Basement Finishing Plans

Gone are the days when the basement’s only purpose is for storage space. You can’t believe how beautiful and functional your basement can be. Yes you would have to shell out a considerable amount of money but think of it as an investment that will definitely add value to your home.

Before starting with the actual work, you need to have a basement finishing plan, this will serve as your guide in doing the project. The first thing that you have to decide on is what you will use your basement for. Here are some of the most popular basement finishing plans:

1.) Basement Bar - If you’re the type of person who likes having friends come over for drinks then having a bar right in your home is a great idea. You can either buy a ready-made bar or hire a carpenter to build you one to make it more personalized.

A bar unit can cost anywhere between $185 and $600. Complete the look by buying bar stools. Martini shakers, wine glasses, beer dispensers can also be added to your list. You can include other furniture in your basement as well like comfortable couches and chairs. You can also set up a poker table so the guys can play and drink at the same time. Your hubby is going to love you for this!

2.) Basement Bedroom/Kids’ Room – If you’re always picking up toys all around the house, then you might consider putting the kids’ room to the basement. This way, you won’t have to worry about stumbling on toys and other stuff and besides the basement will give your kids enough room to play. It will also free up one of the room upstairs. This is one of the basement finishing plans that I really like.

3.) Basement Theater/Movie Room – Since the basement lacks natural light, why not take advantage of it and convert it into a movie room. You don’t have to worry about soundproofing because you can easily do this by installing acoustical ceiling. You can ask your contractor how to get rid of that echoing sound in your basement.

Complete the look by purchasing the same seats that they use in theaters. Huge movie wall posters and wall lights can easily be installed to complete the look. It will be more fun if you will have a popcorn maker in the movie room.

Basement Finishing Costs

A lot of houses have unfinished basements or homeowners just use the space to store things that they sparingly use not realizing that a basement can add an additional living space which can definitely add value to the home. If you are seriously contemplating on finishing your basement or you’re just shopping around to see what will be the basement finishing costs, you need to have a finished plan. Planning carefully will save you tons of troubles in the future.

If you are not that creative and you have a lot of money to spare, you can hire a professional architect or a designer to draw plans for you. However, sometimes this is unnecessary because the basement is already structurally done. You can just browse for finished basement photos over the internet. A lot of them are free so don’t worry about paying extra for these. Should you decide to hire a professional designer, you’re looking at $300 to $1,000 depending on your preference’s complexity. A lot of contractors offer free design so you might want to include this with your options.

Make sure to include electrical, heating or plumbing materials to your basement finishing costs. What are the other things that comprise the cost? New carpeting, paint for your walls and ceilings, new drywall and ceiling, lights, door, windows (optional) and other finishing materials will run up the cost. You can ask your local home improvement store for a price list of all the things you need so you’ll have an idea how far you can go. You can always use the internet to search for prices. After detailing your plan, you can work on the other specifics of the project.

It’s better if you make a list what type of drapes, carpeting, paint and electrical fixtures you will be using. Base carpeting prices start around $15 per yard but they can cost as much as $120 per yard. If you’re not sure what quality you want and you are not comfortable spending too much, it’s always safe to go for standard builder grade quality. Once you are ready to specify the quality of your finishes, you can google them online or you can go to your local store.

The next step in estimating basement finishing costs is figuring out the cost for each separate item. For example, in my area, drywall is currently priced at $0.90 per square foot. If I multiply it with 480 square feet, my cost will be $432. If you are hiring a professional to do it for you, add about 30% to 40% for overhead and profit. After adding all the separate unit prices, you should have an idea what your finishing costs will be. The average cost for basement finishing is $15 to $35 per square foot but then again it will still depend on the materials used.

Helpful Finish Basement Ideas To Remodel Your Basement

The basement is probably the most flexible room in the house because you can pretty much convert it into anything you want. There are tons of finish basement ideas online and on magazines and oftentimes, homeowners get confused with what they want to use their basement for.

There are hundreds of possibilities and with modern designs and with the use of state-of-the-art tools, you can make your basement look unbelievably gorgeous that it won’t feel like it is a basement at all. I can’t blame those people who are willing to spend thousands of dollars to make their basement fully functional. It’s very much worth the money because like I always say, it’s an investment rather than expense.

If you have no idea what you will use your basement for, here are a couple of helpful finish basement ideas that you might consider:

Basement Office Space- With the economy not doing so well these days, it’s not wise to keep on paying expensive rental expenses when you can use a room in your house to do all your work. If you have a basement, consider yourself lucky because you can convert it into an office space. What’s good about this idea is that you have the advantage of separating the office from other rooms in your house like the family room. This is a good way to separate work from family time because when you’re in the basement, you feel that you are entirely in a different place so it means you don’t associate it with your home. The quiet and serene nature of the basement is ideal for a work space.

Basement Gym- We often encounter the dilemma of having enough space in the house to make way for huge and heavy exercise equipment. If you only use your basement as a storage area, why don’t you convert it into something useful? Something that will help eliminate your problems with not having too much space for you to exercise. The basement is an isolated room which can be good to house all your gym equipment.

Basement Bathroom - If you have a typically small house and you only have one bathroom but you have an empty space in the basement then you might as well have another bathroom. A bathroom can easily be set up in the basement because you already have the pipes, it won’t require a lot of work anymore. You can have a very spacious bathroom down in your basement, go ahead and add a bathtub apart from your regular shower room.

These 3 are just some of the finish basement ideas that you can look into. There are more ideas out there, you just have to click and read.

Colorado Basement Finishing

Colorado Basement Finishing has been known to deliver quality results over the past couple of years. It is located in the Pinery, south of Parker, Colorado and southwest of Denver. This company is serving Parker, Aurora, Highlands Ranch, Castle Rock, Elizabeth, Kiowa, Douglas County, Littleton, Englewood and Arapahoe County, Colorado areas. Basement finishing should be taken seriously because apart from adding a functional living space in your home, you are also adding a significant market value to your home.

You may not realize it now but you will certainly reap the benefits in the future. Instead of calling it an expense, we’d rather consider it as an additional investment to our property.

Unlike other franchise companies, Colorado Basement Finishing is a group of craftsmen who have developed expertise with their field. Big companies usually quote a very expensive price both for the service and materials because it’s usually the consumer who pays for advertising expenses and other promotional materials.

When choosing the best contractor, make sure you’ve done your research. It will not hurt to visit the company’s website or ask your friends or relatives if they know something about the contractor you want to hire. Don’t jump immediately to a conclusion that a high-priced service is always equal to 100% satisfaction guarantee neither do you have to think that an overly cheap bid is the way to go. Sometimes going for a really cheap service will hurt you more in the future because of the absence of quality.

Colorado Basement Finishing is a small company but you can be assured that you’ll get the value that you deserve aside from the fact that these craftsmen are honest, reliable and hard-working. They respect privacy and they only enter your home with a key or entry means that you provide, they make every effort not to be in any area that they are not working on.

This company offers an “All in One” solution to homeowners which means you don’t have to hire a separate contractor to do minor jobs for you. They can do framing, electrical, plumbing, insulating, drywall, mudding and taping, door and windows installation, texturing, painting and tile installation. Expect to have a clean working area with Colorado Basement Finishing system. The best is you have one year warranty on all the performed work in your basement.

Minimize your Basement Finishing System Cost

Finishing your basement is the best possible way to increase valuable living space in your home. Before embarking on a project, most of us will consider how much will be the basement finishing system cost. We always hear that the average cost runs from $15,000 to $35,000. I really do not want to call this as an expense but rather an investment.

Reports show that even with poor housing market in 2007, home value increased to 60.8% to 96.8% of the price of the installation. This means that home improvement will let you earn more than what you paid for. However, if you are on a tight budget, it’s wise to think of some ways how to minimize your basement finishing system cost.

One of the things you can do to help you save money is to do the prep work yourself. Most of the work load in remodeling is the tearing down and scraping away of the old stuff or materials. Do as much as you can like tearing down old paneling or lifting up carpeting or linoleum. Also, make sure you clean up all the mess before you start with your basement finishing project. Scrub away old glue, pull out nails and sand any wood. These are things you can easily do on your own. Brushes, bleach and other heavy-duty cleaners come in handy when making the basement clean and prepped. Remove all clutter and get rid of the things you don’t need. A garage sale is a great idea, you can use the funds to increase your budget.

Another way to minimize basement finishing system cost is to paint your walls with waterproof primer instead of paying somebody to do it for you. Waterproofing the interior basement is not that difficult. You just have to know what to buy and it will really help if you will read self-help guides which are available over the internet.

If you want to have future savings on electricity, you can design your basement windows to be compatible with other purposes. A window is used for ventilation and its opening should not only allow more air to come in but more light as well. This will prevent you from turning all the lights on at the basement during daytime. In addition to that, the window can also serve as an alternative escape in case there’s fire.

Basement Finishing Remodeling: Bathroom

One of the most popular options in basement finishing remodeling is converting it into a bathroom. If you are seriously pondering on converting your basement into a bathroom or you simply want to add a bathroom in your basement while housing other functions, you will need a lot of time in planning. Your plan should include the installation of plumbing and electrical channels. You’re lucky if you have a huge space in your basement but if you have an oddly shaped or pretty small basement then you might want to take this into account before you begin to design.

One of the first things that you have to do is to measure the specific area where you want to put your bathroom. You basically have the freedom to increase or decrease your utility area. It’s really up to you how big you want your bathroom to be or maybe you can use your basement to fit other purposes especially if you have more than enough room. Keep in mind that the basement drainage works differently. Basements are often dark, moist and cool. You have to treat your plumbing and the whole bathroom design that will take care of these things if you want to build a basement bathroom that works well. To get rid of the drainage problem, you can use a sewage ejector pump and sump that should be installed below the concrete floor. This method will require for excavation but it will let you to flush the basement toilet easily as it handles the waste water from shower and sink. You can also look for some toilets that come with grinding mechanisms to deal with waste. What’s good about these toilets is that they do not require excavation. They are on the expensive side though.

If you’re not sure how to start, you better seek the help of a professional who will help you go through the project with ease. Make sure the bathroom is equipped with the right plumbing and wiring and good flooring that will not warp or delaminate. Purchase wall materials like paint that will prevent mold and mildew from growing. Pick out fixtures that will best suit your basement bathroom. The bathroom should be well lit and of course well ventilated.

Setting the Right Basement Finishing Price

When homeowners decide to make better use of their basements, the first concern that comes to mind is the basement finishing price. Nobody would want to start a project that can’t be finished because of the budget because you’ll end up wasting money. Before embarking on a basement finishing project, you need to have a rough estimate so you’ll know more or less how far you can go or what are the things you have to do to cut back on the cost. As far as adding an extra living space goes, finishing or remodeling a basement has a lot of advantages over some home expansion projects. You will only require few building materials because there is no additional foundation to build, the exterior walls are already in place, roofing is not needed and you already have the subfloor in place. Because of this, the cost often ranges from 25% to 50% of other major home additions. A basement project will also make you come up with designs that you never thought will be possible or doable.

Before you think about the basement finishing price, you have to be firm in deciding that remodeling is for you. One of the reasons why you want to have your basement finished is because you want to add a valuable living space in your home. Basements were used before as storage areas, well those days are gone and with the help of state-of-the-art equipment and technology, basements can be converted into pretty much anything we want. Know how much you’re willing to shell out in finishing your basement. Have realistic goals and plans. Overestimating is better than underestimating when it comes to stuff like this. You can use your basement as a theatre room, office space, guest room or play room. Whatever you choose, make sure it fits your lifestyle and your family’s activities.

If you are going to do your research online, you will get various basement finishing prices. On an average, it can be anywhere between $20 and $100 per square foot. Of course this can be higher and it will depend on the design and all the features you want to add in your basement. Sometimes the cost will depend on the region or area where you live (talk about expensive states). The best way to get a good estimate of the basement finishing price is to have a clear and detailed plan. Aside from your basement’s function, you also have to include the materials, tools, labor, equipment and furniture in your list. You can actually get free estimates online. Good luck!

Basement Finishing How To – Tips You Need

Basement Finishing How to

Your basement can provide you with all kinds of extra living space and contrary to what other homeowners think, you can finish the project at a relatively expensive price. How so? Well because you do not need to have another room to be constructed, the basement already has walls, floor and ceiling. If you are planning to hire a contractor, you’re looking at $20 or $25 and this can be more depending on your design, preferences and other features that you want to incorporate. If you do the work yourself, you will save a lot of money. The first step in basement finishing is planning. Decide what you want to use your basement for. Different functions will affect not only the design but also the materials that you will use. An office space will have different needs than a home theatre. Yes you can make minor changes but it’s better if your plan is ironed out before you start your basement finishing project.

Measure your basement and determine which parts you want to finish and which ones are better off being handled by a professional. Make sure you measure the height of your ceilings accurately and this will include the distance from the floor to the bottom of the floor joists and from the floor to the bottom of any ductworks or supports. The next step will be doing your layout. Figure out where all the walls, switches, lights and other mechanicals will be situated before you start building. Include space for all utilities and built in fixtures, you also have to make sure you plan ahead for door openings. With regard to wall studs, remember that they cannot be placed anywhere. Layout your walls carefully for you to avoid floating joints and wasting materials.

The third step in basement finishing is framing the walls. This is basically not a very difficult task to do. If your basement floor and ceiling are nearly level, you can preassemble a stud wall on the floor and then raise it into position. However, if the floor and ceiling are uneven, it’s better to build the wall in place, custom-cut each stud to fit and toenail it to the top and bottom plates. Next steps will be plumbing and taking care of the electrical section. Plumbing will include the installation of water heaters. Working with electricity can be very dangerous. Make sure you have undergone proper training before you pull off a DIY. Don’t fail to follow safety procedures. You can however hire a professional to get the job done for you.

Tips on Dealing with Basement Remodeling Contractors

Remodeling your basement will not only add extra living space but it will also increase the value of your home. It will not be an easy task and if you want to do a DIY project, you’re looking at spending 6 months before you see the final results. If you do not have the luxury of time to do the remodeling project on your own then you’re better off hiring a company to do it for you. There are a lot of basement remodeling contractors out there and choosing the best one for you can be very tricky and it requires a lot of time when it comes to decision making.

Before you start dialing phone numbers, you need to have an idea what you want to use your basement for. Having a detailed plan will help the contractor in giving you a close estimate. Once you’ve decided about the design and the function of your basement, it’s time for you to start looking for basement remodeling contractors. The internet is a good place to look and so is the yellow page. You can also ask relatives, friends or coworkers if they know a good company that they can recommend.

Once you’ve finally decided about which contractor you are going to hire the next question is, how do you deal with them? Basically, basement contractors will need very little ground level working space from you. You don’t have to worry about rearranging your home for them because they will be working below ground anyway. It is very important though to move anything and everything that will be in their way. Although there are no specific rules or etiquette when it comes to dealing with basement remodeling contractors, it’s good to establish a good one to make the work easier and a lot smoother. If there are people working in your home, it is a common etiquette to allow them to use your bathroom. I’m sure you don’t want to ask your worker to go down to the local convenience store just like what other clients do. If you were in their shoes, you wouldn’t appreciate such behavior. It’s also not necessary to offer them snacks, beverages, towels and trash bags because this is not indicated in the contract that you signed but keep in mind that these people are working hard for you. Offering them cold drinks and snacks will not hurt you. Being easy to get along with, respectful and nice is not a bad idea at all. If you treat your workers nice, you will get the same response and I bet they will work harder.

Why Hire a Basement Finishing Contractor?

Reasons Why You Want to Hire a Basement Finishing Contractor

Finishing a basement requires special attention because it is different from the rest of the rooms in your house. Some people are better off hiring a basement finishing contractor. A lot of us would want to save money on labor and they would rather pull off a DIY project however, if you do not have any background in basement finishing and you want the job to get done as quickly as possible, hiring a contractor is the best option for you. This way, you don’t have to worry about spending money on guess work or trial and error procedure. Professional builders can get the basement finished in a matter of 4 to 12 weeks.

Once you have decided to hire a contractor, the dilemma now is whether to hire a general contractor or a basement finishing contractor. A general contractor who is experienced to be working with wide and open spaces will have to deal with the natural characteristics and needs of the basement like low ceiling, cool temperature, humidity, furnaces, water heaters, pipes, posts, ductworks and other obstructions that are very typical in the basement environment. Yes they may charge cheaper but are you certain that they can address issues that are only specific to the basement? An experienced basement finishing contractor on the other hand has years of incomparable experience in designing basements to look exactly the way you want it. I’ve seen recent photos of remodeled basements and I’m telling you that they look amazing, they don’t even look like basements at all. Basement contractors are also well-versed when it comes to building codes, standards and common practices so you can be on track with the best techniques in the industry.

The basement looks a little different from the rest of the home because it has fewer windows, lower ceiling and it lacks natural light. It’s also prone to flooding, water damage and moisture. A basement finishing contractor would be able to address these issues for you. One thing you can do to find a reliable contractor aside from searching online and on yellow pages is to ask friends, family members or coworkers. Make sure you ask somebody whose opinion you can trust. If you want to search for as many basement contractors as you can then go ahead, there is nothing wrong with that. Check with the Better Business Bureau if these contractors have pending cases or any complaints filed against them. Make sure you are hiring a company with experienced workers who can deliver a great job.