For some people, basement renovations are something complicated by problems with water or because their basements are little more than dirt cellars. For homes that have the potential, however, basement renovations can greatly improve a house.
Adding a room to your home is a significant expense. But renovating the basement, a space that already exists, adds more living space to your home, and raises the home's value without the same amount of expense. You can add almost any kind of room in a basement, from a family room to a bedroom. Often, basement renovations see more than one room added, or the large space becomes multi-purpose.
Will the renovations be more trouble than they're worth? If you have had water problems in your basement, those issues need to be fixed anyway just to preserve the sound structure of your home. Older homes typically have more basement moisture problems, because newer homes have built-in drainage systems in the foundation that help prevent these issues.
If you have an older home with a concrete basement floor that needs to be replaced or a dirt floor that requires a new concrete pour, then the expense of basement renovations could be closer to the expense of the addition of space at ground level. And in the case of an older home with a dirt basement floor, pouring concrete may not even be possible if that means the clearance from floor to ceiling will be less than 7 feet. It may be necessary for a contractor to dig the basement deeper to start basement renovations.
If you have an absolutely dry basement, you could put a wood subfloor over a cracked basement floor rather than replacing it. But if the potential for moisture is there, this can cause headaches later. Any water would require that the subfloor be removed to allow the floor to dry.
You could also opt to cover the concrete with laminate or wall to wall carpeting. You can even glue carpeting directly to the basement floor. This might seem problematic, but if you should have a water issue later, then it's just a matter of cleaning and drying the carpet rather than removing a subfloor and replacing it. No matter which covering you use, the floor has to be leveled first. A floor leveling compound should be spread across the area and leveled properly to ensure a good result.
Choosing which kind of flooring you want for your basement renovations will not only help you decide how to repurpose your basement, but will help you figure the rest of your budget for things like framing, drywall, lighting and other important issues.
If you're an experienced DIYer, then some jobs like covering the floor and even drywall are things you can probably do yourself. For framing the walls around pipes and obstacles, unless you're experienced doing this you may want to contact a contractor. Either way, basement renovations give you more living space and add value to your home, so decide what you'll do with the extra space and start planning.
Photo Credits: tandemracer
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