Finishing Your Basement
Many people have an unfinished basement and keep on putting off finishing because of the costs involved. If you do some of the work yourself and just get tradesmen in for plumbing, electrical and plastering work you can reduce costs to a minimum.
Be adventurous in your plans. Your unfinished basement is probably the size of the main floor of the house above it. You can increase your living space by a half again if you do the job right.
Imagine that big open space full of old bikes and boxes as divided into rooms, with bright lighting, electrical outlets and a bathroom. The uses you can put that space to are endless.
It could include a games room, a utility room and emergency sleepover accommodation for relatives or friends. You could even put a small kitchen down there to encourage independence in your teenaged offspring. Finishing a basement gives you all kinds of opportunities.
Discuss the sequence of jobs with the tradesmen you contract with to do the work. Usually the plasterer comes along and does the rough plastering and puts up any studding ready to attach the plasterboard (sheetrock) sheets to, then the plumbing and electrical work is started, the plasterer finishes off and the electrician does the final fix of light switches and electrical outlets.
You will need plenty of insulation on the walls and floor if this space is ever top be as comfortable as the rest of your home. A foot of insulation all round will pay for itself. You will need to put a suspended floor in place a foot of the concrete one and to fill in the gap with insulating material.
A fiberglass shower will take up the minimum space in a basement bathroom. Remember you will need a narrow bore waste system with a macerator and to pump all waste water back up to the main floor of the house.
