When building a home with a basement, many homeowners choose to leave the latter unfinished to cut costs. They have the square footage and expansion option for later — one of the paramount considerations for higher home value — but they save money for the moment.
When it becomes time to refinish the basement, many factors come into play, such as your financial circumstances, the age of the home, the desired remodel, and other circumstances. These will affect costs and the necessary pre-preparation.
Some basements are natural candidates for finishing. Others will require structural work before walls and plumbing can be installed.
If the structure is old or poorly built, there may be issues with the foundation, ceiling height, electrical, plumbing, or other fundamental features. Any of these issues must be addressed before the renovation to ensure both safety and aesthetics.
Such issues can usually be easily addressed, after which you may build the basement of your dreams. But start by assessing your circumstances and making an action plan.
1. Check the Foundation
Before starting any construction in your basement, assess the state of the foundation. It’s not uncommon for basements to possess leaks or cracked walls, which call for foundation repair before any other work can begin.
Basements can develop cracks in the walls from settling or stress. These weaken the concrete, and can lead to later foundation issues if you don’t get them repaired.
If there are serious foundation issues, act quickly and make the proper repairs. Otherwise, the stability and safety of your home will be placed in jeopardy, which makes your basement renovation more challenging.
Some indicators of serious foundation issues include:
- Soft concrete
- Cracked, bulging, or curved outside walls
- Horizontal cracks
- Doors that won’t latch properly
- Stuck windows
- Cracks on any floors in your home
- Cracks in the flooring
- Bowing or slanted floors
2. Identify Code Violations
If your basement is old or the contractor cut corners during the original construction, you may have code violations to tackle. You might also require certain permits to complete work on the property, depending on your city and when the home was built.
A common issue in basement finishing projects is a lack of egress windows. Egress windows are built into the ground with a well on the exterior that makes it possible for a grown adult to exit the home through the window in the event of a fire.
They weren’t required until the 1990s, so homes built before then often don’t meet standard fire codes. Any renovation must respond to this code as well as others during the remodel.
By talking to your local city officials, you can understand applicable codes and permits. They’ll have a list of requirements that will help with your floor plans.
3. Eliminate Water Issues
Examine the walls, ceiling, and floors carefully for signs of water damage. It’s not unusual for leaking pipes to go unnoticed in the basement or for water to drip from your lawn sprinklers, which can cause mold, rot, and foundation shifting.
From making sure the lawn slopes away from your foundation to fixing leaky pipes, it’s essential to eliminate water issues before you put in insulation and sheetrock. Ignoring such issues will only lead to serious and expensive problems later on.
4. Insulate Properly
Homeowners often choose to skimp on the insulation in their basement because they spend less time down there. However, that’s a huge mistake.
Insulation in the basement comes with significant energy savings in both cold and warm climates. Your HVAC system will no longer work overtime to cool or heat your home, and the insulation will protect your foundation and home structure from the elements.
Your insulation options vary from fiberglass batts to spray foam. In most cases, spray-foam insulation is most highly recommended for its efficiency. It fills in all the holes and gaps that will otherwise allow drafts and condensation. It can be more expensive, but you’ll see financial returns in a more energy-efficient house.
5. Assess the Ceiling
First, consider the height. Basements built before the 21st century may not have a high ceiling because they didn’t answer to the strict fire codes we know today.
Whether you raise the ceiling in response to fire codes or for comfort, discuss your options with a contractor. You may face certain limitations that make this impossible, which will delay or alter your design plans.
You’ll also want to consider access to electrical and plumbing lines, which often run along the ceiling of a basement. You can’t restrict access to these essential features, but you obviously don’t want to leave them exposed, either. In this case, a drop or suspended ceiling is popular.
There are pros and cons to this approach, the disadvantages being that it can look more like an office than a basement, and it can lower the height of the room. On the positive side, it provides functionality without an unsightly access panel in your ceiling.
6. Work Around the Essentials in Your Design
After you’ve made sure your basement is a viable candidate for finishing, begin your designs! Start by determining the purpose.
You may need more bedrooms and another bathroom to accommodate a growing family. It could become a mother-in-law suite or an apartment to rent out. You might also want a space to spend time with family or for recreation.
No matter what, the purpose will determine what you do with the square footage, and it must work around certain essentials that can’t be changed. For example, you’ll want to leave the utility room alone.
This is the space where your water heater and HVAC units are stored, and they have to be finished according to certain spacing and framing code requirements. It’s much easier to make repairs on these units when the space is left unfinished as well.
You may also need to have a contractor determine where the weight of your basement rests. Most basements have a series of support beams that stabilize the home, and those can interfere with your design plans.
If you want to move a support beam or knock down a wall in a partially finished basement, you must transfer the weight. Perhaps you can run a horizontal beam across the ceiling and remove a wall or vertical beam, but this is usually costly. Sometimes, you may have to get creative and work around a support beam in your designs.
Include these essentials as you’re designing the space, and you shouldn’t have any problems when it comes to the official remodel.
Contact Edens Structural Solutions Today!
We perform foundation and slab repair for both homes and businesses in Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas, Missouri, and Kansas. If you’re preparing for a basement renovation or you’ve noticed signs of foundation problems in your home, we can handle it.
We have more than 30 years of experience in leveling and repairing concrete foundations, and we guarantee your satisfaction with our work. For more information, contact us today!
