With cold and wet weather limiting the time your family can spend outside, wouldn’t it be great to have additional space in your home?
The room you’re looking for may be right beneath you. Even if your basement has had problems with water, mold or mildew in the past, transforming it into a space your family can enjoy for many years won’t be as difficult as you think. Our pros at Guardian Basement Waterproofing recommend starting your basement remodeling journey by setting your goals.
Step 1: Evaluate your space and set goals.
What would you like to accomplish with a basement remodel? Are you looking for a place where your younger kids can take out their toys and expend some energy? Do your pre-teens and teens want a place where they can hang out with their friends? Does your 20-something need an apartment while he/she looks for a job? Do you simply desire an adult refuge where you can entertain your own friends?
Home improvement magazines, websites and TV shows are a great place to get ideas for a basement remodeling project. When you see something you like online, bookmark it on a site like Pinterest for quick and easy reference.
Take into account how you’re using the basement space today. After you remodel, will you still need the laundry area, the workbench or the storage space for Christmas decorations? Don’t forget to add these existing usages into your design plans.
Step 2. Plan your work
If money is tight, remodel your basement in stages.
Begin by addressing any water or moisture issues. Even if you don’t have water coming in when it rains hard, mold and/or mildew on the walls can be an indication that there’s moisture problem. Fortunately, that doesn’t mean an end to your remodeling plans. Guardian Basement Waterproofing is an expert at Maryland basement waterproofing, and we’ll get your room prepared for whatever you’d like to do.
Don’t skip this step! You don’t want to spend money putting in new walls, floors and ceilings only to discover a year later that they’re covered in mold.
Determine exactly what you want to do in your basement. For example, do you need to build walls to subdivide the space? Do you want to build in storage closets or convert your room into a media center? All of these factors should go into your design.
If you’ve got to spread out your work, try to think which changes will allow you to use the space as soon as possible. For example, you may want to concentrate on redoing the basement walls as a first step and simply paint the cement floor and add inexpensive area rugs until you can afford the flooring you really want.
Step 3. DIY or Contractors?
If you’re handy with tools and have some remodeling experience, a basement is a doable project. But making it a DIY may limit your choices of materials. Some popular basement finishing systems, for example, are only sold through contractors.
While you can save significant money by doing the remodel yourself, the DIY route also demands a good bit of your free time that you might not have.
Step 4: Choose your materials.
There are many choices for materials in basement remodeling. Do you want to finish the walls with a special system or with drywall? Do you want to tile or carpet the floor? Install a drop ceiling or use drywall? Do you need soundproofing?
As an expert in basement waterproofing in Maryland, we’ll be glad to offer you some of our observations on what works well in that space.
As you’re investigating your choices, remember that every type of materials has pros and cons; talk to people representing different solutions so that you can get a balanced view.
Step 5. Enjoy your space!
Whether your basement takes a few weeks to remodel or is a year-long (or longer) project, the time, effort and money you put into the transformation will be worth it. When you finish, you’ll have a room that you and your family can enjoy and use for years to come.
With more than 40 years of experience in the industry in both residential and commercial waterproofing; serving the Maryland Metropolitan area and Pennsylvania. Guardian has a proven record of expertise and excellent customer service. Our staff are trained and skilled technicians that work to permanently stop foundation water leaks. Guardian installs state of the art systems and specializes in basement waterproofing, basement finishing, crawl space waterproofing, repair and foundation repair.
