Hi as far as the O.C. basment finished system goes. I feel its very similar to a mobile home interior, they try to sell you on the waterproof and mildew/mold resistance. I have been a property damaged repair contractor in Ohio, Mich and Indiana for more than 20 years. The O.C. System doesnt hold up any better in a heavy moisture/waterdamage/flood situation. I would go with a standard studwall, wood or metal and drywall walls and ceiling. We finish 20 basements per year on average and build more than 30 additions on top of our fire and water work. If you have a serious moisture issue, deal with that first then finish the basement. The price is also high for what your are getting. As far as the rest of your do it your selfers. I have nothing against you save the fact you like to compare your work/quality/knowledge and cost to that of a licensed reputable contractor. Maybe you should try building your own vechicles, filling your own teeth, mending your wounds, butchering your meat and so on. Sure many of you can trip your way through a remodle project with varing results, especially in todays world where there are a million web sites to explain how to do just about anything. Home improvment seems to be the career many of you just can't seem to accept as a legitimate way of making an honest living. The real story is folks in the trades work all day long in the field, go home have dinner with their families then leave to visit homeowners like yourselves, most who wouldnt think of leaving work early to meet prospective contractors during business hours, but dont think a thing of "in the one case above" calling out 15-20 contractors for a free estimate more than likely at nite or on a weekend. Btw our professionaly finished basements start at $35 to $40 per square foot based on the scope of work and yes we dont feel comfortable with a gross profit of less than 30% much less than your mechanic, grocer, doctor, lawyer, or your local gas station. The average age of our employees and contractors is 52. Based on that in twenty years you will get to do all your home improvment projects your self and avoid paying a qualified contractor a well earned wage. Look out for that roof replacment!!! YOUR IGNORANT TO COMPARE YOUR SWEAT EQUITY TO A QUALITY CONTRACTOR If your employer did'nt earn a profit you wouldnt have a JOB

meganmm, Thank you, we are enjoying it. I see I listed the name of the granite incorrectly in the above post. We have Madura gold in our master bath, the basement bath is kashmir gold. Let me give you some background on the countertop. Lowes had advertised last summer, in the Sunday supplement, a 48" pre fab granite top in Desert Gold for something like $269. In a little section to the side it said also available in Kashmir Gold, Black Absolute and Blue Pearl. Kashmir gold was close to what I was considering in "real" granite, so I went in to order it. No luck. The salesperson couldn't find a sku for it. After several days and plenty of phone calls, it became apparent that it was a misprint. After talking with the manager he agreed to sell me one for the advertised price, but it should have been closer to $600! So I got a really good deal on that. The tile is travertine and was a special order from Home Depot. The floor tiles were 18x18 and we cut them to do the hopscotch pattern. The wall tiles in the shower are 12x12 below the insert and the same tiles cut into 6x12 subways above. The insert itself is a 12x12 sheet of kashmir gold mosaic with a travertine pencil liner. We purchased all of the tile during a 20% off sale on special order tile at HD. Good luck with your project. Feel free to email me if you have anymore questions, since now that I have gone back to work I don't check in here very often.

If you are looking to finish it for the highest future resale value, a good resource to consult is a realtor in your area (perhaps the one you used to buy it from or sell your previous house) They will know what is desireable there. However, unless you plan on selling again soon, the desires of the market may change by the time you sell. Also, you are unlikely to recover 100% of your investment in finishing the basement so you want to make sure to finish it in a way that you are able to enjoy it for years too. If a work out room is popular but you enjoy watching movies instead, put in the theater. I will say, multi-purpose spaces are handy. If you're going to build in an office, make it meet code for a bedroom (add a closet for example) so you have flexibility down the road. A room can be an office, guest room, exercise room, craft room, or home theater (though not the ultimate theater room if its a big square with large windows) so when you are trying to sell it you can style it as whatever is popular at that point. I personally think it is very handy to always have a bath on each level of the house, but you would not likely need a bathtub. Perhaps a larger shower stall would look nice but not have the expense or size of a tub. I wouldn't go for the newest trends just to make it have a high resale down the road, you may end up just looking old and dated when you finally sell... for example, if you use a glass tile mosaic backsplash on the back of your wetbar just to be trendy, but don't sell for 15 years, it may scream 2012 when you go to sell. However, if you find a glass tile mosaic backsplash that you LOVE and use it for 15 years, it was money well spent. Summary, decide when you want to sell again (if its 1-2 years it would make more sense to finish towards market desires vs your desires) talk to a realtor, and design a basic format that is flexible for your uses. Have fun on this project!

I have the same set up that you are planning. My kitchenette/wet bar is 15 foot in length . The area in front of it is tiled and the adjacent living area is carpeted. I had a hard time deciding how much to carpet and how much to tile in the lower level. I didn't want to use too much carpet because our floors are heated and I thought the tile floors would be more efficient. The only reason I have carpet in the living area is because our grand kids hang out down there and I thought carpet would be quieter and more comfortable.