Basement Remodeling
Woodburn Oregon
Ready To Remodel?
If you are starting to outgrow your Woodburn home now might be the right time to think about finishing your basement. Sometimes homeowners can’t see their basement for anything more than a storage room. Being creative with your basement space will help you make use of the extra square footage, and maximize your home’s value. Even so, you must understand why basement remodeling is much more complex than other rooms.
Before you begin creating a basement dream board on Pinterest you should actually assess your basement to make sure that a remodeling project is feasible. Remodeling your basement is completely different from remodeling the other rooms in your home. These unique challenges must be taken into consideration. Having a clear understanding of what all the project consists of will allow you to set much more sensible expectations.
What will be the purpose of the new space?
Once you have determined that your basement can be finished, the next step is to decide how you are going to use the extra room. Because of the low-light environment of a basement one of the most common uses is that of a home theater. While that is an option 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 additional money.
The number of possibilities is almost limitless, and you can even blend two or more ideas if you have the space. Unfortunately there are various limits to what you can use your basement for, so you should make sure that your ideas will comply with the local building codes. For example, if you decide to convert the area into a bedroom, you may need several means of egress, so you would need windows that are big enough to crawl through in case of a fire.
What do I do with all my junk?
Generally, an unfinished basement becomes the storage area for all the stuff you acquire over the years. Obviously if you turn your basement into livable space you suddenly have to find a place for all that stuff. You may need to still commit some of the basement room for storage reasons rather than using it all for living space. However, you can also find more creative ways to create storage areas in your house. 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 flooring options are available?
Flooring choices for the basement are rather limited because the room is below ground level. While a carpet may be your original preference for floor covering in your basement, you do not want to have to deal with mold and mildew. Perpetually soggy carpet is annoying, but the mold that it could result in can lead to health problems for your family as well as costly remediation expenses to eliminate it. If this is the case, you should ask us about basement waterproofing solutions to solve that problem. That said, dry basements actually do exist. If you happen to be lucky enough to have a dry basement then carpeting is a perfectly reasonable option. If you are sure you have a dry basement, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t use carpet if you want.
Fortunately, even if you have minor moisture problems in your basement, there are suitable flooring options to choose from. You could go with a sub-floor designed specifically for basements. These are constructed to form a barrier to any moisture that might permeate the concrete slab below. An all-in-one floor is an alternative – it integrates a finished floor surface on top of plastic sub-floor tiles. Stained or colored concrete is an additional option that ensures you never have to worry about mold, and you can combine this with in-floor radiant heat for a design that is both attractive and comfortable.
Woodburn Basement Finishing
It is worth mentioning again, when it comes to basement remodeling the building code is the most important aspect. Adhering to the building code has to trump all other decisions. As a result, it is always advisable to work with experts who understand all the unique challenges that come with finishing a basement. Steve’s Home Improvement has assembled a team of remodeling experts that specialize in basement renovation and service portions of Marion County, Oregon.
Call (503) 342-8234 today for all your basement finishing needs for your Woodburn home.
CCB# 185266