How To Renovate An Unfinished Basement

Renovating an unfinished basement is always a good idea, as it will raise the property value of your house in addition to removing an eyesore. It can require a lot of planning and customizing designs that are specific to your own desires, but in the end it’s unequivocally worth it. You can ultimately turn your unfinished basement into an aesthetically pleasing, functional living space in 2024.

The Layout

The first step is important to have good foresight and to recognize what type of basement you would like to have: a storage area or a comfortable lounge. Once that is decided you need to figure out your layout design.

If you choose to have a lounge where you may have company over, you should put the main socializing area in a space that gets the best natural light in order to draw people in, as basements can get pretty gloomy. The TV area can obviously be in a darker zone in order to limit glare and create a home-theatre feeling to it.  It’s also a good idea to keep any food and beverages in a spot that’s easily accessible to your entertainment area, although not completely necessary.

Framing

The first step of framing is to make a scale drawing of your plans, followed by submitting it to your local building inspections department. Your proposal should include wall proportions, window and door dimensions, and what each room’s purpose is.  A few major things to consider is finishing against walls without creating moisture issues, as well as framing around obstructions like posts, heating ducts or load bearing walls.  

Power

It would be a prudent idea to have both a battery backup for your main pump, in addition to a second pump in case of a power outage. Another thing to consider is if your house is hooked up to a public water supply, you should definitely invest in a water-powered secondary pump that’s powered by pressure in the supply line. And lastly, another power saving tip are slip foam insulation sleeves that cover hot-water pipes to avoid heat loss, and conversely over cold-water sleeves to prevent condensation.

How to renovate an unfinished basement is not an easy task but the potential is there to make something beautiful and definitely should not be neglected.