A Box within a Box-Maybe the Best Real Estate in your Home

Does your home have a basement to protect you and your family from the panhandle weather?  If so, is your basement finished out as an extra living space or more like a cellar with concrete block walls used in a dire emergency to escape a tornado’s path? Many of the homes in our area have basements that are underutilized because these spaces have been used as storage or shelter, but a basement is valuable real estate in your home.  Some of the most popular uses are living areas/media rooms, home offices and childrens play areas.   Finishing out your existing basement or adding one when adding additional square footage to your house, is a great way to add value to your home.

Your basement plan needs to be carefully thought out before you begin any construction. What is the function of the room?  This most popular current trend for basements is adding a media room complete with high definition TV and state of the art stereo components for surround sound, giving the homeowner the complete movie experience or having friends over for the big game. Another popular use for basements is a home office.  Will you need

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additional media components or computer capabilities?  What about plumbing, will you be adding a toilet or just needing water for a bar sink?  Draw out the floor plan of the space to include furnishings as well as the necessary electrical and plumbing components.  It will be easier to incorporate new ideas and room functionality now before your room is complete and components need to be added.

What is the best way to add electrical and plumbing components?  Depending on the style you like, do you want these components exposed or hidden?  If leaving the components exposed for a more industrial/modern look, ensure that electrical components are housed in conduit.  Painting the ceiling black or a deep charcoal gray and adding multiple lighting fixtures will give you a modern look. If you want your basement to resemble a home with sheetrock walls and a hidden plumbing and electrical infrastructure, finish out a basement by building a box (the finished room) within the box (unfinished basement).  This construction method allows plumbing and electrical components to be accessible, the room’s infrastructure to be hidden and the beauty and function of the room to be seen as one.

To build the interior or finished room, the existing walls of the unfinished basement, usually concrete or concrete blocks, need to house electrical outlets and switches as well as media wiring.  Install 2x4 studs at the concrete walls to allow electricians, plumbers, and audio video installers the room they need to install their components and then sheetrock.  These walls can be painted or wall treatments can be installed just as you could do in any room of your home. Ceiling access can be tricky at times, consider access for a TV projector, lighting and speakers.  Allowances will need to be made to run electrical and audio/video components. I would recommend 2x6 studs on the ceiling to give ample room to run outlets, switches, and ceiling lighting.  Audio/video components such as high definition TV’s, stereos and speakers can be run in these locations as well.

Water lines typically can be tied into and extended from under the house thru the basement ceiling and then into the walls. There are special bathroom kits that can be purchased specifically for basements with integrated disposal systems that tie into existing plumbing lines. 

Now that you know some of the options you may have with your basement, how will you transform this space?

Bobby Sanders is owner of Sanders Design Build and is a Certified Graduate Remodelor™ (CGR) with an exclusive professional designation designed to emphasize business management skills as the key to a professional remodeling operation.

The CGR designation requires that graduates meet prescribed standards of business practice, possess a minimum of five years remodeling industry experience, have a proven track record of successful project management, complete a comprehensive education curriculum and pledge to uphold the program’s code of ethics.

For more remodeling information call us at 806.457.8599. or visit www.sandersdesignbuild.com