Basement Development -- Must Have's?

[Fwee6]

We are starting our basement development in a few days.
Nothing crazy -- rec/TV room, utility room, basement office, and some under-the-stairs storage.

Adding a gas fireplace insert on an interior wall.
Pot lights whenever possible.

What else do you guys suggest?

[Desert Eagle]

Gun/ reloading room. Makes it super handy to have all your stuff in a room you can just lock up and leave.

We used dropped ceiling tiles. Allows access to plumbing/ electrical, etc. Also if you have a leak, you don't have to replace the whole thing. Only a tile or two.... my boy flooded the upstairs bathroom with water from the bathtub once and destroyed 2 tiles.

We also used pot lights. Nice little ones I just used a hole saw to blast a whole in the center of the tiles, super easy install. The only issue was the light bulbs I replaced with Led were just as much as the fixtures themselves. Gives off great light, and uses much less power than expected.

[Dewey Cox]

Kegerator.


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[roger]

- a fire proof type safe. not really one of those monster gun safe kind maybe a bar fridge sized thats built into the wall or closet back.
-i assume your having multiple speakers in the media room, if not id plan for it.
put plywood behind the feature wall in the media room so that devices can be hung anywhere. put the electronics in a media closet so they arnt an eyesore with wires hanging everywhere.
-wire down cast lights for where painting or posters would go.
-pre wire for motion detetcors/security system
-seal the mechanical room with silicone and rubber baseboard so that if the water system happens to. put a two inch or three inch dam in front of the door. if a pop valve trips in this room it may save a flood to the whole house.

[brslk]

Plumb and wire it so it could be converted to a basement suite at a later date. We did that when we built our house.
Along one wall is a 240v plug, a gas hook up and water lines for a kitchen.
It's currently a bar / billiards / family room with a bedroom and full bathroom down there but could easily be turned into a suite.
Kind of a plan for if either the wife or I die.
Could rent it out or live in it and rent the rest of the house out.
Cost next to nothing to put it in place now rather than later.
Plus I use the water line for the ice maker /cold water dispenser on the fridge for the bar.

[NCC]

Originally Posted by brslk

Plumb and wire it so it could be converted to a basement suite at a later date. We did that when we built our house.
Along one wall is a 240v plug, a gas hook up and water lines for a kitchen.
It's currently a bar / billiards / family room with a bedroom and full bathroom down there but could easily be turned into a suite.
Kind of a plan for if either the wife or I die.
Could rent it out or live in it and rent the rest of the house out.
Cost next to nothing to put it in place now rather than later.
Plus I use the water line for the ice maker /cold water dispenser on the fridge for the bar.

We did this in our basement; it's currently a bar but would be easy to convert into a kitchen and has a walk out which would function as a second entrance. Hopefully down the road we can head somewhere warm in the winter and have a renter that will look after the place and feed our critters.

I wish I would have built in a gun/safe room with a hidden door.

[58thecat]

Small shop/reloading room and a gym if space allows.

[Prairiewolf]

Originally Posted by Fwee6

We are starting our basement development in a few days.
Nothing crazy -- rec/TV room, utility room, basement office, and some under-the-stairs storage.

Adding a gas fireplace insert on an interior wall.
Pot lights whenever possible.

What else do you guys suggest?

I wish I'd done more to make my basement warmer. Not sure I'd go to the expense of in-floor heating, but baseboard heaters under the windows on a thermostat would be good, and running some cold air returns down to floor level would help too.

Run good audiovisual cable in ceiling/walls where appropriate before you seal it up - beats having cables everywhere or paying for wireless speakers.

[Sooner]

I dry walled and stippled my ceiling, wasn't long and I wished I went with the T bar and panels. Just so much nicer to have access to the floor, hvac etc if you need it. Although I prefer the dry wall look to T bar.

Sound proofing of some sort in between the joists.

[stuckincity]

Lots of good answers here.

A Sewer Pipe Safe for small valuable items might come in handy these days too.

Who's gonna check a sewer pipe? Especially if you put something on it to keep it stinky. Morning Breeze Perfume comes to mind.

[Gray Wolf]

Originally Posted by Fwee6

Basement Development -- Must Have's . . .

#1 on the top of the list; A proper, intelligent floor plan!

I've seen so many basement developments that look like the owner dreamt it up when they were drunk, stoned, or both. If you're not sure about the plan/layout, get some help.


with it!
.

[CritterCommander]

If you have theater seating or it's on the wish list, put in some extra power outlets, in floor would be best, but as above, you need to plan things carefully.

[stuckincity]

Originally Posted by Gray Wolf

#1 on the top of the list; A proper, intelligent floor plan!

I've seen so many basement developments that look like the owner dreamt it up when they were drunk, stoned, or both. If you're not sure about the plan/layout, get some help.

You got THAT right!

You should see my daughter's basement! YIKES!!

[EZM]

Here's thing that are really nice to have down there (if you have enough space and money).

1) Sound proof insulation bats in ceiling to keep the noise levels down

2) Bathroom - really nice not to have to climb the stairs to use the restroom

3) Dryfloor tiles below the flooring - keeps the flooring up off the concrete and warmer on feet (if you go with carpet)

4) Flooring that is moisture/mildew and flood resistant

5) Use steel studs and/or blue wood to frame with to eliminate mold/mildew

6) Mildew/Mold resistant drywall

7) Spray foam - mold/mildew resistant and keeps the heat in acting as both vapour barrier and insulation

8) If heat source is forced air - bring ducts down to just above floor level to keep temperature even

9) Good sump pump - use the "cheap builders grade" one as a backup and install a good one with a backup float/power

[SageValleyOutdoors]

One thing to think about - if you'd ever want to run a hot tub in the back, rough in the electrical BEFORE the basement is developed. That way you're not cutting into the dry walled ceiling at a later time.

Having said that, if there's ANYTHING you might want to add at a later date, be sure to rough in for it NOW. The amount of money you can save is unbelievable. Plumbing for a future bar sink? Run the drainage and waterlines now, cap them and leave them in the wall. Future projector screen? Future surround sound? Run it all now. Take measurements of the location and keep that in a safe place. I did that in our cabin - we're slowly upgrading everything now, and doing it a piece at a time. It's much easier to cut into the drywall now than it would be to jackhammer up the floor to add a drain.

[Sundancefisher]

Wire in for future use such as surround entertainment speaker system for TV etc. leaving multiple options depending upon furniture configuration. Outlets could be floor or ceiling or wall for speakers. Put in monitors for listening or watching kids from other rooms. Also put in electrical for a security system. All far cheaper now than later.

Don't be cheap on putting in plugs and cable outlets etc.

Plumb in for a wetbar if not putting one in yourself.

We found buyers wanted that flexibility and helped with resale. We found being able to move furniture around as kids grew and matured very useful.

Make sure you seal the concrete with a quality sealant. Concrete sluffs dust even under a carpet. Pet and kid stains...water leaks all clean up easier and dry easier when it is done. HIGHLY RECOMMEND!

Don't be cheap on sound proofing be in in the ceiling or walls based upon bedrooms and other use annoyed by TV, stereo, toys etc.

Schluter system in the bathroom.

Put in a steam shower in the bathroom.

Heated floor tiles in the bathroom.


Put in a full sized utility sink in the laundry/furnace room.

[Arty]

Structurally? I'd like a drive-in garage with a sliding trap door in the main level kitchen floor and a rolling hoist on the kitchen roof. Large enough to handle a grocery and firewood wagon, refrigerator, piano, desk or other furniture from the back of your pickup down in the garage. Maybe with a swing-away kitchen island or butcher block over the kitchen trap.

Could also be used to unload freight from your truck onto the basement floor.

Or better yet, trap doors both on the main level and upstairs floors, with 4 red iron columns to the rafters hidden in the walls to support a crane/hoist all the way up.

No more packing groceries or struggling with furniture up, down and around like a mule on a mountain trail. I detest that.

[just_dave]

I put a full kitchen in my latest house. Large kitchenette in the last. I'd go for a small kitchenette for sure!

[wolf308]

Don't forget to put a multi /duel position light switch from the stairs and the main room/ most used/ furthest away room.... i forgot when I did mine up so a bit annoying when it's dark go back and turn off lights

[Fastfred]

x2 on the sound proof insulation and the dry-floor tiles. It makes it warm and livable and then you use the space. The gas fireplace should have a thermostat so that you can regulate the temp.