My basement has had nothing done with it. The house was built in 1989 and had a water problem until this year (cross my fingers!). Now I would like to do something with it and would like to at least paint it. I wanted to know it this was a good thing to do, I have heard that it doesn't last for long. I have a 4 bedroom home and the basement is quite big and don't want to waste time and money if this is not a good idea. Anyone have any good ideas on what I could start out with in trying to remodel the basement? Nothing fancy just want to be able to put it to some use other than a hiding place for when storms occur, Ha Ha.
Thank you.
Joyce

 

Wow. That's a pretty broad question. It depends on your budget, your needs, your lifestyle, etc.

Many people use the basement to get an extra bathroom and bedroom. Would that help you?

Many people use the basement for a recreation room for their kids, or they want a pool or ping-pong table. Sound good?

Many people want a TV our sound room in their basement. Does this fit your lifestyle?

How about a sewing room? A craft room? Or maybe you just want a lot of storage?

You need to consider both short-term and long-term plans. No sense doing something in the short-term that will be useless in the long term.

On of the first things you'll probably want to consider in any case is expanding the lighting and electrical system. Most activities you'll want to do down there will require lights and receptacles.

 

I guess what I was wanting to ask was; What would be a good first and second step to start with. I would like to do as much as I can by myself, so it won't be any prize winning job. Right now just have cement walls and floor (should they be sealed or painted) with the furnace and hot water heater smack dab in the middle of the basement. Would eventually like to have a TV room or just a place to expand for family get togethers. You are right about the lighting although I do have six light fixtures down there.
Maybe I am asking for too much information?

 

Wait a full year since you last had water problems to see if you really did fix it (especially wait through a very wet spring). If you have no water problems, then you do not need to apply anything to the concrete. If you do still have any water problems, then the appropriate action will depend on how severe they are.

There's a right order to do things, and it's hell if you do them in the wrong order. But the right order is dependent on a complete plan. I'd advise you not to jump into this and get started without a more complete idea -- doing so could substantially increase costs down the road, or make it infeasible to get what you want. I'd advise you to start by thinking this through as completely as you can.

Start with a radon test. This will tell you whether you need to mitigate the radon to be safe down there.

Then decide whether or not you will ever want a bathroom. If you don't already have a rough-in, and you don't start by providing one, adding a bathroom after the walls are up may be impractical.

Next big desicion is whether or not you'll every want a bedroom. If you do, you must ensure that you have a sufficient egress window. Again, enlarging a window after the walls are up will be very difficult.

Then I'd draw a preliminary floorplan. You don't need to be exact at this point, but close is good.

Now I'd evaluate whether you have any utilities (e.g., ducts, pipes) along your ceiling that you'd like to move somewhere else to get them out of the way. It's best to do this early.

The next thing I'd do it choose what kind of walls you want around the perimeter. There are basically two choices:[list=1][*]Build a 2x4 stud wall about an inch away from the foundation. This has the advantages of giving you plenty of room for insulation and electrical boxes, and it will give you walls that are much straighter and plumb.[*]Install furring strips against the wall and use solid foam insultion. This preserves more of the square feet and is cheaper.[/list=1]I suggest the first choice.

So now you can put up your perimeter walls, and add the insulation and electrical.

There will be a lot more steps later, but I suggest that these are the areas to start.

 

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