Does your house have a basement?
Due to our hilly terrain, many East Tennessee homes do. But many of them are “unfinished”, meaning they may not have finished walls, electrical, plumbing or other essentials to make them livable.
So, they become dark, sketchy underground caverns used mostly for storage – a place we don’t go unless we have to.
The National Association of Realtors reports that taking this underutilized space and transforming it for living is one of the better investments you can make in your home. In its Remodeling Impact Report, the Association estimates that 64% of basement finishing costs are recovered in the home’s sale — one of the highest percentages in the 20 popular home improvement projects they looked at.
Perhaps most importantly, homeowners were really glad they did it, giving basement finishing a joy score of 9.5 out of 10. In a Remodeling 2018 survey, full-service remodeling firms list basement finishing in their top five most popular jobs.
Costs can vary widely based on differences in basement conditions and construction as well as the scope of design and finish possibilities. Let’s examine the components of a basement finishing project, outlining the necessities for any finished basement.
- Moisture Control
It is imperative to eliminate any existing moisture problems. Water issues can be as cheap and easy to solve as proper gutter maintenance and improving ventilation, or require pricier solutions like foundation repairs. You must address all water problems — no matter how icky — because you do not want to install lovely and expensive finishing work atop them. - Stairs
Basement stairs are often bare-bones, unattractive and, unfortunately, not within code for a finished space. Upgrading the stairs to code may include widening or changing steps and adding handrails or a landing. - Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning
Finished basements are required to have heating as well as return air, so the Air Conditioning Contractors of America recommends first contacting an HVAC professional to get a load calculation of your present system. This will help you decide whether to modify your existing furnace to include the new living area or add a supplemental one. - Electrical, Gas and Plumbing
Finished basements require quite a few dedicated electrical circuits, depending on the number of rooms and appliances. If you’re adding a gas appliance, you’ll need to extend your gas line. Bathrooms, kitchens and laundry areas require plumbing — hot water, cold water and drainage.These are just a few of the major considerations in refinishing your basement. Let us help you.
Under the experienced leadership of Matt Garrett, Garrett Construction and Roofing has been serving the East Tennessee area since 2005. We are a licensed General Contractor and our general services range from full residential and commercial construction projects to excavation, remodeling, painting, drywall, roofing gutters. We also help with disaster recovery with experienced teams available to address fire and water damage.
CONTACT GARRETT CONSTRUCTION AND ROOFING TODAY | KNOXVILLE’S REMODELING EXPERTS
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