Finished Basement Ideas

18 years ago

Hello All,

This is a new forum category which had it been available for the past several years, might have assisted me. Nevertheless, I have lurked and commented from time-to-time on the Kitchen Forum and believe these are places to guide and assist others. Thus, with our basement nearing completion, perhaps some of the things we have implememted will give help to those of you about to embark on finishing your basements.

Ours was a bare concrete space. A typical basement, not English or walk-out. Aside from the furnace, water heater and electrical panel, there was only 1 outlet and some pull-chain bare bulbs. We took our time - an important consideration - and decided what we wanted to do with the space. Over the past 5 winters, we have transformed the bare to what you can view by going to "My Page". The bathroom is all that remains - next winter!

DW and I have conspired and agreed on each matter. It all started with my wanting a bar and her expressing need for a second oven. What we have is a contemporary entertainment space which is entirely different from the traditional character in the rest of our home. All of the construction, plumbing, electrical and finishing work have been done by us. We only hired the carpeting installed on the stairs and a friend assisted with the floor because he wanted to help.

Major construction is of 2 x 4's with 2" styrofoam insulation between the studs (this leaves clearance for electrical too). We chose drywall for both the ceiling and walls because that is the look we wanted, though drop ceilings have merit in basements. The finished area is approximately 650 square feet with 100 of that being the kitchen/bar. Flooring is tile because we believe sump pumps fail and water heaters spring leaks - though area rugs are in use too. The one outlet has grown to 12 circuits, 18 cans, 2 sconces, 5 pendants, 6 pucks, 2 strip lights, 24 switches and 21 outlets. Most of the lights are on dimmers enabling us to create the atmosphere.

With each of the posted photos, I have tried to offer some pointers or ideas which we have implemented. I hope some will become useful to another. The most important pointer though is to PLAN - think of everything you want and incorporate it now.

Forrest

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Comments (13)

twiz
18 years ago
How inspiring! It is hard to imagine that this was a cement basement. Congratulations. Any idea what you spent (ballpark) to do the 650 sf? How do you get at the pipes running in the basement if you have to? (We just did a reno upstairs which ran new water pipes and elec all over the basement. I thought our only choice was a (yukky) drop ceiling.

Great job! (love the Harley too!)
fnmroberts
Original Author
18 years ago
twiz
Thanks for your comments. Sounds as though your home may be somewhat older if you are replacing pipes. Ours is just 10. Like I mentioned, hopefully ideas will be fostered and maybe even some which I will wish I had considered. I'll retrofit if necessary.

I have a pile of receipts but haven't totalled them. Best guess would be in the range of $15 grand out-of-pocket and we still need the fireplace insert (another grand) and the surround system. The bathroom is uncharted territory.

About the ceiling. Drywall can be patched without detection. I've done it many times. Additionally, I designed the space with access channels at several locations and the drywall is dropped 1.5" below the floor joists enabling a fish tape to get through. Finally, all my electricity is in conduit but I have installed 2 electrical subpanels for ease of future connections.

Yes, our grandson is the only one in his playgroup with his own ride. It took every spare waking moment for 3 months to build.

Forrest
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Ours isn't a walk-out but photos are linked from "My Page". Hopefully you have had rough-ins installed for a bath and wet bar. Otherwise, I personally feel the best thing to do is imagine your space and how you will use it, then draw plans. The electrical and construction can just as easily be done later. In my opinion, there are too many decisions necessary for the living area to get bogged down in a secondary space unless you need it for a specific purpose right away. Good luck, everyone should build a home once, that cured us!
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The link is simply to illustrate the type of product that could be used---it is not a pitch for Costco. Here is a link that might be useful: Interlock flooring
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Storage, storage, and more storage. Think about how you want to use the space, and plan plenty of closets to accommodate all the things required. Otherwise, you will have a job on your hands to keep it from getting junky. So here is more than you wanted to know about what we did: When we did our basement, which also included a long one-car garage along half of one side, we put in a u-shaped light shop space (no power tools except drills and the like) at the end with a deep sink in the center of the U, one side dedicated to plant care and flower arranging, peg board (painted white) lining the walls up to 6'8", and a deep shelf on ordinary white hardware store brackets above that. I recycled two L-shaped wooden countertops that were cast-offs from another project, stained them, and finished them with spar varnish. I designed the supporting structure (painted dark gray) to accommodate three mobile storage basket units that I already had. I painted the wall over the sink (no pegboard there) with chalkboard paint, which was great for jotting down measurements and things to go on the shopping list. We used plain old rectangular florescent tube fixtures in the ceiling, which gave exactly the kind of clean light we needed, and a couple of boxes of peel and stick vinyl tiles on the concrete floor. The short wall of the house which had the garage door and the entry door from the driveway was our foul-weather entrance, and had a fireplace in it, so I allocated half that space to a warm sitting area, and put a trestle table to serve as a desk behind the small sofa that faced the fireplace. I dealt with the high little windows along the long wall (with a lovely view of the bottoms of the boxwoods along the front of the house) like this: Behind that area, I created a hallway to the back space by building a cedar closet on one side, which ran under the staircase, and a long deep closet with three doors in the wall and deep shelves lining the whole thing on the other. Where the cedar closet ended, under the low part of the stairs, I built in a niche for a long 2-drawer lateral file cabinet. We had the stairs rebuilt to create a 3 x 3 landing at the 3rd stair up, so we could turn the bottom stairs to face into that hall, and create an easier and more attractive entry to upstairs. Beyond that hallway was enough space for a pantry closet and a wine closet along the short wall, and a chest of drawers perpendicular to that. Beyond the stairway was the door to a new laundry room and a walled-off area for the HVAC and hot water tank (with louvered doors), and between the laundry room and the back wall of the garage workspace, we put in a big bathroom with changing space for anyone using the pool, or coming in from the garden all covered with muck. We did the bathroom very economically - the things we spent any money on were a Venetian marble shower stall and long countertop with an integral sink. Instead of a vanity, we mirrored the wall and attached a simple framework with a stained birch plywood fascia along the wall to support the countertop, built a 10" high plinth along the floor under it, and put big baskets of towels and washing and sun supplies on it. Then we ran a 2x10 along the wall opposite the shower with many hooks for damp towels and bathing suits, and added a simple garden bench. I loved it. It made my too-big house completely manageable.
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This is pretty much what the builder had as their finished basement. They had a closet in the room at the right of the plan and where I have a bar they had another closet. My concern about this plan is that it may make the space feel small and that I won’t have enough space for the second tv area.
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dgmarie
18 years ago
I think it looks great. Well done!
sofia
17 years ago
Liked your wet bar design. My husband and I are planning to finish our 700 sq ft basement in the next month or so. I really got good wet bar idea from your post.

Nice designs.
fnmroberts
Original Author
17 years ago
Sofia,

Glad to know you found useful ideas here - that was the intention. Look forward to seeing your finished space and knowing what features you used. Good Luck. Forrest
cindyx
17 years ago
Very nice job. Thanks for sharing.
msafirstein
17 years ago
Unbelievable that I just looked at a refinished basement! Sure looks like main floors rooms to me. It is so bright and cheery and the double French doors are a very nice touch and an idea I might use! Thanks for sharing.
jasper_60103
17 years ago
Like the glass door on the stairway too. Makes the basement space more inviting from upper level. Also, prevents accidents.
desalad
17 years ago
Hi, I have two questions. First is based on this statement you made: "I designed the space with access channels at several locations and the drywall is dropped 1.5" below the floor joists enabling a fish tape to get through."

How do you hang drywall below the floor joists? What did you fasten the drywall to if you are 1.5" below the floor joists? Second, I wanted to take a look at the pictures but don't see them on your page. I also don't have access to your webshots album.

Thanks,
Scott
fnmroberts
Original Author
17 years ago
Desalad,
I'm surprised that you are unable to access my photos. You should be able to open the albums by clicking on the title picture. Try this address, it is the direct one.
www.community.webshots.com/user/forroberts
For access, I created a small closet where my electrical entrance is located and the ceiling inside is open. Same with the closets which are behind the Frence Doors. Because water and electrical conduit were already suspended below the joists, I attached 2 x 4's to the joists in order to hang the drywall - thus the 1.5" clearance should anything need to be installed in the future.
If access to the photos is still blocked by your computer check your browser settings or let me know and I'll try to get them to you. Good Luck, Forrest
desalad
17 years ago
Hi Forrest, thanks. I just realized that it is my employer that is blocking access to Webshots. I'll have to check out the pictures at home. I also realized after I posted that it was probably 2x4 hung perpendicular to the joists above that allowed you to do that. I'll need to do the same since I too have some water pipes that are hung just below to the joists so will need the 2x4 crossings. Thanks for the reply!
jasper_60103
17 years ago
Well I admit its nothing fancy, but the space is comfortable and we really enjoy it.
Good luck with your basement projects.
-jasper

recreation area:
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shower bath:
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bedroom:
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stairway:
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desalad
17 years ago
Are those fake windows in that first pic? I think you did a great job. Do you have a sub floor under the carpet or is that carpet on concrete?

Finished Basement Ideas

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twiz

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