Looking to finish about 1000 sqft of basement.  Appreciate any contractor referrals. 

 

Walls, Tiles / Laminate flooring, drop / regular ceiling,  few pipes to rerouted, electrical.. 

 

 

I don't have contractors in your area, but when we did ours, I rerouted the HVAC that could be rerouted. The game plan was to move as much as possible into soffits that would run adjacent to the main steel beam in the house so there would be as much ceiling as possible at the same height. Looks nicer in the end.

 

Also, I used metal studs. Found it much easier to work with. Especially for the soffits. And didn't have to worry about rot down the road.

 

I sealed the walls before doing anything.

 

Used encapsulated insulation in the walls.

 

When you place lighting, make sure you wash the walls with light, otherwise the space will look dark.

 

I also did the electric myself. Added a sub panel since our panel was getting close to full.

 

I'm told putting a bathroom in the basement is a value add for the house.

 

What else. Put a theater in. Pre wired for the audio. Front, center, rear and sub woofer cabling with jacks on the walls. Also HDMI in the ceiling where the projector is, plus 110v. Not needed for a flat screen of course. But you will need power at the screen.

 

Almost the whole ceiling is suspended. Except for theater. In hindsight, that was a mistake. Looks nice, but I needed to do more wiring later and made extra work.

 

If you have gas water heaters/ furnaces, plan to have venting for combustion air.

 

Also, if you open hvac, you will need a return opened up. My understanding is you Do Not want that return anywhere near the gas appliances. But consult a good hvac guy on that. CO is a killer. Make absolutely certain its done right.

 

Also, if you box in the water heaters and furnaces, make sure theres enough access, including room to remove the, and replace them.

 

Don't carpet the basement. Its nice, but you'll hate it if something as simple as a condensate pump backs up.

 

I've seen ceramic tile that looks like wood and although we dropped $4K on carpet originally, we're replacing almost all of it with that kind of tile.

 

Thats what occurs to me now... 12 years after we did the work. Good luck.

Thanks for the tips Kevin. Helps to know whats practical and whats not. 

Tim Lapointe at Skyline Design. He did an awesome renovation of my kitchen and bathroom this year. It looks fantastic. Very easy to work with and his prices are fair. I dealt with about 10 other contractors with estimates before going with him. I am very picky about things and he got the job.

 

http://www.skylinedesigncenter.com/

Whatever you decide on, make sure your basement is DRY first. 

Whatever you decide on, make sure your basement is DRY first. 

Yep..after watching it flood couple of times in last 10 years, finally did outside grading and inside french drain with sump pumps.  

 

I did finish basement myself but that was when we were younger :-) and had extra help.  

if you haven't already, test the basement for radon especially since you will be spending more time down there

Yep..after watching it flood couple of times in last 10 years, finally did outside grading and inside french drain with sump pumps.  

 

I did finish basement myself but that was when we were younger :-) and had extra help.  

 

I feel your pain.

 

I just finished my basement ( well, sans molding, almost done ! ) - But I put an interior french drain and new sump system in myself. hauling out all that concrete and rock down into the basement via 5 gallon buckets was a blast. 

Radon test is a good idea. Would suck to find out you need to vent it after it's done.  Not to mention.. it's radon.

 

Also, make sure your contractor .. and you.. understand what kind of fire blocks your inspectors want to see.  My town evolved as I was doing my basement. They went from allowing just unfaced fiberglass bats laid on top of exterior walls when we submitted the plans .... to requiring drywall screwed in placed horizontally on top of exterior walls with fireblock foam sealing it all.  Although it's a pain to do it, anything you can do to slow a fire that starts in a wall is worth it. So while it was annoying to learn the rules changed, better safe than sorry.

Radon test is a good idea. Would suck to find out you need to vent it after it's done.  Not to mention.. it's radon.

 

Also, make sure your contractor .. and you.. understand what kind of fire blocks your inspectors want to see.  My town evolved as I was doing my basement. They went from allowing just unfaced fiberglass bats laid on top of exterior walls when we submitted the plans .... to requiring drywall screwed in placed horizontally on top of exterior walls with fireblock foam sealing it all.  Although it's a pain to do it, anything you can do to slow a fire that starts in a wall is worth it. So while it was annoying to learn the rules changed, better safe than sorry.

 

scrap 2x4s should suffice as well, this is what I had to do. Should be easier to cut out over sheetrock. 

scrap 2x4s should suffice as well, this is what I had to do. Should be easier to cut out over sheetrock. 

 

Yeah, I think there may be a few different style of fireblocks you can use.  The drywall was the "suggestion?" of the town inspector.  And this was at the top of the metal stud wall and spanned the gap between that wall and the top of the concrete foundation wall.  The idea being, if a fire starts in that space, it has something above it to slow it or stop it.  I've seen 2x4 scrap like you said, used mid wall between 16" OC studs used as fireblock.   I'm not a carpenter or contractor of any kind.. I just pretend to be one on the weekends in our basement....

Praszek Renovations - 908-307-4897

 

Kamil is a really good dude.  He does a lot of basement work in Somerset Co. I am an Architect and do the drawings for him sometimes. 

 

Basements are fairly simple, but if you are going to do it right, you will need permits.  The local Building Department will require signed and sealed drawings for the layout especially plumbing and electrical changes.  They also require combustion air calculation to ensure that your furnace and other NG burning equipment in the basement have enough fresh air to keep the burn clean and not produce too much CO.  Some towns are more hardcore than others.  

 

Shoot me a PM if you need an Architect.  

Radon test is a good idea. Would suck to find out you need to vent it after it's done.  Not to mention.. it's radon.

 

Also, make sure your contractor .. and you.. understand what kind of fire blocks your inspectors want to see.  My town evolved as I was doing my basement. They went from allowing just unfaced fiberglass bats laid on top of exterior walls when we submitted the plans .... to requiring drywall screwed in placed horizontally on top of exterior walls with fireblock foam sealing it all.  Although it's a pain to do it, anything you can do to slow a fire that starts in a wall is worth it. So while it was annoying to learn the rules changed, better safe than sorry.

There are no effective solutions once the house is built.  Sure there are band-aid fixes once that the township will accept and the EPA accepts, but they are band-aids at best.

 

Homes are typically built like crap.  The 6mil Vapor Barrier used under our slab is shit and does not stop anything.  Plus, by the time the slab is pored it has enough holes in it that it may as well not be there. The little pit you can dig with some stone in it, a 3" pvc pipe to the exterior and a blower is a nice gimmick, but does very little in the end.  It may evacuate the Radon within a small radius of the pit, but on the other side, you will have plenty of Radon getting passed the 6mil plastic and into the slab, then into the basement air.   

 

I have done it right in commercial projects before, and let me tell you, its not what you ever see in homes... unfortunately.  We use a min of a 15mil StegoWrap and sometimes a 60mil GeoSeal under the slab with a manifold of perforated piping running under the slab going to a main stack which is either passive [no blower] or active [electric blower].  That works and reduces Radon to essentially zero.  YOu may say its overkill for a house, and that's why all you get is 6mil clear plastic and radioactive gas in the basement.  Same reason you have 2x4 exterior walls with R13 batts and a huge heating bill in the winter.  Sad... but true. 

I'm sure Whatver your wild guess at what you thought it would cost will be like 7 grand more.

 

Peoples heads spin when they are told 12k to 15k

 

As far as flooring goes. Carpet is fine if you lay down DRICORE first. This way if you have a little flood or condensation it doesn't touch the carpet. And the wood is soft on the feet

I find carpet will hold that basement smell of moisture... Go with tile. With gravity every over flowed tub/sink/toilet/washer will end up in the basement.

 

I laid down 1500 feet of carpet 2 weeks before hurricane sandy. It didn't stand a chance... She was floating in 12 inches of water before ever being vacuumed.... Has not flooded since but I replaced with tile and area rugs... Never looked back..

Shingles N' Things out of Wayne 973.839.8333 Been using them for years, not cheap but not real expensive either...I have before/after pics of my basement if you'd like.

If you really want some carpet, I'd go with tole and put an area rug over it. Anything on the slab that will trap water isn't good.

Thanks for all the suggestions. Tiles and area rugs seem to be best combination and practical (cleanup with dogs and all). 

Praszek Renovations - 908-307-4897

 

Kamil is a really good dude. He does a lot of basement work in Somerset Co. I am an Architect and do the drawings for him sometimes.

 

Basements are fairly simple, but if you are going to do it right, you will need permits. The local Building Department will require signed and sealed drawings for the layout especially plumbing and electrical changes. They also require combustion air calculation to ensure that your furnace and other NG burning equipment in the basement have enough fresh air to keep the burn clean and not produce too much CO. Some towns are more hardcore than others.

 

Shoot me a PM if you need an Architect.

+1 for Kamil. I was doing his electric up until this past year (career change). He's a great guy and does nice work.

+1 for Kamil. I was doing his electric up until this past year (career change). He's a great guy and does nice work.

 

Small fucking world!

Small fucking world!

 

Yes, yes it is.