If you’ve ever had a house, you are probably very aware that basements can provide one of the most challenging renovating troubles within the whole house. Basements are sometimes the most neglected area of a home, remaining not finished for many years because the prices of remodeling are believed to be excessive for what is gotten from this. Nonetheless, this does not always have to be the truth. If you take your time and efforts with the house restorations, basements may be turned into more comfortable living spaces that can very easily double the size of your living space.

If you are interested in how basements may be reformed to become more comfortable living spaces, there are several things which you really need to don’t forget. In order for a basement to be more comfortable, you need to carefully consider all potential problems and take away all of them before you begin your remodeling. A lot of people do not want to renovate because there are sometimes some form of structural concern found which significantly raises the expenses of renovation. However, this is the complete wrong way to consider. In basements, it is crucial that you repair any leaks even if you’re not planning to renovate, along with ensure that your basement is definitely well insulated. Repairing leaks makes certain that there’s no build-up of mold within your basement. Mold may be very dangerous to your overall health, and also to the health of your spouse and children and pets. Additionally , fixing leaks may also help regulate the temperature in your basement. If moisture can seep into the walls, the exterior temperature is as well able to work through your walls. Doing these kinds of fixes also can ensure that your foundation will be sound, which is a very important part of your house.

Once you’ve completed improvements, what you can do with basements is just limited by your creativity. With regards to the size of your basement, you can turn the space into living quarters for wife and kids or guests, an home theatre area, a den, library or even a study. Although many people view basements as dark, depressing places, using sun lights and bright colors can change a basement into a comfortable location to be in. Normally, it doesn’t take very much to enhance the overall look of your basement.

When completing basements, make sure you make the effort to take away as much concrete as you possibly can. Concrete is typically cold and hard under the feet and visually unappealing. Putting hardwood or floor tile over concrete is just one of many different ways that you can quickly improve the appeal of your own home. A completed basement has the advantage of increasing the common home value of your home.

To do the basement sub-floor, I’m using a product called Delta-FL, which I picked up at Rona. It’s basically a big roll of dimpled plastic, which sits on top of the basement slab and acts as a vapour barrier, adds an air gap that helps insulate the floor, and also raises the floor up off the ground to avoid water damage in case there is a tiny amount of water. On top of this, I’m putting 5/8? OSB, and then using tap-cons to secure the OSB to the floor. Although you can put some flooring (eg, laminate) directly on top of the Delta-FL, I was a bit worried about doing that since there are a couple places that aren’t totally level – the OSB lets me even them out and get very close to perfectly level.

Once very nice thing about this flooring system is the minimal height it requires. Since my basement is a bit short (7′ 3? unfinished floor to joists, 6′ 6? unfinished floor to heating ducts), I wanted to keep as much of that as possible. The total height is just over 1?, so it really isn’t bad.

I have a 12? piece of vapour barrier plastic underneath all the exterior framed walls. I called the manufacturer of Delta-FL to check what the best way of dealing with that was, and they advised me to tape the barrier directly to the Delta-FL, forming basically a complete seal around the walls. I used tuck tape to do this, and tape all the pieces together. I had to cut a couple holes out to fit the floor drain, toilet drain, and a jack post in the middle of the basement.

I worked in sections, putting a couple strips of Delta-FL down, and then laying the OSB on top of it, and connecting the grooves up. Once I had a couple pieces of OSB down, I would take some tap-cons and secure down the first row – I found it was much harder to get the tongue and groves of the OSB to connect up, if one of the pieces was already screwed down. I left 1/8? gap between all the pieces of OSB, and the exterior framing. I was also careful to stagger all the sheets of OSB, so all of the ends are offset, forming stronger joints.

For the floor drain, I just made some careful measurements and then used my jigsaw to cut out a hole.

The toilet drain happened to line up with the edge of a piece of OSB, which made cutting the hole much easier. As you can see above, I also made sure the jack post was on an edge, so I only had to cut a U shape out of one piece – the other just butts up against the edge.

Though I don’t plan on doing anything with the crawlspace floor, I did put the sub-floor into the door opening, to make it easier to put the door on, as well as to hide the edge of the floor from the finished basement.

Today it is -10° Celsius out, and the surface temperature of the unfinished floor in the crawlspace is 9°, while the surface temperature of the OSB is 14°. The basement walls are still uninsulated, so this may not be overly conclusive, but it does show that it makes a difference.

Update: My girlfriend says “the basement floor feels much warmer now”. I guess that’s conclusive.

View the original article here

To do the basement sub-floor, I’m using a product called Delta-FL, which I picked up at Rona. It’s basically a big roll of dimpled plastic, which sits on top of the basement slab and acts as a vapour barrier, adds an air gap that helps insulate the floor, and also raises the floor up off the ground to avoid water damage in case there is a tiny amount of water. On top of this, I’m putting 5/8? OSB, and then using tap-cons to secure the OSB to the floor. Although you can put some flooring (eg, laminate) directly on top of the Delta-FL, I was a bit worried about doing that since there are a couple places that aren’t totally level – the OSB lets me even them out and get very close to perfectly level.

Once very nice thing about this flooring system is the minimal height it requires. Since my basement is a bit short (7′ 3? unfinished floor to joists, 6′ 6? unfinished floor to heating ducts), I wanted to keep as much of that as possible. The total height is just over 1?, so it really isn’t bad.

I have a 12? piece of vapour barrier plastic underneath all the exterior framed walls. I called the manufacturer of Delta-FL to check what the best way of dealing with that was, and they advised me to tape the barrier directly to the Delta-FL, forming basically a complete seal around the walls. I used tuck tape to do this, and tape all the pieces together. I had to cut a couple holes out to fit the floor drain, toilet drain, and a jack post in the middle of the basement.

I worked in sections, putting a couple strips of Delta-FL down, and then laying the OSB on top of it, and connecting the grooves up. Once I had a couple pieces of OSB down, I would take some tap-cons and secure down the first row – I found it was much harder to get the tongue and groves of the OSB to connect up, if one of the pieces was already screwed down. I left 1/8? gap between all the pieces of OSB, and the exterior framing. I was also careful to stagger all the sheets of OSB, so all of the ends are offset, forming stronger joints.

For the floor drain, I just made some careful measurements and then used my jigsaw to cut out a hole.

The toilet drain happened to line up with the edge of a piece of OSB, which made cutting the hole much easier. As you can see above, I also made sure the jack post was on an edge, so I only had to cut a U shape out of one piece – the other just butts up against the edge.

Though I don’t plan on doing anything with the crawlspace floor, I did put the sub-floor into the door opening, to make it easier to put the door on, as well as to hide the edge of the floor from the finished basement.

Today it is -10° Celsius out, and the surface temperature of the unfinished floor in the crawlspace is 9°, while the surface temperature of the OSB is 14°. The basement walls are still uninsulated, so this may not be overly conclusive, but it does show that it makes a difference.

Update: My girlfriend says “the basement floor feels much warmer now”. I guess that’s conclusive.

View the original article here