Planning out a basement renovation can be exciting. After all, just like the attic, this is a room with many potentials. The trick is utilizing it right and organizing a renovation the right way. To this end, here’s what to consider when planning a basement renovation.
The base concept
The first of the things to consider when planning a basement renovation is what your goal with it is. In other words, what sort of renovation do you want to do? After all, you can use a basement for many things. It can be a room for recreation and relaxation. Or a space for storing supplies and other short- and long-term items. Or you can transform it into a brand-new bedroom that’s surprisingly luxurious! And you need to try and find the perfect home improvement direction for your basement to make the best use of the space!
The floor plan and room layout
If your basement is large enough, then one of the things to consider when planning a basement renovation is how you want to divide the space. You can, naturally, just leave everything in one large room. Still, if you want to take advantage of a larger basement, then it may be wise to divide it into one ‘main’ area and some storage rooms, for example.
What you can DIY
While it’s fine to think about home renovations that add the most value and then try to enhance their profitability through DIY projects, renovating your basement is not something you’ll be able to do entirely on your own. Or, instead, if it’s a minor renovation, you can probably pull it off. For anything more significant, such as completely overhauling the room and changing it to serve a different purpose, like switching from storage to a living or bedroom, you want professionals backing you up. There’s just too much you can potentially mess up and get wrong to risk doing everything yourself!
Ideal timeline
Once you’ve decided on the previous, your next step would be to set up your ‘ideal timeline.’ In other words, how long you are willing to let the renovation drag on. A ‘short’ and a ‘long’ renovation have advantages and faults. A short renovation requires a lot of money upfront. But you can do it quickly, and you wouldn’t need to put up with having a part of your home pretty much inaccessible. A longer one would let you save money and invest in renovation when you can. However, it might pose other requirements, such as renting portable storage containers to have your things close by during the renovation.
Setting a budget
Once you have that figured out, you’ll be more or less ready to set a budget you can stick to. After all, the extent of your DIY, the intended renovations, and the project’s duration significantly impact the money required to finish the project. And while there are ways to save money on your home renovation, it is rare to spend less than you’d initially thought. So, make sure to leave yourself enough money on the side to plug any unexpected holes in your budget.
Foundation concerns
Finishing the planning phase is all fine and well. However, you need to pay a lot of attention to the condition of your basement before renovation. Frequently appearing mold and high humidity can point to cracks in your home’s foundation and water seeping through them. That would significantly impact your renovation efforts and the longevity of any completed renovations. So, consider getting a professional home inspector to check everything for you.
Add in storage space
Whatever else you want to add to your basement, one of the things to consider when planning a basement renovation is planning out some storage space for it. After all, having extra storage space in your home is always invaluable. And you will likely regret it if you don’t leave some space aside for this purpose in your basement. Even if you plan to make it a spare bedroom, it can still serve as part storage when you are not using it! That goes double if your renovation displaces many things formerly stored in your basement. You’ll end up with nowhere to put them when done otherwise!
Soundproofing
Soundproofing might not be necessary, depending on the type of room you want your basement to turn into. After all, a room used purely for storage does not need it. However, for anything else, soundproofing your basement is invaluable. After all, even if all people do is walk around on the floor above, the acoustics of a basement will likely make the resulting sounds quite loud. If someone is to have their bedroom in the basement, they would not be able to function correctly without soundproofing.
Flooring options
You must carefully consider what sort of flooring you want in your basement. Some types of flooring, such as wood, require a lot of care and upkeep. Especially if your basement is one of the more humid examples of its kind, something like tiles or vinyl will work much better. However, basement tile flooring would likely result in a rather chilly experience that necessitates slippers.
A chat with a Licensed Electrical Contractor
If you are planning to transform your basement from a simple storage affair to a full-on entertainment center, then one of the things to consider when planning a basement renovation is hiring the services of a licensed electrical contractor. That is because you’d need to seriously improve your wiring in the room and might even need to have a new electrical panel installed.
Final comment
Now that you know what to consider when planning a basement renovation, it will be much easier. Remember to keep your vision of your ideal basement in mind from the start, and work on making it come true!