Basement Ceilings: How they affect your whole house

Posted by cynthia on Jul 26, 2011 in Basement Ceiling, Basement Design, Basement Finishing, Basement Finishing Contractors, Basement Renovations, Energy Efficient Basements, Green Basement Finishing, Home Improvement, Uncategorized |

By Francine Maglione

Though you may not realize it, your basement ceiling can affect your entire house. The type of basement ceiling you choose can affect how much noise travels from your basement to the rest of the house, how warm or cold the floor above your basement feels, and how well the ceiling repels moisture and mold keeping it from spreading up through your house.

Silence is Golden
Let’s say you decided to turn your basement into a media room. You’ve got a big-screen TV, surround-sound stereo system, and speakers almost as tall as you are. What’s the problem? Your wife can’t make a phone call without the person on the other line hearing an action movie blaring in the background.

It’s important to make sure your basement ceiling is an adequate sound buffer. Drop tile ceilings create a better sound barrier while allowing you to easily access things like plumbing and cables. Using high-quality material, rather than just drywall, will help block sound. Plus, drywall is an organic material, which isn’t the best material to have in a damp, moisture-ridden environment like a basement. It can attract mold, dust mites and other allergens that will make your basement an unpleasant place to be.

Don’t Get Cold Feet
The quality of your basement ceiling can have an effect on how warm the floor directly above it is. There’s nothing worse than waking up on a cold morning and making your way across a freezing kitchen floor to get some coffee. Many basement ceilings can be insulated to keep those feet of yours warm during those winter months. But to maintain a comfortable temperature in the rest of your house, it’s important to use sturdy, quality materials to finish your basement that will eliminate a cold and damp environment and prevent it from spreading up into the rest of your house.

Go With the Best!
Cold, damp and moldy air can make its way through your basement and up into the rest of your house. To keep this from happening, trust the Total Basement Finishing system for your basement remodeling. We offer two types of basement ceiling tiles, linen and prestige, that are firm and solid with a 30-year warranty against sagging. They also come with crown molding for a sophisticated look, and are compatible with 2×2-foot fluorescent lighting and downlighting.

With our basement finishing system of walls, ceiling tiles, floor tiles and windows, your basement will quickly become your favorite room in the house. Get a free quote today and learn how we can help you make your basement beautiful!

Affordable Decorating: Ideas for Your Basement to Your Bedroom

Posted by cynthia on Jul 26, 2011 in Basement Design, Basement Renovations, Finished Basement Ideas, Home Improvement, Uncategorized |

By Francine Maglione

Everyone’s feeling the strain in these stressful economic times, especially homeowners looking to do some affordable decorating or any home renovations. When your budget is tight, decorating may be the last thing on your mind. But there are ways to remodel and redesign areas of your home while not wasting all of your hard-earned cash. Make even your most frugal friends jealous with these penny-pinching plans for home decorating.

Like New
One thrifty home remodeling technique is to reuse and recycle materials. Reuse old fabric and material from clothing or blankets to make pillows or lamp shades. You can also take old furniture and redecorate it to make it more modern or to match the current theme or color scheme of your room. You can paint a new finish onto a wood chair, or reupholster an old sofa with new material to make it seem like it was just brought home from the store.

From Basement to Bedroom: Building a Guest Room in time for the Holidays!

Posted by cynthia on Jul 26, 2011 in Basement Design, Basement Finishing, Basement Finishing Contractors, Basement Renovations, Finished Basement Ideas, Green Basement Finishing, Guest Bedroom, Uncategorized |

Washington Home and Garden Magazine reminds us that it is time to get ready for the holidays and to host the people we love by providing them with comfortable, cozy guest rooms. The article has excellent tips on how to make sure your guests have the best time possible.

Creating a guest room or in-law suite is a great way to make use of your finished basement. It adds extra space as well as a place for family and friends to stay when they come and visit. It could even help if someone needed to stay in your home for a prolonged period of time. Fill the room with comfortable furnishings to make a guest feel at home.

However, not everyone has a room to spare and transform into a guest room.

If you have an unfinished basement, in a matter of days you can turn it into a room your guests will love. All you need is proper basement waterproofing to make sure it is dry and suitable for finishing, and the proper basement finishing system.

Our patented, award-winning drainage system can be installed in a matter of days, complete with the most reliable sump pump system available today, guaranteed to keep your basement dry all the time. You can then finish your basement with Total Basement Finishing wall, floor and ceiling systems that can be quickly installed with no mess.

You will have a dream guest room for about 50% less than the cost of building an addition, and have it all done in time for the holidays.

Contact us for a free estimate and let us show you the options you have to create a dry, safe and healthy environment in your basement, suitable for finishing.

Remodeling to Sell: Not every improvement pays off

Posted by cynthia on Jul 26, 2011 in Basement Design, Basement Finishing, Basement Finishing Contractors, Basement Renovations, Green Basement Finishing, Home Improvement, Uncategorized |

The recent housing crisis flooded the real estate market with  properties. Sellers today are competing with builders desperate to get rid of newly built homes and banks willing to sell foreclosed properties at much less than they are worth as a way to cut their losses.

To make matters worse, a slow economy is causing people to postpone bigger expenses, and the credit crunch made it harder for potential home buyers to qualify for mortgage loans. As a result, there are tons of homes for sale and not nearly enough qualified buyers.

Sellers trying to move the property quicker, and not willing to lose money on the deal, know that they need to make their property appeal to a home buyer. That means investing some money in improvements in order to make the home easier to sell.

Basement Home Theater

Posted by cynthia on Jul 26, 2011 in Basement Design, Basement Finishing, Basement Renovations, Finished Basement Ideas, Green Basement Finishing, Home Theater |

 By Tim Manson

While many of the ideas on this website are centered around brightening up your basement and keeping it from looking like an old cave, there is one option in which a cave might be the appropriate setting.  If you’re looking for somewhere to escape the summer heat and catch the latest blockbuster movie, look no further than your basement!

Basements by definition are cool, dark places, so in order to spice yours up and turn it into something the local cinema will be jealous of, you just need the right equipment.  Combine the natural advantages of your basement with the necessary advances in modern technology and you’ll have a theater all the neighborhood will be begging to sit in on.

Turning Basements into Home Offices

Posted by cynthia on Jul 26, 2011 in Basement Design, Basement Finishing, Basement Finishing Contractors, Basement Renovations, Energy Efficient Basements, Finished Basement Ideas, Green Basement Finishing, Home Improvement, Home Office |

By Donna Kshir

Creating the perfect home office is vital to your success while working from home, and your finished basement is a great location to create an office space. Your basement offers familiar surroundings to you and your family, but it also offers a safe and private location to handle your business. 

Before considering or beginning your basement home office remodeling project, here are a few factors to keep in mind:

Waterproofing:

The first and most important step is to ensure that all basement moisture problems are resolved. If your basement appears to be damp, wet, or flood prone then the first step is to contact a good waterproofing contractor. The basement waterproofing contractor will determine your specific conditions and recommend the best option to suit your specific needs.