Website design By BotEap.comPlanning to finish or remodel your foundation can seem like a big and complicated task. This checklist will simplify the process and get you going in the right direction.

Website design By BotEap.comI will divide the process into 3 different stages:

Website design By BotEap.comWater and mold inspection Designing your base Tenders and Construction

Website design By BotEap.comwater and mold

Website design By BotEap.comIt is important that you check for ANY presence of water or mold BEFORE doing any finishing. This is a very common mistake homeowners make. Once the basement is finished, it is not possible to fix any water or mold problems without great expense. I have written another article on the ezine called Inspecting Basements for Leaks, Water Damage and Mold (Unfinished Basements Part 1) that will help you discover any water or mold problems. Keep in mind that anywhere there is water and building products (wood, drywall, paint, furniture…anything organic) there will be mold.

Website design By BotEap.comIf you’re not sure if you have a water problem and would rather have the problem looked at by a professional, contact a professional waterproofing company.

Website design By BotEap.comdesigning your basement

Website design By BotEap.comHomeowners often have the goal of finishing off their basement to add an extra office, a playroom for their children, or an entertainment area. These are good ideas, but it’s a good idea to keep in mind that kids won’t want to play in an 8’x10′ room and no one will want to work long in a similar sized room with no windows. It is a good idea to place on the floor where the rooms are going to go and see their size. Remember that the wall with framing and drywall will be 4″ thick. My point here is that it is better to have large, open rooms than to have many smaller rooms. This always looks and feels better than a basement divided into many smaller rooms. Many times it is a good idea to simply put up a 3 foot partition wall to ‘hide’ office equipment behind it to divide a larger room and allow for an office ‘area’. In my designs I always prefer the office can be seen going out of a window or standing as close to a window as possible.

Website design By BotEap.comPlumbing is another important factor if you are installing a bathroom. It’s common here to have a professional remodeler help you with where it’s profitable to put things. It is often a good idea to try to place bathrooms in smaller areas that would not be beneficial for a larger room. Often the location of the furnace and water heater can determine the location of the bathroom. If these services are placed in the center of the room, it may be a good idea to choose one side of these services to place the bathtub, sandwiching the bathtub between the services and an exterior wall. Of course, the water supply is a factor, but not as much as the location of the sewer.

Website design By BotEap.comLow ceilings are a very common occurrence in older houses. The problem is that when you add drywall to an already low ceiling, it will now not only be lower, but the room will appear much shorter than you expected. Here you have the option of not finishing the ceiling with drywall and instead simply painting the rafters a matte white. In fact, this will make the room appear much taller (being white) and drastically improve the acoustics. The only drawback is that sound will travel to and from the floor above you much more easily. If you have carpet upstairs there will be much less sound transmission, if you have hardwood floors the sound would naturally pass through the floor much easier.

Website design By BotEap.comExtra rooms are often a reason people end a foundation. The problem is that the rooms must have a proper exit to the outside. What is ‘proper’ varies by locality (check with local building officials to see what the proper code is), but 9 square feet is most common. foot That’s 3 feet. by 3 foot window that opens directly to the outside. This 3 ft. by 3 feet the measurement should be the actual opening of the window when opened, so a 36″ by 36″ double sash window would not qualify.

Website design By BotEap.comTenders and Construction

Website design By BotEap.comOnce you have a floor plan that you’re comfortable with and have a thorough understanding of what the outcome will be, it’s time to get your actual bids on the project. Homeowners often go wrong on this side of the project because their plans are not solid and therefore when they get bids it is hard to compare them because every basement remodeling contractor will change the owners plans to fit the ideas. of the contractors. This causes offers to vary and can be confusing when choosing who to go with.

Website design By BotEap.comIt’s very convenient to go with an all-in-one contractor for all your framing, electrical, and plumbing, but this isn’t always the cheapest way to go. It is very important that all the people you hire write down everything they are going to do and give you very clear deadlines with start and end dates. Written!

Website design By BotEap.comOnce you’ve decided on contractors and scheduled to start construction, you should plan on 4-8 weeks until everything is finished.