I’m in the midst of completely switching to compact fluorescent lighting throughout my house. I didn’t realize how many options existed in compact fluorescent bulbs these days. You can get a compact for almost any application. My latest find was a 10 pack of 13 watt compact fluorescent minis for $14.00. Talk about a steal. And they are over 4 times more efficient than a typical 60 watt incandescent bulb.
In my garage/office I use the 15 watt compact fluorescent floodlights that you see below. Over your typical 65 watt incandescent floodlight, I’m saving a ton of money and energy especially since I have seven of these lights in my garage/office. I need to switch out the seven in the basement as well.
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If you’re considering remodeling your basement or if you already have, a dehumidifier is a necessity to keep humidity levels down in your finished basement. If you’ve finished your basement walls with drywall or if you’ve installed carpet, in most areas of the country you will need to run a dehumidifier during the warmer and more humid spring, summer and fall months. This is true even if you have installed basement windows that you can open to ventilate the basement. You won’t be able to open those windows throughout the year and the outside air may not be that much less humid than what you have inside your basement.
When finishing your basement consider creating a spot where you can hide your dehumidifier and muffle the noise it makes but still allow for adequate circulation of air to and from it. Keeping humidity levels low will help prolong the life of the finish work that you have done in your basement.
A friend of mine converted his basement into a recording studio. It took about three and a half months of hard work but when he was done the project was a great success. About a month or two after completion, we received some particular heavy spring rainstorms. Over the winter or perhaps in early spring some chipmunks had built a nest inside one of his downspouts. Apparently they had packed in a bunch of nesting material because during two of these heavy rainstorms, water backed up into his basement.
You can imagine the nightmare of watching his recording studio flood after all of that hard work. No major damage was done but the shine was off the finished product. Don’t let your basement remodeling get damp. Make sure your downspouts and gutters are doing their job not only during your basement finishing project but on regular intervals thereafter as well.
In my search for basement heating options, I came across the Fahrenheat Ceiling-Mount Automatic 5000 Watt Electric Heater, Model# FUH5-4. It’s an electric heater but puts out 17,065 BTU/hr. This heater must be hardwired and can’t be plugged in to a typical electric outlet. It draws 21 amps so it probably consumes some large amounts of electricity. On the plus side, it doesn’t emit any harmful byproducts and does not need to be vented. Don’t depend on it in a power outage though.
Here’s another option although this unit may be able to heat your basement and your whole house. They do make them in smaller sizes. This is a vented gas heater. It does not require outside electricity to run so it would be great in power outages. Since it is vented, it does not burn oxygen inside your basement and thus you don’t have to crack open a window to replace that lost oxygen. At 143 pounds, I doubt shipping is cheap.
One thing that many people overlook in their rush to finish or remodel their basement is how they plan on heating the basement after remodeling has ended. When winter comes around, it becomes apparent that the basement is often the coldest place in the house. You may have just finished your basement by making part of it into a cozy tv room. All of a sudden, your basement is not so cozy anymore because it is freezing down there. No one wants to spend time in cold rooms and you just spent $15,000 to make your basement a place where your family can spend time.
Why consider heating issues in advance of basement finish work? Because you can avoid costly demolition and additional remodeling necessary for adding more heat to your basement after the fact.
One consideration for heating your basement is to add more heating ducts and registers to the finished basement area. Let your furnace do the work of heating your basement. At the same time, you may also want to consider zoning your heating system so that you can heat separate areas of the house when people are in those areas. For example, you could heat up the basement only with a zoned heating system. Adding more ductwork could result in demolition to basement ceilings and walls. Create your basement heating plan prior to finishing your basement.
If you have a fireplace in the basement, another option would be using that in your heating plan. Vented or vent-free gas log sets are an option. No fireplace - you could still consider a vent-free gas heater for $200 or less.
Other basement heating options include wood/pellet stoves or your simple electric room heater. Whatever you choose, give it a try if possible prior to finishing your basement so you can rest assured that it will do the job come wintertime.
Demo begins
At this point in the basement finish process, we have scraped down the walls to remove any loose paint and have removed the former ceiling to replace it. The plan is to repaint the walls with a masonry waterproofer and replace the ceiling. There was no insulation in the ceiling so we will add insulation prior to putting up a new drywall ceiling. The former ceiling was ruined as a result of a water leak from the upstairs kitchen sink (something to keep in mind if you plan to finish your basement - try to eliminate or reduce the risk of water leaking and destroying your work).
Demo continues on the finish basement project
Here’s a view of the north and east walls of the basement. We continue to remove drywall and scrape the masonry walls for loose paint. In the corner, you may be able to tell where we had water entering the house - look for the black mold. I will reiterate what I said earlier - deal with these water intrusion problems now when you finish your basement so that you don’t have to redo your finish basement work again.
Strange discoveries when you remodel your basement
Here we found electrical and gas connections for the stove in the kitchen above. The previous owner started to put an electrical oven connection but it was not live. You may find similar strange occurrences when you finish your basement especially if you are in an older home.
Finished product of finish basement project
Here’s a shot of the finished project of our finish basement project. Note the canned lighting, new flooring, re-painted masonry walls and the drywall fix on the north wall. It turned out to be a comfortable living area. I only wish the space was bigger now.
Basement remodeling can add lots of extra living space to your home but beware; basement water leakage could put a real damper on your hopes if not properly corrected.
There are two conditions you must address for a dry basement, actual water leakage and condensation. Water leakage is a pretty obvious concern to homeowners but many are unaware of the problems that high humidity can cause to a finished basement.
Take Care of Humidity Problems prior to Finishing your Basement
