If your basement usage ideas are limited to the various ways you can stack boxes of holiday decorations and old photo albums, it might be time to reconsider how you’re using this valuable space. There’s no official list of ideas and you’re limited only by your imagination, budget and the physical constraints of your home. Basement Pole – Basement poles are unsightly but with a little planning you can turn them into a design asset. But first, let’s breakdown the factors that will determine what your basement would cost if you were to finish it. I’ve come quite a ways but I now want to step by step add a walk in closet, private bdrm, and craft room and convert the existing open space bedroom to a kitchen/dining/entertaining space. The planning of the design and placement of furniture can often make the space capable of functioning as several different spaces at once. Basement rooms can be used for many purposes: laundry, home theater, game playing, hobbies and crafts, and the list goes on. There are many building codes intended to ensure the safety of occupants that apply to all of the above.
Because much of the construction done during a basement remodel involves working with or around plumbing, electrical wiring, ducts, and other highly technical aspects of your home, many homeowners would benefit greatly from expert assistance. We live in Calgary and the average price to finish a basement can run between $40 to 60K. From the floor to the ceiling, we work with you to turn your underutilized basement space into a room that you and your family will use for years to come. Your only option for floor heating specifically (not general basement heating) is to install ‘Radiant heating’. Now that you have some good ideas to mull over, you’re almost ready to go from planning to implementation.
The first step to a beautiful finished basement is prepping for it. Use our handy guide to get started. Pay attention to the placement of various basement activities when you’re laying out your space. They’ll help you move forward with an informed game plan for your new basement design. And while some basements have been finished to create more living area, the majority of these spaces are used as makeshift laundry rooms, home offices, and storage repositories for everything from spare freezers to pantries, paints, and paperwork. Building codes usually require a habitable basement space to have an emergency exit other than the staircase leading into your home. We’re thinking about building a basement ONLY and slapping a roof on it – 2 bedroom, 1 bath, with open plan otherwise with kitchen in one corner and and wide open living space. I have a hard time relinquishing control but love all your ideas for the independent work I need other kids to do while I teach.
The characteristics of your basement will not only influence architectural decisions but they are also a key element when it comes to choosing flooring. You could either paint the floor a solid color or do a checkered design like Jeanne from did in her beautiful basement laundry room. Regardless of how dark and foreboding your space may be, we’ve got a handful of basement decorating ideas that will help you create a room that you will look forward to spending time in. A full finish isn’t going to happen now…but I would like to DIY in the coming years.
If done correctly this exercise will bring you the right result – whether that means a great finished basement or the security of having saved yourself a lot of heartache and frustration down the road (because finishing the space ultimately wouldn’t have been a good idea).
