Basement Development: Preparing for construction to start

When my husband and I built our current home, we were moving from a fully developed bungalow into a two-storey home.  We had developed our basement in our bungalow however in our new home, my husband was adamant that we were not going to do a basement development.  He felt we had plenty of room.  I have always felt that our home was never fully finished and I am happy to report after sixteen years, we are going to be starting our own basement development in a few weeks.

Basement Development

I have treated our basement development like I would any new client that I work with.  I created two options for my husband to review and from there, we would create a final plan.  There were a few things we needed to work around:

• When we built our home, we had the washer and dryer installed in the basement and had a laundry chute installed.  The current laundry room is in our mechanical room and as such, that will stay in the existing location.
• When we built our home, we had the rough-in plumbing installed in our basement for a future bathroom.  The location of the rough-in plumbing is where we will build our bathroom.
• Duct work.  We will have 2 areas in our home where we will have a bulkhead that I can not work around.

The Plan

Getting Ready

There are a number of things we need to do to get ready to frame.  The first and foremost job on our list is to clean out our basement - completely!  Although my hubby seems to think we can work around a 'few things' down there, I am being adamant that everything get removed.  The process of going through our items downstairs is a quick one for me as I am not a saver nor am I one to have sentimental attachment to items.  What was stored under our stairs (that has been there since we built our home and moved in) will not be coming back into the house.  When it comes to 'stuff', I'm just a firm believer in a couple of things:

• If you don't use it don't keep it.
• If it is important to you then you should have it out to enjoy or use it.

Basement Development: Moving Forward

As we get ready to frame our basement, all of our plumbing has been finalized and ordered (so it will be here for plumbing rough-ins).  I'll be updating you on the process, what we have chosen for our basement and of course, how the entire project is going.  So far, here is the rough outline:

1. Finalize design plan.
2. Source and purchase fixtures needed.
3. Clear out basement.
4. Frame.
5. Rough in plumbing.
6. Rough in electrical.
7. Drywall.
8. Prime and paint.
9. Floor install.
10. Final millwork.
11. Final electrical.
12. Final plumbing.
13. Paint touch ups and final paint.
14. Install of furniture and décor items.

I look forward to sharing my own basement renovation project with you.

Having a design plan for your upcoming renovation will save you money!  By planning it out ahead of time, all decisions will be confident ones!  Contact me today to discuss your next renovation project.