Remodeling a basement can be one of the most satisfying projects for a homeowner. It involves taking a largely unused space and creating a valuable addition to your home. Basements can be used for storage, extra bedrooms, bathrooms, children’s play rooms or even a family entertainment center. Typical unfinished basements generally consist of a slab floor, unfinished ceiling rafters and exposed cinderblock walls. The main objective is to cover the exposed areas to come up with a satisfactory look.

First and foremost are your walls. Before you embark on covering your walls you need to make sure there are no moisture issues from rain or ground water (a sump pump or a French drain is your first line of defense with water). Once that is resolved, start by installing steel or wood studs against the walls and install insulation with moisture resistant sheetrock.

Ceilings are next. There are usually two options: sheetrock or suspended ceilings. The choice depends on the height of the ceilings and how difficult it is to cover exposed wires and pipes.

Lighting can be spots or a light fixture that fits on drop ceilings.

Finally, there is flooring. Your best bet is tile or laminate wood. I don’t recommend carpet as it usually attracts mildew and if water happens in the basement the carpet will likely need to be removed.

Those are the four main issues when tackling an unfinished basement. This is only the very basic starting point of a renovation and can be expanded into a more elaborate project.

Feel free to contact me for more information at 848-667-1400 or marshall@wefixit.us. Stay tuned for my next blog post.