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Finished Basement
Part 2
A finished basement is one way to add living space
relatively economically. An unfinished basement provides a pre-built box structure of floor, walls, and ceiling already in place; all you have to do is add the finishing touches.
A finished basement is a little more complex than that, but if you are a
reasonably capable diy home
handyman, a finished basement as a home improvement project will be worth the
sweat equity in the increased valuation of your property.
 One of the keys to keeping the cost down
is to properly plan out the basement renovation and to the
various items that need to be accomplished in a specific
sequence in order to avoid having to rework items already done.
The first priority is to define the
space. By that, I mean; is it a complete set of living quarters
with a kitchen, bathroom, sitting area and bedroom; or is it a
large family room with an entertainment system; or maybe it will
be a games room - a place for a ping-pong or billiards table.
This may be a good
time to consider purchasing one of the many
3D home design software programs that
are now available.
Once you determine the what, you have to
determine the how. Many of the how questions, will be based on
your geographic location and of course your budget.
Considerations:
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Heating: How will you heat
and/or cool the basement areas? There are numerous choices,
forced air, electric (radiant, baseboard), hot water
(radiators, radiant), and using a fireplace. If the room is
not completely below ground, an in wall HVAC unit could be
utilized. If there is a bathroom, it could be heated with
heat lamps. If you are planning on using a current forced
air system or a current hot water heating systems, does it
have the capacity to heat and/or cool the additional space?
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Plumbing: If there is a to be
a bathroom and/or kitchen you will have to install drains
and water supply lines. Is the current hot water tank or
system capable of the increased demands? If not, you will
have to replace the current tank or install another tank or
use a tankless system.
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Ventilation:
Bathrooms and
kitchens require ventilation and will require
make-up air
for those ventilation systems. Fireplaces also require
make-up air.
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Safety: smoke and carbon monoxide alarms should be
installed, especially if bedrooms are part of your new
living space.
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Electrical: At minimum, you
will require electrical outlets (receptacles) on walls and some method
of lighting
the new space. Electric stoves and ovens, heating and hot
water will make serious demands on your current electrical
service, can it handle the increased load or is now the time
to upgrade your electrical service? Will you need a
sub-panel to handle the additional circuits or is their
space in the current panel?
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Dampness: One of the prime
distracters for finishing a basement is that most of them
are damp. Damp can generally be taken care of relatively
easily with vapor barriers and insulation. However, visible
water on walls or the floor could require a major
undertaking to correct.
Construction Process:
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Take care of
any water problems in the basement, walls, and floors.
If there are windows, and they are going to remain as they
are, make sure the frames are sealed for water ingress
against the block or concrete walls.
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Replace or modify any major items such as HVAC main system
units and perform the upgrade on the electrical service if
required.
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Install any drainage for toilets
and/or sinks if it means running the drains under the
current concrete floor. This is also the time to install
any electrical boxes with conduit for floor receptacles for
power, cable TV, or telephone. Repair any concrete damage.
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If you are installing a fireplace,
the fireplace hearth and flue should be installed next. If
it is a wood burning stove that does not require a hearth
you should add the flue at this point so that it protrudes
through the wall or ceiling at a length sufficiently long
enough to be able to connect to after the wall or ceilings
are finished.
Continued..........
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