February « 2010 « Basement Remodeling

February 25, 2010

Choosing a basement remodeling contractor

Filed under: Uncategorized — Basements @ 11:19 pm

Finding a trustworthy, reliable, quality contractor to finish you basement can be difficult. After all finishing a basement is a big job and you want a contractor that has a lot of experience dealing with basement remodeling. There are a few things to consider when hiring your basement contractor.

Here are some basic questions to ask the basement contractor:

How long have you been in business?

Do you have liability insurance and workers compensation coverage on your employees?

Will you provide the proper building permits?

Will you assist with basement designs and create custom drawings for the job?

Does your pricing include all labor and materials for the project?

What is the standard warranty period?

How long will it take to complete the project?

Will I be provided a project manager or who will be the available for communication of any issues?

Do you have any references and jobs we can go visit? ( This one is very important )

Everyone always says “You need to check references”. I find that most people don’t. I’m not sure if they if they just don’t want to bother people on the reference list or if they are nervous to talk to strangers. Who knows. The one thing I do know is that if you don’t talk to people that have had work done by the contractor you are considering using then you are not getting the full story on what to expect. Take the time to call those references and pick the most recent ones if possible. Ask the contractors previous clients:

Did they do a good job?

Did they keep within the budgeted estimate?

Was it a high quality finished product?

Did you get everything you expected?

Did they finish the project on time?

Did they keep the jobsite as clean as possible? ( They should be treating your home like their own )

Were their workers and subcontractors friendly and polite? ( They should treat your family with kindness and respect )

Would you use them again?

and last

Can I come to see the finished basement job?

Some people will not want a stranger coming into their home to see their basement. My experience is if the homeowners are happy with the quality and they like the contractor they used they will be more than happy to have you over to see the finished project.

These tips should help you narrow you search down to a few good contractors. Good luck.

For more information on basement remodeling visit BasementSource.com

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February 24, 2010

Basement bars

Filed under: Appliances, Basement bars, Basement remodeling design and planning, Cabinets, Ceramic Tile, basement remodeling costs, basement remodeling images — Tags: bars, basement bar, basement design, basement ideas, basement plans, basement remodeling, basement remodeling images, Cabinets, columbus, finished basements, ohio — Basements @ 10:00 pm

The top three items people want when remodeling their basement. Home theaters, bathrooms and bars. A basement bar adds a nice touch to a finished basement. It can make a simple snack area for your home theater or an exciting place to entertain friends and hang out to watch a football game on the big screen. Whatever it is you need, it can be done. The biggest factor when creating a basement bar is budget. By time you add cabinets, countertops, tile, appliances, etc the cost can add up very quickly. You need to figure out what the primary use of the bar will be and try to set your budget accordingly.

A simple basement bar could be made up with several different cabinets choices for the floor and the wall cabinets. You could use a midrange quality cabinet with a laminate top. You can use an inexpensive sink and faucet to make it a wet bar. Depending on budget you can add a tile floor or backsplash. If that’s not in the budget just paint the drywall behind the bar and carpet up to the cabinets. You can always add the tile work later down the road. The average cost of a simple basement bar would be around $2,500-$4,500 depending on your selections and feature

Basement bar with undercabinet lights, a mini frige and wine fridge but no sink

: Bar with mini fridge, wine fridge, and sink

An custom bar would usually consist of higher end cabinets, granite countertops and be slightly larger or have an actual wrap around bar for seating. The cabinet choices for this type of bar would vary greatly. You could also dress up the cabinets with different types of decorative moldings. This would be the type of bar for entertaining guests at a party. You would basically have all the features of your kitchen. This bar would not only have a sink and faucet but it would have a disposal, dishwasher, refrigerator, wine fridge, microwave and more. You would complete the bar with floor tile and an interesting tile backsplash accent complete with under cabinet lighting to highlight the features in your design. You could have different levels to the bar or add pendant lighting above. You could build in flat screen TV’s or fish tanks in the wall. There is many different ways you can make your bar stand out above the rest. the average cost of a custom basement bar will start around $5,000 and go up from there. For more information on basement remodeling visit BasementSource.com

Basement bar with full fridge, microwave, wine rack, undercabinet lights, tile backsplash, and more

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Finish your basement with less dust and save your furnace

Filed under: Basement remodeling design and planning, HVAC (Heating & Cooling), Products and Supplies, basement ideas — Tags: Basement, basement ideas, basement plans, basement remodeling, basement remodeling pictures — Basements @ 7:13 pm

When finishing a basement there is going to be dust spread throughout the house. It travels through the air and in the vents and on the shoes of the workers coming in and out of the basement. It comes mainly from rough framing, concrete demolition, installing insulation, drywall, interior trim and painting. There are ways you can help control the levels of dust in your home during the project.

Keep the dust down

Make sure that you or your basement contractor take these steps before starting the remodeling work.

Move all personal belongings out of the basement. If there is no room and they have to stay in the basement move them into an area that is not being finished and cover them well with plastic. It’s also good to hang plastic over the crawl space openings and Install a wall of plastic around the mechanicals area (furnace, hot water tank, etc.). Make sure when you do this that you leave enough room for the furnace and other gas appliances to breath. Stay at least 4 ft away from all of the mechanicals. You can also buy a system called a ZipWall that makes it easy to block off areas from dust.

Make sure the door at the top of the stairs is always kept closed when not in use. Open a basement window and place a fan in the window blowing out. This will create a vacuum in the room and blow a majority of the dust outside. Then when the door on the upstairs is opened the dust in the air will be drawn down and out the fan in the basement window instead of upstairs.

When installing the return air lines in the basement make sure you stuff a towel into the opening or tape them off with duct tape. Otherwise your sending all that dust and debris straight into the furnace and throughout your home. Make sure to remove the towel or tape when the basement remodeling is complete then you can install the return air grills

Change your furnace filter several times throughout the project. It is best to change the filter once after the drywall is done, after the painting and after carpet and your final cleaning. This will help cut down on dust in the upstairs and save your furnace. When all that dust gets into the furnace it gets into the blower motor and burns it up.

And finally when your basement is done hire a professional duct cleaning company. They will come and vacuum out the all the construction dust in the air supply and return lines in your furnace. Otherwise you might be seeing dust in your house for the next several months after the project is completed.

For more information on basement remodeling explore BasementSource.com

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February 14, 2010

If you need basement remodeling ideas try google images or a basement remodeling book

If you are getting ready to finish your basement ? check out google images for ideas but try this basement remodeling book for all your answers.

basement remodeling home theater dublin ohio

They are both a great place to find ideas for finishing your basement. If the project is a ” Do it yourself ” remodeling job or your hiring a contractor you should really check out the following book:

” Basement Ideas That Work“

I recommend it to customers who are still looking for ideas and its a must have for anyone who is planning on finishing a basement on their own.

This book has all types of tips, tricks, plans and more about finishing a basement

Otherwise you need to hire a basement contractor or design expert to guide you through the process.

Whether its google images or the book you will be able to see what some of the latest trends in basement remodeling are along with samples of home theaters, bathrooms, wet bars, playrooms, fitness areas, built ins, basement flooring, basement remodeling plans and much more. You can find other basement remodeling books at the BasementSource.

Both are helpful tools for creating the layout of your space because you can see ideas that have worked for others. Helping you choose style, colors, textures and much more.

If you need a basement remodeling contractor in Columbus Ohio and surrounding areas contact us.

Thanks.

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