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Finished Basement Ideas - Your One Source for Basement Finishing Ideas!!! |
Basement Remodeling IdeasMany great basement remodeling ideas never get off the ground for one simple reason. Most people never put their basement remodeling ideas on paper! Perhaps you are one of those people? For most people, after many weeks or months of daydreaming, their basement remodeling ideas have become clear and they believe they are more than ready to begin demolishing or repairing problems in their old unfinished basement. While they could go ahead and grab their tool belt and hammer I highly discourage it at this point. Why? It's very simple, at this point you need a written plan for your basement remodeling ideas. By taking your basement remodeling ideas out of your head and heart and putting them on paper you will truly begin to see what is possible to accomplish and also what may be impractical to even attempt. Begin putting your basement remodeling ideas on paper by looking at what you currently have in your basement. Just go down to your basement and create a rough sketch. Don't worry about designing this initial rough design to scale just yet. However, you do want to take and include accurate measurements of your existing basement. Do not leave anything out! Consider every element of your existing basement including the walls, windows, doors, furnace, plumbing, beams, posts, ceiling heights and so on. I'm sure you get the idea! The first step in putting your basement remodeling ideas on paper means first looking at what you already have in terms of your old unfinished basement.
Second, begin putting on paper what you see for your basement remodeling ideas. This is where the fun begins! At this point the basement remodeling ideas you put on paper in this phase don't need to be drawn to scale. Double check your measurements, make sketches of several different design layouts of your basement remodeling idea. It is during this phase you will begin to understand what you will probably be able to do and what you won't be able to do. Again, you need to consider all the elements. Is there enough headroom? What type of lighting will I need to use? Do I need to relocate my furnace or HVAC system? What repairs do I need to make? Does my basement remodeling idea adhere to local building codes? Don't get discouraged at this point! Your basement remodeling idea is well on it's way to becoming a reality! Lastly, start drawing the scale floor plans of your basement remodeling ideas. These do not need to be elaborate, but they do need to be accurately drawn to scale. I recommend using graph paper with 1/4 inch squares. Each 1/4 inch square represents 1 foot. Take the measurements and the design of the layout that you created in the second step and transfer them to the graph paper. Remember to include the dimensions of your doors, windows, and rooms. Include any built in features that may exist and don't forget to include your furnace, air conditioning, electrical fixtures, switches and receptacles. If you aren't comfortable with this phase of the planning you can always hire an interior designer or architect to help you with your scale drawings. Once you have the scale drawing of the basement remodeling idea you desire, make several xerox copies to use. You will need these to submit for your required building permits, copies for sub-contractors, and extra working copies for yourself. Just remember to put your finished original in a safe place. Your scale drawings will guide you throughout your entire project. Use it to work out your entire basement remodeling idea. Remember, the more you plan ahead the smoother the actual remodeling phase of your basement remodeling idea will be.
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