tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4094626877865766804.post2883551748695228797..comments2024-01-14T01:02:51.354-07:00Comments on 320 * Sycamore: Can we talk basements?Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11998834833645862095noreply@blogger.comBlogger69125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4094626877865766804.post-38100758557372435182014-01-18T09:44:45.874-07:002014-01-18T09:44:45.874-07:00 test testPeter Murphynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4094626877865766804.post-26102183702927586702010-04-06T22:29:39.834-06:002010-04-06T22:29:39.834-06:00I don't know how far you are into your basemen...I don't know how far you are into your basement remodel but I wanted to add my 2 cents. Get a really good carpet. We did our basement 3 years ago. My daughter was 6 months old. I picked a very good stain resistant carpet with little spots (to hide crumbs, play dough) as well as a really good carpet pad. Its the best money I have ever spent. Every mess/ stain wipes away with water like a dream and believe me we have had many a paint, icing, juice etc. spills. We live in the Midwest so cold winters and the upgraded pad makes it a soft cozy place to play. We really enjoy the space. I hope you will to. LanelleAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4094626877865766804.post-32576270168570711052010-02-19T21:16:20.272-07:002010-02-19T21:16:20.272-07:00You are so lucky to have a basement. Look at all ...You are so lucky to have a basement. Look at all that space! We don't have basements in Australia :(Kerreehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00024190266950080861noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4094626877865766804.post-83503827095436687712010-01-31T19:28:41.268-07:002010-01-31T19:28:41.268-07:00You definitely want to consider the windows that w...You definitely want to consider the windows that will be in your bedrooms. Our basement has two bedrooms. But only one of them can be listed as a bedroom for resell purposes, because only one of them has an egress window. I guess if the window doesn't allow for escape, you can't call the room a bedroom. (And I suppose you shouldn't be letting people sleep there....)Jonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4094626877865766804.post-86303280949193235782010-01-24T14:19:17.957-07:002010-01-24T14:19:17.957-07:00Have them waterproof your basement! When I bought...Have them waterproof your basement! When I bought my 1989 house in 2002, the basement was already finished and had been used as a home office. They did not have it waterproofed, and major water damage resulted. We had to tear apart the finished basement, spend about 20K to have it waterproofed, and then we refinished it. THAT SUCKED. FYI- what they did to waterproof it was jackhammer the perimeter of the room and lay a trench under newly poured concrete.Sewing-Chickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13282532221695943114noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4094626877865766804.post-3244468240671068312010-01-23T06:51:39.566-07:002010-01-23T06:51:39.566-07:00My husband finished out basement over two years so...My husband finished out basement over two years so we had much time to think & plan. He framed, ran electrical wire, plumbed the bathroom and we subbed the drywall, tile in bathroom and bar area and had an electrician connect all the wires.<br />1) I second a lot of light. ( I think we had almost 40 can lights).<br />2) Our basement was WARM. We put in tons of insulation and had very plush frieze carpet. The kids would have sleepovers and everyone slept on the floor. You could get a plush carpet cut and bound with a pad for an area rug.<br />3) We never had moisture problems. Have a sump pump with a battery back-up. The pump only ran when we had days of rain, but it's good insurance to have the back-up. We also hooked up the dehumidifier with the hose dumping into the sump pump so we didn't have to empty it. We only turned it on depending on need. <br /><br />4) Try to finish it as nice as your budget will allow. We sold our house to the first person that looked last year and they said the basement sold it. Great extra square footage for less money. If you think you will add features later, plan for that now (kitchen cabinets/sink fridge for bar area can be roughed in for electric/plumbing even if you don't decide to put it in immediately. Also good for resell. Take pictures of area and label before boxing in with drwall. Cheaper than adding later.)<br />5) Our county had a great packet with information on finishing basements with applicable codes. The inspectors were very helpful.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06055015849463356211noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4094626877865766804.post-16364429246117304872010-01-22T22:31:41.799-07:002010-01-22T22:31:41.799-07:00Hi Melissa! Finishing the basement was our first p...Hi Melissa! Finishing the basement was our first priority when we moved into our house! <br />1)Because the upstairs is completely hardwoods, carpet was a MUST in our basement. I wanted it to feel warm and cozy. <br />2)Due to budgetary constraints, we did not finish our ceiling. We painted it out in flat black paint, kind of what they do in industrial style restaurants. <br />3)To save money we installed metal clamp lights between the rafters, they function as recessed lighting. <br />4)My absolute favorite feature of the basement is our home theater. For $100,my husband built a 4'x8' screen for our movie projector. <br />5)We also repurposed a nook for home office space <br />6)And most recently installed electric logs into a fireplace opening. It serves to quickly take the chill off a cool basement. Oh yeah, we also have baseboard heating that can be turned off and on as needed. <br />Sorry, to be lengthy. But our basement is by far one of my favorite spaces in the house. <br />Good luck with your space!<br />LisaDestination Seabornhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15630428177537764457noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4094626877865766804.post-83787651224279210092010-01-22T13:26:24.358-07:002010-01-22T13:26:24.358-07:00The one thing that I have a hard time with our bas...The one thing that I have a hard time with our basement is that it is super cold! Make sure that you have the right kind of insulation. You won't regret it!Melissahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05992931909677570751noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4094626877865766804.post-27880943482068120952010-01-22T11:23:13.203-07:002010-01-22T11:23:13.203-07:00You have a great space that you can utilize in you...You have a great space that you can utilize in your basement. Ours is terrible and we use it mostly for storage. <br /><br />You can definitely have a great storage nook with shelves built in under the stairs. It would look great and be a help with organizing.<br /><br />Think ahead with your plans. Make the plan work for you in the future as well as for now. This is a big project and you won't want to repeat it. <br /><br />Consider what kind of flooring you would like. Does your basement get damp? You wouldn't want carpet there if it did. I think deciding what kind of ceiling is important because you many need access to wires and pipes for the other floors.<br /><br />There is so much to consider. I hope this helps. It may all have been said already.<br /><br />RuthRuthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17211297812600845018noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4094626877865766804.post-6388699475276342552010-01-22T09:26:45.812-07:002010-01-22T09:26:45.812-07:00I totally agree that you should keep in mind what ...I totally agree that you should keep in mind what you might want 10 years from now - so often we plan for today and forget what it might be like in just a few years.<br /><br />2 things we have had to work around in our basement - hot water heater leaked and our new carpet was soaked. After fixing the hot water heater we had a carpet cleaner come and he cleaned (and soaked up the extra water) and then had us run fans for a few days - cleaned up fine.<br />Also we needed more lighting - love the idea of canned lighting.<br /><br />We also used barndoor sliding doors for dividing some living spaces - they are great at allowing you to open up spaces when you want it more openAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4094626877865766804.post-46444852584309324452010-01-22T09:08:38.391-07:002010-01-22T09:08:38.391-07:00I totally agree with the soundproofing! It's ...I totally agree with the soundproofing! It's annoying that anyone walking normally upstairs sounds like an elephant in the basement!! I wish we had added MORE lighting, oh how I wish that!! Advantage to drop ceiling is that your ceiling won't be torn up if there is a problem with electrical or plumbing. If you want cable/satellite in the basement. Make sure you figure out the best place for it. We didn't and I regret having it installed in the wall it is on now. Plan for outlet placement too. Good luck!homebody0404https://www.blogger.com/profile/05327787476288815459noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4094626877865766804.post-78210203807712136822010-01-22T08:41:23.809-07:002010-01-22T08:41:23.809-07:00Hi Melissa!
We redid our basement about 2 years a...Hi Melissa!<br /><br />We redid our basement about 2 years ago. We LOVE it now! Some favorite things we did were: <br /><br />*put in a fireplace with a thermostat. Before it was SO cold down there. Now it is toasty warm!<br /><br />*put in a washer/dryer hookup. We have a large closet, we put an extra freezer and a stackable washer/dryer combo. Now my 13 year old daughter does her own laundry down there.<br /><br />*Got stock cabinets and made a built in entertainment center for a big screen tv. And we wired it for a screen-projected system, in case we ever want to do that. We also wired all of the surround sound -- so nice for movies!<br /><br />*Put in a huge storage closet with tons of shelves made for a certain size plastic bins. I love having all of the bins lined up and labeled. It's where I keep all of my seasonal decorations. <br /><br />Good luck! I am so glad to have a basement. Especially after living in California for so long with hardly any space. Can't wait to see what you do!<br /><br />XOXO<br />JenJen @ tatertotsandjello.comhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13270956429192534316noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4094626877865766804.post-65434501557929661172010-01-22T08:35:12.389-07:002010-01-22T08:35:12.389-07:00That's exactly what our basement looked like w...That's exactly what our basement looked like when we moved in this summer. WE are almost done and I can't wait. WE have 2 bedrooms at the back and a storage room and bathroom. The main living area is a long rectangle. The part near the bedrooms is the TV part and the back part near the stairs is the toy/kid part. We did carpet in the TV area into the bedrooms, but put laminate wood floors in the kid area because I have 3 little boys. I am so tired of bouncing balls, racing hot wheel cars and scooters in my kitchen, so now they can do all that stuff downstairs. They can't wait to play down there!! Good LuckLisahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09102852567459720100noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4094626877865766804.post-60614723108828823752010-01-22T07:48:14.738-07:002010-01-22T07:48:14.738-07:00If I were you, I'd aim for having that bath mo...If I were you, I'd aim for having that bath moved to the area right at the bottom of the stairs if possible. Add the storage room next to that stretching across to the left of your sliding glass doors. This will leave more room open to your family room which will be based in the middle. Then I would swap the layout from upstairs, having the bed rooms toward the back with the bigger windows. Then you can have the office on the other side adding a window on the side of the house or just not having one at all if you need too. This will save money in the short run and still give you the space you need. Good luck, we did ours and did it all ourselves. It was a lot of work but we learned so much about plumbing, electrical and drywall, I'd hire out the drywall if I had to do it again. Plan to have your air ducts cleaned after all the work is done also, a small cost to pay to avoid all the dust that will be floating around a year later!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4094626877865766804.post-37433217453269623952010-01-21T20:59:34.525-07:002010-01-21T20:59:34.525-07:00These are all great..we're madly taking notes ...These are all great..we're madly taking notes and have lots of questions now to ask when we meet with the contractors. I had never even heard of a vapor barrier!! My head is a spinnin' with ideas, thanks to y'all. Thank you and keep them coming :)Melissahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11998834833645862095noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4094626877865766804.post-56504258465843597072010-01-21T18:28:07.286-07:002010-01-21T18:28:07.286-07:00My inlaws had a terrible mold problem in there bas...My inlaws had a terrible mold problem in there basement. I would ask about preventing water damage and mold. Can't hurt to get the contractors $0.02 on that issue.Janehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04764437077561164662noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4094626877865766804.post-12307548522812355132010-01-21T17:19:31.597-07:002010-01-21T17:19:31.597-07:00I am so glad you did this post. We are getting re...I am so glad you did this post. We are getting ready to finish the basement in the nonprofit house we run. I know nothing about basements but am so excited about getting to finish one!<br /><br />I wish you well with yours!Jessica @ Simply A Farmer's Wifehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06517498516243544591noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4094626877865766804.post-17718825225222090482010-01-21T16:38:45.563-07:002010-01-21T16:38:45.563-07:00We finished ours a few years ago and loved it unti...We finished ours a few years ago and loved it until we moved. We lived in Utah and put the thickest carpet padding we could get and loved how soft and warm it was. We had a big family/theater room when you walked down the stairs and it was great for entertaining! The play room was behind the Family room. We put 2 door on the play room - one from the hall and one from the family room. It worked out wonderful because we could shut the door on the playroom when we wanted, and we could open it when we wanted the kids to be able to play, but we were in the family room. It was great to be able to still see them, but not have all of the toys in the family room. We also had a bedroom behind the playroom. We made a secret passage between the bedroom(craft room) closet and the playroom closet. The girls had so much fun sneaking from one room to the next! It also had an office, bathroom and storage room. We loved it and I miss it a lot! Good Luck and thanks for all of your amazing ideas!val mhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10852166340619682019noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4094626877865766804.post-55486098704524996822010-01-21T16:28:24.880-07:002010-01-21T16:28:24.880-07:00We just moved from the south to the north and we h...We just moved from the south to the north and we had our basement finished. It is really large and we still have unfinished space for storage. We had it stubbed out for a bathroom that we can add later. We just have our workout equiptment and our old great room furniture is down there. My husband is going to make it into a 'mancave' next year. Good luck!Melaniehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03212454004456092488noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4094626877865766804.post-20491466470955330912010-01-21T16:21:55.856-07:002010-01-21T16:21:55.856-07:00(1) Do not hire the cheapest contractor. We did an...(1) Do not hire the cheapest contractor. We did and regret it to this day even thought most of what they did was fine. <br />(2) Get a super carpet pad to go under the carpet. Our basement pad and carpet are much more durable and a better grade than the upstairs. We got a berber which hides a lot of dirt (inevitible that it is tracked in) and the extra padding cushion makes it super comfy.<br />(3) We added a de-humidifier to our whold house unit because otherwise the basement was always damp feeling. I live in Alabama and while we do have our share of rain it isn't constant, yet the dampness was. Once we waterproofed outside and got the de-humidifier it was all great.<br />(4) Storage, storage, storage. We had a closet door put on the under-stairs space and that holds my husband golf equipment perfectly. In my largest closet (which is for crafts, decorations, etc.) I had floor to ceiling wood shelves installed. They are wonderful.<br />(5) Lots and lots of light. <br />(6) Originally we had vinyl flooring in the bathroom but that didn't stand up to the abuse so we recently had it tiled and love it. <br />(7) We also have a fireplace in our basement (gas) that helps to warm the basement up in the winter without having to run the heat a lot. It is in the largest room downstairs that we use as a den.Carol in Indian Springs Villagehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06680358348896918280noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4094626877865766804.post-86644951751831074502010-01-21T16:11:25.569-07:002010-01-21T16:11:25.569-07:00Such good comments. I have a drywall finished cei...Such good comments. I have a drywall finished ceiling in my basement and it looks great-but is impractical for any additional work that may need to be done. I have seen an unfinished ceiling--the whole thing was sprayed white--wires, beams, everything. I thought it looked great--very urban, loft feeling--kind of industrial. I liked it. Also, the white added to the lighting effect with some reflection.Shelleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06473944394702617884noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4094626877865766804.post-25434807191349146602010-01-21T14:59:38.772-07:002010-01-21T14:59:38.772-07:00Just a quick mention -- we are in the process of b...Just a quick mention -- we are in the process of buying a house and the one we are looking at is currently under construction. A good friend told us to check with the builder about the kind of drywall they use and find out where it is manufactured. Apparently there have been many problems with drywall coming from China -- people getting sick from exposure to the toxic chemicals, lead etc. used in manufacturing. We are going to look into that further. Just a heads up on something to consider.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4094626877865766804.post-44012069859432965092010-01-21T14:56:05.187-07:002010-01-21T14:56:05.187-07:00I live in TX so basements don't exist here. As...I live in TX so basements don't exist here. As far as a cosmetic tip goes though, I have seen some beautiful things people do when staining cement. It may be cold to your feet and not help much to warm things up, but it would probably be safer than carpet.Olivia @ Swan White Curtainhttp://swanwhitecurtain.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4094626877865766804.post-68903017912501877482010-01-21T14:33:23.289-07:002010-01-21T14:33:23.289-07:00Adding: I just read about insulation. My bil used ...Adding: I just read about insulation. My bil used a product called Safe And Sound insulation. We don't have a problem with noise from above and when the boys play their real drums, it is rarely heard on other floors.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11533933625825629350noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4094626877865766804.post-25771723476327746722010-01-21T14:31:08.213-07:002010-01-21T14:31:08.213-07:00We built a basement suite for my parents when we m...We built a basement suite for my parents when we moved in 10 years ago. Now it is just space for us and guests. Many great things already mentioned, but I'll add my list of most important things NOT to skimp on:<br /><br />WINDOWS~make sure there are appropriately sized escape windows in the bedrooms, it is code around here. If you can take the time and money to make them larger now, you will never regret it. In my opinion, nothing beats natural light. We have tons in the bedroom but not nearly enough with the one small window in the living area. If your basement is a walk-out you might also consider french doors.<br /><br />DRYNESS~Make sure it is dry before you do any work or you could be throwing money away.<br /><br />STORAGE~There is such a thing as too much storage. I skimped on the tv area to make a much larger storage area, too large really, and now that all the walls and heating vents have been moved, it would be a huge undertaking to change it all. BHG.com has some great basement shelving ideas, built ins etc.<br /><br />LIGHT SWITCHES~ This is not too expensive an addition, but we added dual light switches closer to the stairs (a triple) that can turn off the tv area/kitchen area/hall area from that one location so if the kids leave the lights on we don't have to wander through the whole basement switching off individual lights. No walking in the dark either.<br /><br />DEHUMIDIFIER~ I agree that it is worth it's weight in gold, keeps everything feeling warmer, especially in the humid weather. We do not have a problem with dampness or odour and the dehumid. is a big part of that. We don't need to run it often, but it works so well.<br /><br />CENTRAL VAC: If you have a central vac, make sure the outlet for the basement is somewhat centrally located. The installer put ours too close to one end of the basement and our hose/head can barely reach the far corners of the back bedroom.<br /><br />Finally, I'm good with floorplans, getting the feel for size and all, but if you really want to 'see' the layout, get some painters tape and lay out the 'walls' (approx. room measurements of the plan) on the floor before you finalize plans. Take care of the biggies first. You can always save a bit of money by adding trim a bit later yourselves, or whatever you can handle. Good luck and have fun enjoying all that new space.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11533933625825629350noreply@blogger.com