A basement space at home can serve as your future workspace, bar, mancave, production room, or any space you can envision. However, there are design standards you must adhere to to make the basement comfortable and compliant with local construction regulations. Check out some carefully crafted guidelines on basement finishing for homeowners below.
Step-by-step guidelines to finishing your basement
1. Look At Your Preliminary Plans.
Survey your basement space and envision its look against its total size and layout. Make a rough draft with lists and measurements, how you’ll be using your basement, and where the convenient placements should be. Having a rough plan will help you figure out the work, the elements needed, and where key areas will be.
2. Take Care of the Prep Work First.
Check out the condition of the walls, flooring, ceiling, and other parts of your basement. This is the first real step in basement finishing. Some clearing and cleaning are needed before the work ahead. You can prevent issues and obstructions of succeeded fixes, minor (or major) construction work, and installations.
Clear out unnecessary wall fixtures, surfaces, old wallpaper, old flooring, and other elements out of the basement. Once cleared, get rid of any mold, dust, debris, insects, and other undesirables.
Once these are all figured out, get a building permit before starting. There will be some requirements based on your location and the extent of the necessary work. Once done, you can start working on your basement.
3. Work On the Walls and Elements inside the Walls.
You can now install wall framing according to the size and layout of your plans. The wall should meet the basement finishing standards for weather and temperature conditions.
These plans must also include the configuration for electrical and plumbing elements. From here, you can determine the thickness of the frame and the best materials for your wall frames before committing to the final installations.
There are two main elements involved in finishing walls: electrical connections and plumbing elements. Lighting and other ceiling fixtures will also be determined here.
The same goes for your plumbing fixtures and components, which may lead to some minor work on the floor areas. It is best to get both of these done with professional help—it will save you time and get more work done.
4. Take Care of Your Flooring.
Your choice of flooring will determine the primary use of your basement space. Any underlying work for plumbing and electrical elements is carried out here and tested by professionals first. Once everything is in working order, you can lay the tiles out or final flooring elements. Most basement finishing services include floor overhauls and restoration.
5. Finish Up Your Ceiling.
The ceiling may need an overhaul too, or you can use the existing one if the integrity of the work is still solid, and all electrical connections are functioning properly. You can use a regular drywall ceiling for a streamlined and fixed surface, or a dropped ceiling type, which is modular and can easily be altered for any upgrades or replacements.
To Finish
A lot goes into creating a beautiful and functional basement space: time, budget, and a lot of manual work. It will get tedious, but it is worth it in the end. After all, basements should not always be those dark and dank places hidden from your visitors. They can be decorated and remade to your specifications to make a more functional space.
However, not everyone has all three of those elements. In that case, the budget is all you need, and a quick call to the Handyman of Rockville for basement finishing services in the area. Get a free quote and consultation now!