Finished Basement Ideas: Increasing Living Space With Finished Basement Ideas

Increasing Living Space With Finished Basement Ideas

By The Home Renovator

As families grow and the need arises for more space, homeowners begin to look for finished basement ideas to make better use of this area ...

Below most houses there is a room that was constructed first as the house was being built that usually is left out when it comes to decorating. Many times utilities such as the heating system, ductwork as laundry facilities are being relegated to this area. As families grow and the need arises for more space, homeowners begin to look for finished basement ideas to make better use of this area.

There are a few things to remember when looking for finished basement ideas and ventilation in the room or rooms to be converted into usable space is one of the most important. Additionally, electrical needs, communication equipment and plumbing will also have to be considered. Typically, a basement will hold a near-constant temperature since it is underground, but the humidity level will be higher in most cases.

Ventilation throughout the basement will be an important part of controlling humidity, which will help protect any wood or drywall surfaces as well as help control the comfort levels in the areas being refurbished. Among the finished basement ideas most looked at are the walls and controlling water from seeping through the walls and into the newly remodeled room and potentially ruining the wall materials and flooring.

Plan Route For Water And Wires

Many new designs are available for basement walls, most place the exterior finishing materials at least four inches from the existing cement block wall. This allows space in which to place electric wiring, plumbing and other utility connections as well as keeping the outer wall from direct contact with the block wall. Using this finished basement idea also allows space near the bottom of the wall for a channel in which water can drip and be directed to a drain.

With the potential for water entering behind the new wall, the wiring for electric or telecommunications should not be allowed to lay on the floor behind the wall. It should be kept away from the possibility of coming in contact with any moisture.

Once the inside walls have been determined there are numerous finished basement ideas that can flow from there. Whether the entire basement is finished as one large room or broken into two or more sections, the finished sections of the basement can serve as extra bedrooms, a family media center or even a den and study room. There is no limit to the finished basement ideas that can be used to add to the living space of the home.

Next article: Unique Bathroom Remodeling Ideas

Email this page to a friend

Featured Home Renovation Product:

	Handywoman's Guide To Home Repairs
	If you're a woman, learn how to stop waiting for Prince Charming to get those odd jobs done around the house and start fixing them yourself like a professional repairwoman ... Click here for more details ...

More Articles About Home Renovation ...

Designing Beautiful And Modern Bathrooms
Modern bathrooms have come a long way from busy carpeting and wall paper. Instead, designs are intended to create a space that is minimalist but still inviting and functional. Designer bathrooms don't...

Add Space To Your Home Through Basement Renovations
One of the quickest ways to add needed space to a home is through basement renovations, and compared to adding a room to the upstairs part of a house, it already has all the walls, floor and ceiling that...

How To Work Your Basement Bar Design Around Existing Space
Turning a section of the basement into a family room or a recreation room may involve the need to add a bar for entertaining. There are many basement bar design opportunities to choose from, or a homeowner...

Recommended Home Renovation Resources

Frame the Right Way: How to Frame Basements

Frame the Right Way is designed to inspire the do it yourself homeowner to complete that basement framing project that keeps getting put off.

The techniques discussed in this video will also provide you with the knowledge to:

Frame a basic partition wall
Frame an interior door opening
Frame window openings
Frame trunk lines/pipes
Building out walls around your foundation
Lay out your walls 16 inches on center.

It also covers how to divide room sizes properly and what materials are right for the job.

Disclaimer: Please be careful when doing your projects or using any power equipment. Constructionvideos.com is not responsible for any accident to home or injury to person.

Audiobook Review: The Sky's The Limit

Author Steven Gaines takes us from New York's most expensive condominiums and co-ops to the offices of its most powerful real estate brokers to reveal the outlandish displays of ego, bad behavior, and status hunger that come into play when the best addresses in the city are on the line.

With his signature elan, Gaines weaves a gossipy tapestry of brokers, buyers, co-op boards, and eccentric landlords and tells of the apartment hunting and renovating adventures of many celebrities - from Tommy Hilfiger to Donna Karan, from Jerry Seinfeld to Steven Spielberg, from Barbra Streisand to Madonna.

Here, too, is a fascinating chronicle of the changes in Manhattan's residential skyline, from the slums of the nineteenth century to the advent of the luxury building. Gaines describes how living in boxes stacked on boxes came to be seen as the ultimate in status, and how the co-operative apartment, originally conceived as a form of housing for the poor, came to be used as a legal means of blackballing undesirable neighbors.

A social history told through brick and mortar, The Sky's the Limit is the ultimate look inside one of the most exclusive and expensive enclaves in the world, and at the lengths to which people will go to get in.

For more information about Home Renovation-related resources, see our Home Improvements resources section, subscribe to our Home Improvements Newsletter containing news, updates and insider tips, or go to more articles about Finished Basement Ideas.

***