasons to finish the basement of your home is to make space for storage. Devote an entire section or room in your basement to hold the treasures of your family in an organized way.
Besides providing space for organization and storage, your basement can be a great place to give each member of your family a little nook of their own. Do you love to collect articles and momentos from your favorite sporting events and teams? If so, make a space in your basement to display all the things you’re proud of. Or, better yet, let the things you’ve collected adorn the walls of a room and then fill it with exercise equipment to get you in shape as well. If your dining room table has been taking over by your wife’s latest sewing or scrapbooking project, give her the craft room of her dreams in your basement finishing project. Finish off a room just for her. Build shelves and cabinets to hold all of her things and she will love you like never before. You will get the dining room table back and your wife will get a sacred space all for herself.
Your kids will love having part of the finished basement to play in as well. There is nothing quite like having room for a toy closet or a carpeted play area. Finishing off a play space for your children will give them hours of endless entertainment and give you hours of peace and quiet someplace else.
You’ll never know all the ways that making your basement a livable space will make your life better. Take your family out to dinner and announce the start of the project that everyone will love. They will be excited to participate in basement finishing because they know how fun a new space will be.
Category: Basement Finishing Tags: basement, finished, finishing, remodel. construction, remodeling, unfinished | Comments Off
August 9, 2010 by Synergy Guru
Looking for space to put an exercise room, entertainment center or playroom? Go underground! If your home has an unfinished basement, remodeling might be a great way to transform this commonly under-used space.
When considering a basement remodeling, start by making a floor plan. As you do, be sure to mark the location of your furnace, washer and dryer, and any other large appliances. Take notes on:
- access to the basement from upstairs and outside
- where plumbing is already located if you want an additional bathroom
- where vertical support columns are located
- location of windows and doors
- floor, ceiling, wall materials
With constant contact with the earth, basements are vulnerable to dampness, making basement remodeling a bit more complex than first meets the eye. We’ll help you take appropriate measures to ensure a room free from moisture.
Most basements have low ceilings and few windows. But this doesn’t have to limit you. There are many creative ways to make your basement light and airy. Talk to us about the variety of wall and ceiling lighting options available. Synergy Builders will help you make sure that appropriate electrical lines and outlets are provided from the beginning.
Here are some tricks-of-the-trade in making your underground space first class:
- Stay away from dark wood paneling and instead consider drywall painted in light tones to make the room brighter. Semi-gloss paint will gently reflect even more light into the room.
- Open up the visual space. Double doors—even glass double interior doors—take away the typical cubicle look. Or, how about a rounded archway or pass-through area from one room into another.
- Check to see if existing windows can be enlarged. Or, consider installing a small boxed window for a mini-garden to grow herbs or start plant seedlings. This will greatly increase the amount of light coming into the basement and provide a view to the great outdoors.
- Built-in bookcases and entertainment units add a richness and depth to a room. Light them with either interior lights or from the top to cast light upwards.
- Disguise vertical support beams, and horizontal ceiling pipes or floor joists by boxing them in. Or, you might decide to actually use pipes and beams as interesting accents by painting them with bold colors or with subtle earth tones.
An unfinished basement is much like a diamond in the rough—unexplored and awaiting your discovery! If you have any questions about basement finishing, don’t hesitate to talk to one of our designers at our Synergy Builders showroom.
Category: Basement Finishing Tags: basement, builders, center, design, designer, doors, entertainment, exercise, finished, finishing, floor, ideas, plan, plumbing, remodel, remodeling, renovation, room, staircase, stairs, synergy, underground, unfinished, windows | Comments (1)
If you have decided to finish or remodel your basement, you are in for a treat. Basement remodeling offers almost unlimited opportunity to add living space for your family. It will also increase the value of your home when you sell it. Finding basement remodeling ideas can be fairly easy using magazines and the internet.
