'Tis the Season to Finish Your Basement
As the holidays approach, there's a good chance you're preparing for the descent of out of town family and friends. Your son home from college, your grandmother flying in from Florida, your best friend coming home from the west coast.
And they all need somewhere to stay.
Your house feels a lot smaller all of a sudden, huh?
While you may have a guest room and the finest pull-out sofa east of the Mississippi, the average home only has so much extra space, and much of that space isn't the most convenient at a time when there's much to do and stress is high.
An excellent solution that many people take advantage of is to finish their basement. Suddenly that dark, spidery space is clean and bright and the size of a small apartment. You can go about your morning routine without grandma underfoot!
But it's not as easy as throwing down some carpet and drywall and calling it a day. Well, you could, but if you have any water problems, you might as well just throw some cash into the woodchipper because flooding in a finished basement will wreck your drywall, carpet, and any other fancy features you installed.
By taking a few steps before toting a roll of carpet down the stairs, you can ensure that your basement is dry before finishing and will be dry all the time.
1. Drainage System and Sump Pump
A drainage system like our patented WaterGuard, along with a sump pump, will help direct the water to your discharge lines (more on that later) and prevent it from flooding the basement.
It's not enough to have proper discharge lines (10 feet, sloped, with a daylight end point) to direct the water away from your home. The lines also need to be winterized to prevent them from freezing over. Otherwise, water will back up when it hits the ice-clogged line and you're back to having a flooded basement. Our IceGuard system prevents this by allowing water an escape path in the event of a frozen line.
Even the most waterproofed basement can have problems with ambient moisture, especially with the concrete block construction of many Michigan basements. The very nature of being below grade and surrounded by soil means that your basement is susceptible to moisture and all of the problems it brings, including mold and humidity.
By installing a vapor barrier system, like our ThermalDry system, it will not only protect the basement from water vapor, but also reflect heat back into the room. Instead of mold building up between the finished walls and concrete, you'll have cozy insulation that also keeps the room dry.
As for flooring, put down that roll of carpet (I hope you haven't been holding it this whole time), because we offer many options that provide a variety of finishes, install in a matter of minutes, and are waterproof. Many also provide for a thermal break that causes their surface to be 8-10 degrees warmer than the concrete below. Go ahead, walk around in your socks, Grandma.
4. Windows
We talked about this last week: If you need a basement window, you need to hire a basement company. And if you want to turn your basement into a bedroom, building codes require that it contains a window.
Our EverLast basement windows are energy efficient and designed not to rot, rust, or decay.
Plus, look how pretty:
So if you spent last Thanksgiving wishing there was somewhere more private and less in your way to house your houseguests, make this the year that you get your basement in shape.
