Basement REMODELING
Washington DC
Time To Finish The Basement?
If you are starting to outgrow your Washington DC home now might be the right time to give some thought to finishing your basement. For many homeowners a basement is just an extra-large junk room. A few inspiring basement ideas should help you make use of all that extra footage and add a eye-catching addition to your home. With that being said, you must understand why basement remodeling is not always a simple project.
Although there can be many different ways to transform your basement into one of the more welcoming rooms in your home, you need to first ensure the space is livable. Remodeling your basement is not the same as renovating other rooms in your home. These unique challenges must be addressed. Having a clear understanding of what all the project entails will allow you to establish much more sensible expectations.
There are a several things you need to consider: whether the basement has excess moisture; whether it has provisions for heating and cooling; whether it has ducts and pipes below the ceiling joists that may need relocation; whether it is radon-free, and whether your ceiling is high enough.
How will you use it?
Once you have decided that it is feasible to finish your basement, the next thing to do is to determine how you are going to use the extra room. Converting a basement into a home theater room has become a very popular idea in recent years.. Obviously that is an option, but there are many different potential uses for your basement, including a home gym, mother-in-law suite, home office, or even an Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) to generate extra cash.
The possibilities are limited only by your imagination and budget. The good thing is that if you have the room you can incorporate multiple ideas. Unfortunately there are various limits to what you are allowed to use your basement for, so you must check that your ideas will be in compliance with the local building codes. Case in point, if you choose to convert the area into a bedroom, you may need multiple means of egress, so you would need to install windows that are large enough to crawl through in case of a fire.
What about my storage space?
We all know that for one reason or another basements have a tendency to wind up being junk rooms. Which means that all this junk needs to go somewhere else when you remodel your basement. You may need to still commit some of your new basement space for storage reasons rather than using it all up as finished space. The good news is that during the remolding process you can design better ways to organize your storage area so that it takes up less space. For instance, you could build shelving or small closets under the stairwell, have shelves along the walls enclosed behind small doors, or use stock cabinetry as storage chests and bench seats.
What are your flooring choices?
Flooring alternatives for the basement are limited simply because the room is below ground level. Carpet is obviously a standard for upper level rooms, but in a basement environment it can be a magnet for mold and mildew. This may occur if you have a water problem, in addition to the hassle of a constantly damp or wet carpet. If there is any kind of moisture concerns in your basement then you may want to consider waterproofing prior to considering your flooring choices. However, this does not mean that carpets are not ideal options for all basements.
Everybody knows that moisture is often times an concern with basements and this can affect your flooring choices. Luckily there are sub-floors that are specifically designed for basements. These are designed to form a shield against any moisture that might permeate the concrete slab underneath. Believe it or not, all-in-one options do exist. They consist of plastic sub-floor tiles fused to a finished floor surface. Finishing the concrete floor is also an option, and you can even include color or stain options. One of concrete’s main benefits is that you never have to worry about mold, but with concrete it is worth looking into adding in-floor radiant heat to protect against possible moisture build up and assist with climate control.
Washington DC Basement Finishing
It is worth mentioning again, when it comes to basement remodeling the three most important things are code, code, and code. Making sure your basement is up to code has to trump all other considerations. This is where a general contractor who understands the many unique situations that are associated with finishing a basement can make the job much less stressful. Our expert team of remodeling contractors know all the intricacies of basement remodeling as well the building code unique to the District of Columbia. Call (202) 335-9553 today for all your basement finishing needs for your Washington DC home.
