Tuesday, February 23, 2010

How to Finish a Basement?

How to Finish a Basement?

Basement! It is one of the most underestimated yet potential areas of a house. If configured and modeled properly, it can provide you with a lot of free living space compared to rest of the house and on top of that you can utilize it as your new game parlor, a bar or recreation room. It can also be a separate room for the servants or pets. Some of them even use it as their office space.

If you think carefully about how to finish a basement, you will realize that it is already a space with four walls, a ceiling and a floor which has probably been wasted till date. Hence remodeling would a cheaper option than building up an additional room at any part of the house. A little finishing touch here and there and the basement will turn into a great extra piece of space to be used for any purpose you wish. In fact many people invest their leisure time in finishing the basement and save substantial money on it.

As it is with any construction job, the first and foremost thing that you would have to do is figuring out a clear and detailed plan of what exactly you want from your basement, what the current situation of the room is and what you would need to accomplish the entire task. A kid’s playroom will probably call for a different setting than that is needed in your new office. Thus setting a goal in mind about how to finish a basement before you start off is always better. Moreover you can also contact the local supplier in order to get an estimate of the things required.

While remodeling the basement you will need to take exact measurements of the dimension of the floor, ceiling height, the walls and so. If you are looking forward to include a bathroom or wet bar, you should consider the plumbing arrangement as well. And one more thing, you definitely don’t want to affect the functioning of the rest of the house while working with the basement. Hence check out the valves, pipes, water storage tanks or septic tanks that might be attached with the basement and need to be replaced or removed before you carry ahead with your mission.

Plumbing is one of the most important features that need to be done carefully to integrate the separate functioning of the basement with rest of the house. When it comes to lighting, natural lighting through the windows is always advised since they not only let light in but also air for ventilation. If artificial lights are installed, the more the number, the better it is for your basement. And lastly, doing the ceiling is a tricky part and if improperly done, it can result into a reduced ceiling height. In this case, dry walled ceilings are what is preferred most of the time but you should also make sure that you are allowing enough room for the pipes, electric circuits, valves and plumbing.

So get ready to finish the basement in a different way so that you can use it for any purpose; for your help get the how to finish a basement manuals from the web.

By Prama Goswami
Author can be contacted at : prama.goswami@gmail.com