Basement construction is not a project that should be taken lightly. It requires some planning and budgeting. Careful planning is essential before actually executing it. One mistake and you could end up with problems year after year, and you really would not want to have to deal with that and spend periodically for repairs. Lets take a look at some important points to make your basement dreams come to life.
Organize Ahead
What do you want from your basement? The current basements may have weight rooms and saunas, home entertainment centers, lap pools and dance floors, climate-controlled wine cellars, bars, bedrooms and baths. Imagine what your empty basement will look like once you are done with it. You may then try to sketch out your concept, visit your basement, and visualize how you are going to put together your ideas.
Be Practical
Consider the technicalities in basement construction. Make sure you know how to deal with the basement mold, flooding, musty odors and dampness. Hire an expert to establish the source of any water problems, including seasonal basement leaks, and ask for a solution.
Basements are usually prone to dampness. On the other side of the spectrum, it may not have proper ventilation. You may employ one or more sump pumps, with one run by a battery or generator lest a power outage. Utilize a dehumidified and employ appropriate ventilation. Moreover, consider installing other necessities such as water heater, furnace, wiring, heating/cooling systems, and so on. These should be highly accessible.
Be Creative
You are doing a cool basement construction project, not something that will look like every other basement out there. Do not leave your flooring as cold concrete. You could easily install wood products to warm up the place. Its as easy as tapping the floor pieces together over the concrete ground. Allow some light in by either adding windows or unique lighting fixtures. Observe other basement styles in your friends basement and with photos online / in magazines. See what clever ideas and concepts they have. Sometimes, simply visualizing is not enough to make your dream basement a reality.
Get Started With The Appropriate Materials
Good materials make good basements. Better materials, however, make better basements. First of all, materials and labor expenses are generally what establishes a projects overall cost. Do not expect to have only basic materials if you are planning on building a plush basement that nobody else in your neighborhood has. Common sense should be used here.
Get Clever
Evaluate your current basement and see how you can get clever and creative. Your walls could have noticeable cracks. Consider using paint, murals, wallpaper or panels. In parts where the ceiling is lower due to plumbing, you cold employ built-in closets or features. There are many tricks to troubleshooting basement construction problems, such as employing vertical lines on the walls to create the illusion of height (for low-ceiling basements).
Basement lighting is another aspect that can either make or break your basement.To transform a cold basement to a warmer, more inviting one, use dimmed lights with a yellowish glow (rather than white fluorescent ones), area rugs (wall-to-wall carpets can create moisture issues), and warmer tones for wall paints and furniture fabric. Do not forget the staircase"this is the first people will actually notice. So try to match the staircase with the overall design of your basement. Think about employing a French door so that you keep noise away but can still view whats going on.