Selling house- should we 'clean up' an unfinished basement

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would not put in a floor if the walls are unfinished. It’s weird. I’d just paint the walls white and maybe the floor if it’s gross

Leveling the concrete is not the same as putting in a floor. Leveling the concrete means that someone can easily lay subflooring and install a floor without difficulty. An uneven cracked floor is a negative and might be a hard pass for some potential buyers. This is something that is more labor than cost, but will be a huge improvement for selling.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would care- flooring and bright paint is like 60% of what I need in the basement

You do realize it's not a dirt floor, right?

[Anonymous]

Bright and clean is going to be worth a lot.

Fix the cracks, paint the floors with Glidden gripper and porch and floor paint, paint the walls, consider spraying the ceiling (start from the ceiling, then walls, then floor).

You could add a really cheap indoor / outdoor rug.

[Anonymous]

The market will likely not be the same in a few months and I think you will still get more for your house if you do a little to clean it up.

A buyer may want to completely finish it so you don't want to do too much they may rip out.

I'd make sure it was super clean, smelled good and fix floor cracks. Evidence of water will scare just about everyone away even though it's a normal thing and it's been fixed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Lots of lights and electric outlets - you want it lit up because basements are so dingy. And yes to the paint. No need to do the floor per se. We had painted our unfinished concrete floor with a nice concrete paint too because it had a whole lot of stains from a previous water damage that was fixed. A young couple with a small boy bought our home and they were excited about having a nice place for their kid to ride his tricycle. I wonder if they ever finished it?

If you have a stairwell, you should also power wash and paint. You do not want mud, spiders, moss etc anywhere near. Make it look clean and crisp.

Also, keep the dehumidifier running. You don't want musty smells or smell of strong cleaners (pinesol or bleach).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would not put in a floor if the walls are unfinished. It’s weird. I’d just paint the walls white and maybe the floor if it’s gross

Leveling the concrete is not the same as putting in a floor. Leveling the concrete means that someone can easily lay subflooring and install a floor without difficulty. An uneven cracked floor is a negative and might be a hard pass for some potential buyers. This is something that is more labor than cost, but will be a huge improvement for selling.

Go back and read the original post. It mentions putting in vinyl flooring with concrete block walls

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes, you definitely want to fix the cracks in the floor. Cracks in the floor make some people wary because they suspect either settling problems, water problems or worse, foundation problems. I know some buyers are completely turned off by concrete flooring issues on the lowest level of a house.

At a minimum you can do touch up filler, but if someone in your family is handy, it would be best to do self-leveling concrete (not expensive and you can find instructions on Youtube). It just makes the floor look so much better. It will also hide and water damage to the surface in addition to the cracks. And a coat of some light color will make a huge difference in the basement. Another tip, replace exposed standard light bulbs with flood light (65W or the LED equivalent) bulbs. It really brightens up a space having the brighter light. It makes the basement look like someplace you'd like to be, rather than a dark hole in the ground that you want to avoid.

How hard is it to use the self-leveling concrete? My husband wants to do that himself in our basement, but....his track record with home improvements....not awesome.

Not hard, but you need two people, one to mix, one to spread. It sets relatively quickly and you can't mix enough to dump and spread before it sets.

Go to youtube and watch some videos. Here's one that will give you an idea of the various steps.

thanks!

[Anonymous]

Don't do vinyl in the basement-look at wood look cork instead. Mold-resistant and looks a lot nicer for ~the same price.

Fill the cracks and paint. Add outlets.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Don't do vinyl in the basement-look at wood look cork instead. Mold-resistant and looks a lot nicer for ~the same price.

Fill the cracks and paint. Add outlets.

I love cork, but it doesn't do well with moisture, I thought. Is that not the case? I want something other than vinyl, though. Vinyl stinks, even the "luxury" kind.