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Partially finished basement
Sorry this is long.... So my basement is the bain of my existence. I work from home (currently from my kitchen 
) and I would love to use it as an office/guest room.
We bought our house 4 years ago, and haven't really touched the basement, aside from painting. Originally the "bedroom" in the basement was going to be my husband's mancave. He never goes down there, so he lost his mancave. It's a really nice sized room, probably a 15-20ft square room (I don't know and can't find my measuring tape at the moment). So here's my problems. The previous owners "finished" half of it and it was a half-commitment at best.
- They put peel and stick tiles on the concrete floor, so they crackle when you walk on them. I have a large rug over them, but it's a minimal improvement.
- There is only one window that doesn't let in a lot of light, but there are 3 lighting fixtures on the ceiling, only one actually works. Two aren't even hooked up to electric anymore.
- BUGS & RODENTS! Camel Crickets (if you don't know what these are, you're lucky), spiders, flies. I have no idea where these things have gotten in at, but I HATE them. (I'm actually calling an exterminator for this issue). I know bugs and rodents are a fact of life, but the amount of crickets I've killed, mice we've trapped, and holes we've patched to keep them from getting in, is ridiculous.
The unfinished half is a laundry/utility area. But in order for the finished room to count as a bedroom where I live, it has to remain open to this unfinished area because that's the only means of escape (there's a door to the backyard on this side).
- It has a great shelving system, but the drywall was never mudded, taped, etc.
- It has the green astro-turf carpet over the concrete floors.
- This room has the AC/Heat unit and water heater in it.
So here's my questions. Do you guys have any suggestions that are cheaper options for me to make this basement liveable? I'd love for it to actually feel cozy and we'd have a guestroom and I could have a functioning office. Like I said, I'm in the process of getting an exterminator in to figure out this pest issue. But I need to know if there is something we can do to make this space a little better without breaking the bank. We're talking about being out of this house in 2-3 years, but having this space would add so much sq footage that is just storage space right now because we can't stand to be in there. I've kicked around doing cork flooring, but it's too expensive. Our basement has never flooded or had water seeping in that I can tell since we've been here, but I don't know if it would, so I'm leery of putting carpeting in. I'd love any ideas you have.
Re: Partially finished basement
This sounds a lot like my basement.
1. Peel and stick tiles are generally tacky but you can find nicer ones that still keep your project in budget. They are an easy DIY project. Also, check out carpet tiles, if there was a leak you can pick up only the damaged section and replace.Our basement doesn't gather water and we have a Shockvac (sp?) so I am considering W2W industrial carpeting.
2. Taping and plastering the drywall is not that hard. It's not fun and it makes a mess with all the sanding but I would consider it a DIY project.
3. A light fixture can be installed yourself and they are cheap if you want to add fixtures. Floor lamps can be purchased cheaply at places like IKEA too. Plus the right paint color can make it seem brighter.
4. Can you put up a curtain between the living area and the storage/utility? That way it isn't closed off but it is hidden. I have one up and it's usually open because I am carrying a hamper or basket but it's a quick fix when we are entertaining.
5. Good luck!
I hate the peel and stick tiles. I think the reason they crackle is because the floor is just the bare concrete underneath. I don't think they even tried to level it or anything before putting them down. The house was built in 1948, so I doubt the floor in the basement is level/flat.
With carpet tiles, do you know if you have to put some kind of a pad down under them? Or do they have a built in pad?
I've considered taping and mudding the unfinished drywall. It doesn't bother me as much, since it is on the utility side of the basement. I don't know if it's really worth all the mess I'm going to make and the time/effort.
I'm scared to work on anything electric in my house. I have no knowledge of how to do it properly, so I don't want to take it on. I've been after my husband (an industrial mechanic *insert eye roll here for how much he complains about house projects*) to take down the extra lighting fixtures and put up a new one if I can find one I like, but he's very anti-spending any money to fix the basement.
I like the curtain idea. I may do that. I have a few old curtains from my last apartment around here somewhere. I just have to find them.
I guess my first project is to get the basement completely clean and get an exterminator in here... I had a chipmunk run across my foot today while trying to do laundry.... And I was "attacked" by about 4 camel crickets.
My Blog:Through My Eyes
Well first obviously would be getting the pest situation figured out. That obviously cannot be fixed with decorating.
As for the walls, a cheap option would be to insulate (they have cheaper foam boards that work great and are cheap at home depot. Then frame and put up bead boarding. My parents have done this with their basements for as long as I can remember since my dad hates finishing drywall. The ceiling (I'm assuming it's open, not a dropped ceiling) can actually just be spray painted black. We did this in our old basement due to low ceilings and it turned out great and made the space feel bigger. Then just rip up the cheapo peel and stick tiles and have some cheap carpet laid. If you have water issues, try getting the basement sealed, but if its not bad and not workth the cost, just lay a thinner carpet (think berber) without a pad. It'll dry with fans/dehumidifiers in the case it does get wet. I'd also higher an electrician to install some good lighting....even CAM lights can be fairly cheap and make the room look a lot brighter and nicer.
Another option, although it'll cost a bit more, would be to add an egress window. It would be about $1,000 for the window and maybe another $500 to have it installed, but if would do two things....one, obviously give you a lot of extra natural light, and two, make it a legit bedroom. Not sure about the laws where you live, but in Ohio to be considered a bedroom it would actually have to have an escape IN the bedroom, not right outside. It also have to have a closet. I would think the cost of doing this upgrade would increase the house value enough to cover it.
The basement is wired properly for electric. The only thing I would have to do is take down the 2 light fixtures that aren't hooked up to live wires anymore and change the one fixture that is. I've heard it's simple to change a light fixture, I've just never done it myself. I always call my FIL to do it. LOL
I think I'm leaning towards carpet tiles/squares. I did a bunch of researching yesterday for how to install them and the different types.
There is a window in the room, it is just mostly glass block. And even if it wasn't, it wouldn't count as an escape route in my state. I've heard the window has to be big enough for a fireman to crawl in or out with gear on (that probably isn't the technical statute/regulation, but that's how it was explained to me). They do count the door on the opposite side of the basement as an escape route, if the rooms stay open to each other because it's only maybe 10 ft from the "bedroom" doorway. Unfortunately making it a real egressed window with enough room, is out of the question. The window with how little it is egressed now, cuts into our driveway. Our driveway is already too narrow for any vehicle bigger than a compact to be parked in it. So taking more space from the driveway just wouldn't work. Unfortunately where we live (sort of the outskirts of the city, not quite suburb but not in the city), our neighbors are very very close to us, so there's no room to expand our driveway either.
TCsbride, when you painted the ceiling, did you have to go through and clean it, or did you just spray over whatever may have been on the pipes etc? Someone told me the only way to get decent looking coverage is to really clean all the surfaces. With how many pipes, beams and ducts we have running down there, there's no way I'd be able to clean it all. I can understand removing cobwebs and things like that.
Now my big problem is to get my husband to realize that this is something we can/should sink a little money into. Like I said before, he's very against spending any money on this house considering we're planning on selling in the next few years, if the market turns. The house is already too small for us (myself, hubby and our son is almost a year old), so I agree I don't want to throw too much money into the house. But I feel like our chances of selling for closer to what we owe depends on us making some upgrades. Like a lot of people we're underwater, so putting money into our house doesn't seem like the best investment sometimes.
Uhhhgggg. So frustrating. Having the space but not being able to use it stinks.
I would focus on the lights first and then the drywall. That could make a world of difference and give you the most value if you sell your house down the road.
I finished my basement two years ago and had a great time learning to do by do some small electrical and drywall projects. I put a bunch of pics on my pinterest board if you want to get some great ideas. http://pinterest.com/basementjm/
Good Luck!
Jason
The good news, I've convinced my husband that it won't be too expensive and it'll be a good investment in our home! So now I just have to get the money together and get started.
TC'sBride- Good to know that's really all it took. I'm really eager to paint the ceiling and get started on that side of the basement. I think it's going to be the side that takes a lot more work, just because it's my storage/junk area. It's stuff we actually need and use, so I can't get rid of it, but we don't have room to keep it out. So it'll be a lot of moving boxes and things to get to work in there.
Jason- Yes, it's very frustrating not being able to use the space, especially when we've outgrown our house already after just 4 years of being here. I love your Pinterest board, you have a lot of really great ideas that I wish I had the time/money to put in. But I'll definitely look at it for some inspiration.