Looking to renovate your basement to get an extra living space for yourself or turn it into an extra room for relatives and friends who come over? There are plenty of ways to make the most out of your basement, and the good news is it is easy to remodel a room that is already “built.” The basement already has walls and a floor, so all you really need are a bit of installation and a bit of woodwork with careful planning and the right improvement decisions.
Before anything else, it is a good idea to conduct a thorough assessment of your basement. Make sure to check for mold, mildew, termites, and other hazards that may cover up existing problems or cause damage over time.
For safety and peace of mind, hire a home inspector or general contractor to have a look at your basement before doing any renovations. If there are problematic cracks, water damage, and other serious problems, consider having those fixed by the professionals.
If you want to know how much space you can work with, take note of the height of the room. There may be regulations that require livable spaces to be at least eight feet tall, so be safe and look at building codes especially if you plan to do the remodeling by yourself. Once you have ensured your basement is safe and ready to go, then you can decide what kind of room you want.
You can transform your basement into any area you want it to be: extra guest bedroom, workshop, game room, man cave, laundry room, gym, and many more. With those down, there are still so many things that should be considered. Here are some of them.
CLEAN UP AND ORGANIZE
Before anything else, there may be extra stuff stored in the basement, and now that you intend to use it as an extra room you need to clean up. Go through boxes and other items in storage, pick out the things you still use, and let go others you have no use for. Install extra cabinets and shelving for seasonal items and decorations, or get creative with your storage solutions.
LIGHTING
The reason lighting is crucial when it comes to renovating or remodeling basement spaces is that they make such a vast difference between a creepy downstairs room and a welcoming rest place. Depending on how deep the room is, your basement may have no outside source of lighting, and even if it may have windows, it may not be sufficient enough.
If it looks like natural lighting is out of the question, provide artificial light that will make the room warm and cozy. There are many kinds of lamps and ceiling fixtures that you can install to help realize that kind of atmosphere.
BUILD A CREATIVE STORAGE SYSTEM
When working in rooms with limited space, it helps to have a creative storage system, one where you can store a lot of things but looks put together and not crowded at all. Try looking into adding creative shelving or adding hidden compartments for items that don’t work well with the aesthetic you’re trying to achieve.
You can also add cabinets that light up when opened so you can easily see what items are stored there. Get creative with it!
ADD A BATHROOM
Depending on what kind of livable you want your basement to be, it never hurts to add a bathroom. You don’t have to go all-out and install a tub, shower, sink, and toilet, because space can be limited, and you can have a small powder room instead. Furthermore, it helps to have another bathroom in the house in case you have guests over or if all the others are occupied.
It can get costly to add a bathroom, and most of it is because of adding pipes, and it can run you to thousands and thousands of dollars. Try getting macerating upflush toilets instead of the common ones used today, because they are easier to install especially in tight spaces and there’s virtually no need to add new pipes.
They work the same like standard toilets do, but their difference is in how they flush, because, instead of putting waste directly through the pipes, it goes through a macerator, where it will be slushed up and washed down the existing piping for toilets.
ADD VALUE TO YOUR HOME
Adding an extra room or remodeling your basement into a livable space requires a lot of thoughtful planning and budgeting. When everything’s said and done, you not only add an extra space for you and your family, but you also add value to your home. If done right, it means that you’ve raised your property value and added a possible place for renting out or entertaining relatives and friends.
