Any tips for finishing a basement?

[Anonymous]

We're about to start finishing our basement this month. It's a full walkout and approximately 1,800 sq ft. We're planning on a bedroom, full bath, rec room, wet bar, storage areas, and mud room entry. The most important aspect is a large play area for our young kids. Probably berber carpet throughout with tile in bathroom, bar area, and mud room. Would appreciate any general suggestions or lessons learned from those who have been through this process.

I'm pretty sure our contractor and i can layout where the walls/rooms should go, but can an interior designer help with this or would we need an architect if i want a second opinion? The stairs are in the middle of the room with HVAC and water heater underneath plus a few support poles require some creative planning.

Thinking of a custom steam room, but not sure it's worth the cost. Anyone install one of those prefab steam shower units? I thought i might try one instead of a regular shower stall.

Suggestions for hiding sump pump that will likely be in the corner of the rec room/tv room? I would probably like to put the tv above the sump.

Would you recommend a gas fireplace? It might need to be ventless.

Any suggestions re the bar? sink, mini-fridge, wine fridge, microwave, kegerator, etc?

Any tips or advice appreciated. Thanks in advance.

[Anonymous]

Worry about water. Make 100 percent sure that you won't have leaks/damp before you finish.

[Anonymous]

Think twice about the bar idea. It sounds great, but I know so many people who have them in the basement who don't use them. When we entertain we entertain upstairs, not in the basement. If you do go ahead with a bar get something that locks so that when your kids get a little older they and their friends aren't helping themselves. Maybe instead of a bar think about a snack/kitchen area, which is more kid friendly if the primary purpose of the space is a kids play area but could be used for a bar if you really are going to entertain in the basement.

We have a friend who installed a bar with a drawer dishwasher, a nice wine fridge, as well as a half height regular fridge, along with storage for glasses, etc. I have been to at least 10 parties at their house and they used the basement bar once. But the drawer dishwasher is a cool idea because you don't want to be shelpping glasses and dishes up and down the stairs.

You can turn the supports into columns if they aren't in the walls.

[Anonymous]

Echo 13:48. If you have a sump pump, then you have a risk of water issues. I would ask the contractor to use an infra-red camera and go around the perimeter walls checking for evidence of dampness.

I would also consider using tile throughout the floor and then just putting an extremely large carpet on top. If your basement floods---better to replace an extremely large area rug for several hundred dollars than to recarpet the entire basement for thousands. My neighbors did a heated tile floor in their basement and loved it. I would also build out walls to create lots of closets.

Also make sure you put lights in the shower. Our basement shower does not have a light directly over the shower and it is always dark in there.

Finally, depending upon where you live, I would renovate the basement in such a way that it could be easily upgraded to be a legal rental unit. You may never use it that way, but having it done to code with that possibility increases the value of your house (again---depending upon where you live)

[Anonymous]

To OP:

I'd be curious on your contractor's cost estimate for your basement -- it sounds nice.

[Anonymous]

OP here - thanks. I agree about the water issues and will try to limit the risks. A friend suggested a battery back-up for the sump pump so we'll probably do that as well. Large area rugs is a good idea too and so is having it done to code... will do- thx!
Also appreciate the comments about the bar. we'll probably still have one because there is a cutout area that would be best as a bar, but i think we'll try to make it more kid friendly than originally planned.
Contractor's estimate is around 25-30k, depending on finishes we select. We'll probably pick out most items ourselves at home depot, etc. I'll let you know how much it actually ends up costing.

[Anonymous]

That seems very reasonable. We paid much more for a much smaller place.

[Anonymous]

Please let us know how the reno goes and if you are happy with the contractor please share the name. That is an extremely low price for what you have stated you plan to do. Does that include electrical and plumbing?

[Anonymous]

That price feels way too low. I was quoted $10,000 just do frame up some drywall and trim in an already finished space.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:That price feels way too low. I was quoted $10,000 just do frame up some drywall and trim in an already finished space.

10,000 seems too much.

We renovated an already finished space but redid it all. New drywall, new ceilings, new flooring an tore out old bar and replaced with a closet. Plus we put down new wood on the stairs and did painting and trim for 10,000 last year.

[Anonymous]

Yes that does seem extremely low but maybe you don't live in DC?

I would recommend instead of a wet bar, a small kitchen. This might be semantics. When we did our basement we put in a full size small refrigerator, kitchen cabinets, a small seating area along the bar and a nice sink. No stove but we have a microwave there. Very useful.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes that does seem extremely low but maybe you don't live in DC?

I would recommend instead of a wet bar, a small kitchen. This might be semantics. When we did our basement we put in a full size small refrigerator, kitchen cabinets, a small seating area along the bar and a nice sink. No stove but we have a microwave there. Very useful.

Yes, we recently moved to PA from NOVA. I agree with your small kitchen description... that's what I had in mind, but probably shouldn't have called it a wet bar.

The price does include electrical and plumbing. We're using a guy we know who's pretty honest. We're also keeping it pretty basic. I'll definitely let you know how it goes

[Anonymous]

We know people who have had good luck with bamboo wood floors on a basement level. Anyone else have positive or negative experience with that?

Also, has anyone excavated (lowered) all or part of a basement slab to get more room height? Low basement ceilings often characterize older homes. Obviously the cost depends on the sq. ft and depth, but does anyone have cost experience in DC or clos e-in 'burbs? I heard that it is cheaper to use bench footers around exterior basement walls rather than the more expensive underpinning, but that depends again on depth and whether one is ok with a bench footer's appearance (which can be disguised with shelves or walls). Thanks!

[Anonymous]

1. If you have natural gas furnace and/or hot water heater, make sure to install louvered doors or ventilation grates to allow for air movement from finished to unfinished spaces (those appliances need to draw air from the whole basement.)

2. CO detectors mounted low to the ground near ALL combustion sources, including battery chargers for sump pump backups.

3. Insulation and proper vapor barrier behind walls.

4. Do get proper permits - this may mean not being able to do a kitchenette for zoning reasons, but your electrician can always add the extra capacity to complete later.

[Anonymous]

If you are planning to have recessed lights installed, do not have too many installed. We did and the room gets SOOO hot. Do 4 and have them spread out a lot. If it is too dim after construction, supplement with a lamp or two.