6 Steps to Remodel Your Basement

Finishing your basement can provide you and your family with all kinds of extra living space at a relatively inexpensive price. To begin there are a few huge advantages that will benifit you; the basement already has walls, a floor and a ceiling, so it's going to be cheaper than building an addition to get extra space. Even if you were to hire a contractor to finish your basement, you would be looking at a price in the range of about $20 to $25 per square foot (which is really cheap). If you do the work yourself (or at least part of it), you will save yourself even more money. That makes finishing your basement the most cost-effective addition you will probably ever get.

A properly finished basement can be used for just about any anything you want - a new home office, a game/play room, a home theater or just a place where your kids can hang out with their friends.

1. Decide How You Want to Use Your Basement

You should decide first how you want to use your basement. Different uses call for different materials and different designs. You will want to measure the area of the basement and start thinking about where you are going to place things; e.g. furniture, tables, etc.

You will also want to determine what you feel comfortable doing yourself and what you may have a contractor do. Remember that the skills needed are in carpentry, wiring, plumbing, insulation, dry walling and painting. Although you may save some money in the labor if you do it yourself, you still have to consider how long you want this project to go on for. A contractor can get the job done in a fraction of the time, although it will be more expensive.

Things you may want in your basement:

• Home theater
• Game room
• Bar
• Play area for the kids
• Home office
• Workout room
• Bedroom
• Bathroom
• Storage
• Pool table

Remember that you will most likely have to get a building permit before you begin your project, so keep this in mind as well.

2. Decide Whether to Repair or Replace

The next big step is to decide whether you want to repair or replace your basement as a whole. Once you decide what you are going to do draw up a plan for your basement. Make sure you include all existing doors or windows. You will also have to determine what you will need as far as what supplies go. Remember to include insulation. You will also have to consider what tools you have and what tools you will additionally need (if any). Many home building stores have computer programs that you can use to calculate the quantities and materials that you will need. Take advantage of these programs and use them to your advantage.

3. Estimate Your Costs

If you have a lot of experience in remodeling projects then you can probably create a pretty good cost estimate based on the work you want done.  For most of us it makes sense to get a free estimate from a professional to make sure we have a good handle on the cost of the project.  Make sure you calculate a fully loaded budget with all material and labor costs including any accessories and hardware that might be required.

4. Finalize Your Design

A design model can help develop both the style and flow for your new basement.  There are some great software packages to help you develop a model for your ideas.  You can also hire a professional to help with creating a design that best fits your taste.

5. Find a Good Contractor

There are several ways to find a good contractor:

• Online Networks - There are several good networks of service contractors.
• Yellow Pages - the yellow pages is still a good place to go to find a contractor. 
  Friends' Recommendations - this is often an excellent source for finding a contractor because your friends often have the same standards for quality of work that you do.  The contractor will have more of an incentive to do a good job because he has you and your friends’ future business at stake.
• Brand Service Network - if you know what brand of equipment you are thinking of installing the brand sites often have dealer networks and they can usually recommend someone in your local area to install the equipment you need.  Service providers are often certified to be in the brand network so the quality of these contractors is usually pretty high.

6. Manage the Project

Remodeling a basement can be an expensive venture. The last thing you want is to find all of your hard work and hard earned dollars have gone to waste. Without the proper planning, any project can run into delays and disaster. This is even more often the case for a basement remodel that you attempt yourself. It is never wasted money to ask for expert advice when you lack the experience to do it right.

It is true you can save money by doing some of the easier things yourself. When you consider the risk of doing it wrong, you may decide and feel more comfortable with the water issues, heating and cooling design, and any plumbing work if you make sure a contractor takes a look or actually does the work. Effectively managing the build out or remodeling of your basement is never easy but it can be done.