When you bought the house, you saw that huge empty basement that was just asking to be transformed into a wonderful room. There are many useful destinations for a basement and a lot of expenses to go through to fix it! Will you renovate the whole space or just a part? Are you planning to erect partition walls? Would you like to create that multimedia room with maxi-screen and home-theater that your partner so much desires? Or would you like to make a guest room out of it for your visiting relatives? Don't worry, in this tutorial you will find many tips and ideas that will transform the dreary basement into an exceptional “extra room”.
Steps
Part 1 of 4: Before You Begin
Step 1. Manage and solve mold and moisture problems.
Before renovating the basement, you need to be sure that there is no uncontrolled presence of mold and moisture. Work to eliminate both and prevent it from filtering the water. If this is not possible for you, you should consider not continuing with the project.
Step 2. Establish a budget
When you know you can carry out a housing project in the basement, then you need to create a budget to know how much money you can afford to invest. Be sure not to neglect all the necessary construction material, the unexpected, the workers you will have to assign and the indispensable furnishings that you will have to buy such as the shower and the toilet.
It pays to hire a building contractor or architect, as both can help you develop a quote and show you where you can save
Step 3. Plan the renovation
You will need a project, especially if you are doing the work yourself. You need to know the length of the walls you will erect, the surface of the facing material, how much space is needed for drywall, and so on. Draw a blueprint for the basement, decide on the changes you want to make and remember: measure twice and cut only once!
Step 4. Obtain the necessary municipal permits and set inspection dates
Before continuing, you must go to the technical office of your municipality to obtain building permits and arrange inspections. If you don't, one day a municipal expert might care to dismantle everything or, worse still, you could damage a main water pipe during construction!
Part 2 of 4: The First Steps
Step 1. Delete all the objects that are present in the basement
Remove everything you keep in this space. This includes the washing machine, the dryer, the cabinets and basically everything that you can move or that occupies the floor area. You must have full access to the walls and floors as you work on the renovation project.
Step 2. Clean the floors carefully
If they are concrete, you need to clean them thoroughly before starting. Remove dirt and debris. Check that the problems of mold and water infiltration have been definitively resolved to prevent them from recurring in the future.
Step 3. Wire the basement to the electrical system
This part of the work requires a professional. At best, bad wiring won't work, at worst it could cause a fire or you could get electrocuted (and it won't be as fun as in the cartoons). Unless you want to test yourself and find yourself a firefighter, call a qualified electrician to install the electrical system in the basement. If you have some experience in this field, however, you can make some basic connections yourself.
Step 4. Install the necessary piping
Again, you should go to a professional. Although it is a less dangerous job than electrical wiring, you may find yourself facing costly repairs in the future if the work is not done in a workmanlike manner. Make sure you have everything planned perfectly, so that everything that requires the use of water is properly connected.
Step 5. Insulate the ceiling and create a false ceiling
Isolation is essential in a basement, especially the sound one. If you intend to create a multimedia room, you must avoid disturbing other people with the music and audio of the home theater. Use sound absorbing materials to insulate the ceiling and the whole family will be happy. If you plan on making no noise, you can limit yourself to installing a suspended ceiling.
Step 6. Insulate the walls.
This step is vital. By doing this you will get a warm and welcoming room and the space will be more livable. There are many products for insulation, but those in the form of spray foam are becoming the first choice when it comes to restoring the basement.
Part 3 of 4: Adding the Walls and Flooring
Step 1. Place the bearing posts
These are the beams that will form the framework of the walls. You need to plan carefully to know exactly where to erect all the walls, as they need to be built at this stage of the work. There are two materials that you can use for supporting poles: steel or wood. Both have benefits and you have to choose the one that best suits your needs.
- As a general rule, wood is cheaper, but steel is more resistant.
- At this stage you can also add other traditional insulating material to the frame.
Step 2. Finish the walls and install the drywall
Once the supporting structure of the walls has been erected, it must be completed with the cladding! Install the drywall or use any other finishing material you like to get a nice smooth surface that you can paint to complete the project.
Step 3. Refine the ceiling
If you haven't done so yet, you need to mount the plasterboard ceiling or the material of your choice. This way you will have an even surface to paint and complete as you wish.
Step 4. Consider leaving the concrete flooring
You can save some money if you don't cover it with a different material. At first it might seem cold, but evaluate it carefully. Concrete floors can be colored with acid for a really pleasant final look and thus give the room a modern look.
Step 5. Lay the carpet on the concrete or create a subfloor
You have to take into account which type of surface is right for you. Adding a subfloor makes the room warmer than just carpet, but it will occupy several centimeters of thickness which will be "stolen" from the maximum height of the basement, in addition to the fact that it will cost more.
Step 6. Install the doors
If you have divided the space into several rooms, you will need to add doors, especially if you have created bathrooms and bedrooms. Remember that the doors must open and close even when you have placed the sanitary ware and pipes inside the rooms.
Part 4 of 4: Perfecting the Space
Step 1. Fit the moldings
These are especially useful if you want to give the room an antique look. They also create a kind of continuity with the upper floors, if the rest of the house also has ceiling frames.
Step 2. Install the baseboards and window frames
These elements give a finished look to the basement that will look like a real room. What not to be overlooked, it is a job that you can do independently and without too much difficulty, if you know how to measure and cut.
Step 3. Paint the finished room
If you want the basement to look larger, stick to very light colors. The walls, carpet and large white furniture, mixed with a few touches of blue, will make the room larger than its actual size.
Step 4. Make the ceiling appear higher
If you want the room obtained from the basement to appear less cramped and lose that "cave" look, you can deceive the eye by making the ceiling appear higher thanks to some optical tricks. The simplest thing to do is to avoid attaching hanging chandeliers and fans, as well as painting the ceiling white.
Step 5. Turn the basement into a "men's" room.
In this way "he" will have a space of his own to stay without being disturbed by "her". Such a room becomes an adult game room where friends can get together. Also think of a room for "her", so the family will be happy!
Step 6. Add a bar counter.
This is the inevitable element in any "men's room", and also allows you to find yourself having a drink with friends without fear of disturbing the neighbors. You can buy one or build it with your own hands, you will only have to commit a little bit with carpentry work.
Advice
- If possible, try to fit a French door so, in an emergency, people won't be trapped in the basement. In addition, consider also installing a smoke and fire detector, respecting the safety regulations of your municipality (remember to connect these alarms to those already existing in the rest of the house).
- Try to make the entrances as wide as possible and use the arches and columns to embellish them. Consider installing glass patio doors if you are planning an office; stick to normal doors if the room is to provide privacy. If, on the other hand, you simply need to separate two rooms without great demands, you can use a door with a decorated glass for a touch of elegance.
- Assembling the panels is certainly a simple job, but plasterboard gives a more refined look and is in fact the preferred material for interior renovations. The panels "age" the room and do not last long, for this reason it is more convenient, in the long run, to rely on plasterboard.
- When you need to take a precise measurement between one wall and the other or you can't reach the two ends, use the following technique. Push the tape measure against the far wall and try to stretch it at least to the middle of the room. Make a mark on the wall to the nearest integer value of the meter. Note the size of the wall for reference. Turn the tape and measure the wall opposite to the point you traced, add the two values together and you will get the total length.
- Buy a good 7 or 10m tape measure with 2.5cm wide tape. The increased width ensures better rigidity and you can extend it more before it begins to bend. This tool is a great help in all those jobs where you have to take measurements and you don't have a helper available. It is very comfortable even if you work on a ladder.
Warnings
- Sometimes the renovated basements are ruined by mold and other humidity problems that arise behind the walls adjacent to the perimeter masonry ones. Do not neglect (and make sure that the building contractor does the same) no detail regarding the waterproofing, insulation, ventilation of the cavities between the walls and barriers for condensation. Unless the plasterboard wall is at least 45 cm from the perimeter wall, remember that the condensation barriers mounted on the frame will trap moisture between the perimeter wall and the barrier itself, generating the development of mold.
- Check for water leaks before starting work. Be sure to assess any water issues that could damage the remodeled basement. By doing this, you can know what repairs are needed and prevent future problems. Check the outside space to make sure there are no blocked gutters, drain pipes that drain right near the foundations and incorrect slopes that do not allow water to drain away from the house.
- Ventilate and dehumidify. Remember that ventilating a basement with the "fresh air" of the outside, opening the windows or turning on the fan, could cause an accumulation of humidity and condensation when the climate is very humid (above 40%). Get a good dehumidifier to mechanically remove the natural humidity of the air found in the room. Keep the doors and windows closed all year round. A central air conditioning system offers a good level of dehumidification.
- Remember to protect your investment by installing an emergency generator and controlling devices such as submersible pumps. If you rely on a pump to prevent the basement from flooding, consider purchasing and installing a second emergency one in case the first one breaks; also consider purchasing a battery-powered emergency model that will take action in the event of a blackout.
- Before you begin, gather all the necessary information.
- Don't forget that renovating a basement is challenging work.
