How to Plan a Basement Renovation
To plan a basement renovation, you'll need to determine how the space will be used in accordance with your personal needs and the needs of your family. In order to get the most out of your renovation, you'll need a detailed plan, budget and schedule, which you should prepare with the input of a contractor, if you are going to hire one. Does this Spark an idea?
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Instructions
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Determine your total budget for the entire project.
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Prepare a sketch, to scale, of the entire basement space. You'll want to take accurate measurements of the dimensions of all existing rooms, and accurately represent the locations of doorways and windows.
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Position a laundry room or basement bathroom near your water heater, if you're planning to add them to your home. This will help minimize your costs, since plumbing infrastructure is already in place in the region around the water heater. If you have to run long mazes of pipes, your budget might go right down the drain, too.
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Give some thought to how your finished basement will be used. It may be a recreation room with a pool table and television area, or may serve primarily as a place for the kids to play. If you want to add a home office or storage room, that will require additional walls.
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Draw a new sketch of how you envision the basement space being used once the renovations are complete. Include accurate dimensions of all new rooms you are planning.
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Price out the materials required to realize your plan. If you're adding new walls, you're going to need wall frames, drywall, insulation, wiring, windows and doors. Otherwise, refer to your sketch to get an accurate idea of how much flooring, carpeting, paneling and drywall you'll need to complete your transformation of the existing space.
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Approach local contractors when you're ready to move forward. Explain the scope of your project and your budget, and check into the reputation of each contractor you're considering by asking for and contacting former customers.
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Tips & Warnings
If you want to hire a contractor, a moderate cost estimate will come in at around $15 to $25 per square foot of space to be renovated. You can slash this by half (or more) if you complete the work yourself, or hire a contractor only to complete those jobs requiring technical expertise you don't have yourself.
Your renovation costs will start to go through the roof if you need to add intricate plumbing or extensive rewiring. It's best to plan around what you have, rather than create around what you've planned, if you're on a tight budget.
