Basement Renovations: Don’t Try to be a Hero

A growing problem these days is that many families don’t have a proper place in their home where they can play air hockey and watch the Van Wilder movies. Hence, basement renovations are on the rise. However, in the midst of the recession, it may seem like a good idea to embark on renovating your basement yourself in an effort to save money. Unless you own over three tool belts or personally know Bob Villa, this premonition will almost always be wrong. Don’t try to be a hero, call a general contractor.

You may want to wait until the economy gets better before you start paying contractors right and left to finish your basement. Either that or devise a plan to become best friends with an entire construction crew.

What is it?

Renovating your basement involves many steps that require expertise in areas ranging from flooring and framing to plumbing and electrical installation. Therefore, if you are at all unsure about one of the many processes involved in renovating a basement, you should hire a general contractor, who will, at the very least, be able to give you estimates on how much you’ll be paying. Although a finished basement can be a nice addition to a home (and a convenient place for parents to store deadbeat children), renovating it without the proper knowledge can lead to serious damage that can result in flooding, a busted furnace, mold, or even an electrical fire.

Flooring and framing are two of the most basic and integral parts of basement renovation. Chances are, if you’re living in a newer home your basement floor was constructed on a poured or concrete block foundation. Luckily for you, these concrete floors are mostly equipped with innovative drainage systems that are designed to keep water drained away from the structure and therefore eliminate the risk of moisture problems. Older homes, however, generally suffer from moisture problems, whether it be because of dirt floor foundations or cracks in old concrete floors. In these situations, pouring a concrete floor may be your best option. This is no easy task, so the assistance of a foundation contractor and a masonry contractor (some specialize in both fields) are highly recommended.

Other options for flooring include wood subfloors, which would be installed over older concrete flooring, or in the case of cracked and uneven concrete, some sort of laminate or carpet could be used as covering. If you’re interested in wood subfloors, make sure your basement is moisture-proof because mold and mildew can form between the concrete and wood. If this happens, then you’ll probably have to tear up the wood subfloor in order to eliminate the problem.

Framing walls is even more of a trickier and arduous task, as you often have to build the walls around obstructions like pipes and duct work. This will oftentimes mean that stick-building the walls is necessary, as you can cater walls to your basement’s specific needs. You should also consider whether you want to insulate the walls to help keep you basement warm in the winter.

Other renovations that must be taken into consideration are whether or not to drywall the ceilings, what kind of lighting should be installed, should more windows be installed, should a bathroom be included (which would require the installation of waste water lines in the basement floor), and the inclusion of a utility room where the furnace and various other water tanks can be isolated from the rest of the basement. Even still, this is not a complete list of services that need to be considered when finishing a basement.

Who needs it?

Most families will find enjoyment with the addition of a finished basement, as it allows for much more added space, which in a single-story house can be monumental. It can also be helpful for moms across America, as they can fully enjoy watching Bravo upstairs while their kids and their friends go crazy in the basement.

Benefits

There are many benefits to a finished basement, one being the overall increase of value it will bring to your home. Also, the extra space is ideal for, you guessed it, activities! An exercise room, an entertainment center, a wet bar, a game room, and anything else that will make you feel cooler than your friends can be built with the extra space. Even an extra guest room can be built in order to keep your in-laws as secluded as much as the schematics of your house will allow.

Risks

Renovating a basement is, by all means, risky, especially if you do it yourself. Unless you are legitimately an expert (owning the first five seasons of Home Improvement on DVD does not make you an expert) you are probably going to have to deal with several contractors. This of course, presents a new risk, one that will be taken out on your wallet. In an effort to avoid getting ripped off by general contractors, it’s probably best to do a little research and shop around, possibly getting estimates from several competing contractors. In any case, before you embark on basement remodeling, you should be fully aware of your budget and your schedule.

The Bottom Line
You may want to wait until the economy gets better before you start paying contractors right and left to finish your basement. Either that or devise a plan to become best friends with an entire construction crew.