Picking the Best Basement Wall Products

Posted by cynthia on Jul 26, 2011 in Basement Finishing, Basement Finishing Contractors, Basement Framing and Insulation, Basement Insulation, Basement Renovations, Energy Efficient Basements, Featured, Finished Basement Ideas, Finishing Basement Walls, Green Basement Finishing, Uncategorized, Waterproof Basement Wall Panels |

By Jacques Bouchard

As the real estate slump continues to worsen and homes become more and more difficult to sell, homeowners are finding that the best option for gaining more living space for their family is to finish the basement.  In response to this ever-increasing trend, many companies are designing wall panels especially for use in a basement.

However, these companies are often providing products that are hastily researched, poorly created, or make false or misleading claims about how well they work and how appropriate they are for a basement finshing project.  Before you make a decision on the basement wall product that’s right for your home, consider these five questions:

Steps to Remodeling the Basement

Posted by cynthia on Jul 26, 2011 in Basement Carpet, Basement Ceiling, Basement Design, Basement Finishing, Basement Finishing Contractors, Basement Floor Tiles, Basement Renovations, Energy Efficient Basements, Featured, Finished Basement Ideas, Finishing Basement Floors, Finishing Basement Walls, Green Basement Finishing, Uncategorized, Waterproof Basement Flooring, Waterproof Basement Wall Panels |

By Jacques Bouchard

A Monster in your Basement

Imagine this:  Your floor upstairs experiences leaking each time it rains.  Water flows from every crack and crevice in the walls and puddles all over the floor.  Even when there’s no rain at all, it always seems to be damp, humid, and musty up there.  if you store something in the area, you can count on it to grow mold.  If you’ve laid a wood floor and/or carpet in the area, then it’s growing mold and rot while the wood buckles.  All the windows on the floor are rusted and filled with spider webs, and they’re impossible to open.  The floor is cold and clammy underfoot, and the ceiling is sagging and moldy.  In a nutshell, it’s an ugly, smelly, uncomfortable and unhealthy space that you and your family avoid whenever possible.  Could this ever be acceptable?  Of course not!

If it’s unacceptable upstairs, then why would you ever allow it DOWNstairs?

There’s no reason to.  Having an area like that in the home isn’t acceptable.  Your basement is an entire floor’s worth of space, and it’s far too much room to let go to waste.  With the housing market as it currently is, this is a fantastic time to think about how you can take full advantage of every piece of your home you can!  Whether you have a growing family, visiting friends and relatives, or you’re just tired of having a gloomy, dark space in your home, drying and finishing a basement is a great idea.

Basement Refinishing Do’s and Don’ts

Posted by cynthia on Jul 26, 2011 in Basement Carpet, Basement Ceiling, Basement Finishing, Basement Finishing Contractors, Basement Floor Tiles, Basement Framing and Insulation, Basement Insulation, Basement Renovations, Energy Efficient Basements, Featured, Finished Basement Ideas, Finishing Basement Floors, Finishing Basement Walls, Green Basement Finishing, Uncategorized, Waterproof Basement Flooring, Waterproof Basement Wall Panels |

By Francine Maglione

Remodeling a basement can be a difficult job. How differently should you treat it compared to any other room in your house? Follow these do’s and don’ts and you’ll be well on your way to a nicely refinished basement that you’ll be pleased with for a long time.

Do:

Eliminate moisture problems in the basement. Moisture can really do a number on a basement. Home improvement expert Danny Lipford notes that a basement can let in an average of 18 gallons of moisture each day. Lipford suggests looking for these telltale signs of moisture problems:

• Musty odors
• Rust on metal surfaces
• Peeling paint
• Discolorations on walls and ceilings

Don’t let moisture ruin your basement refinishing job! The TBF system can eliminate moisture problems by installing an Energy Star dehumidifier and by using an exclusive selection of basement finishing products that can’t support mold or be damaged by moisture.

Tainted Drywall Warning

Posted by cynthia on Jul 26, 2011 in Finishing Basement Walls, Uncategorized |

By Francine Maglione

For the past couple of months, news outlets have been buzzing with stories of homeowners in southern states including Florida, Louisiana and Alabama that are feeling the negative effects of tainted drywall in their homes.

After tremendous flooding from hurricanes in 2005 and 2006 made the need for drywall in the south skyrocket, contractors began importing drywall from China to build and repair homes with. This drywall has been found to be inferior, however, and has caused a host of problems for homeowners.

Basement Finishing Systems

Posted by cynthia on Jul 25, 2011 in Basement Carpet, Basement Finishing, Basement Finishing Contractors, Basement Floor Tiles, Basement Framing and Insulation, Basement Insulation, Basement Lighting, Basement Renovations, Basement Subfloor, Basement Windows, Finished Basement Ideas, Finishing Basement Floors, Finishing Basement Walls, Green Basement Finishing, Uncategorized, Waterproof Basement Flooring, Waterproof Basement Wall Panels |

By Elizabeth Gormley

In many homes, the basement is a cold, dark storage space with concrete floors that’s more than a little bit spooky.  But with today’s basement finishing systems, it’s possible to transform this scary area into a warm and welcoming place as bright as any room upstairs.  Basement finishing works like adding another livable level to your home—in as little as two weeks.  Think romper room, a buffered place for the kids to play, with lots of space for toys, games and musical instruments.  Or think game room, with a pool table, ping-pong, darts, and maybe a bar.  In a few easy steps, a finished basement will add massive value to your home.

Be Wary of Drywall

Posted by cynthia on Jul 15, 2011 in Basement Design, Basement Finishing, Basement Finishing Contractors, Basement Renovations, Finishing Basement Walls, Green Basement Finishing, Home Improvement, Uncategorized, Waterproof Basement Wall Panels |

by Francine Maglione

Looking to reduce your carbon footprint? You may be doing Mother Nature a favor by avoiding drywall when finishing your basement. The Los Angeles Times reported that waste drywall takes up a tremendous amount of space in landfills. The process used to manufacture drywall can also have consequences. Mining the gypsum used to make drywall can hurt the environment, and the fossil fuels and pollution involved in transporting it to drywall manufacturing plants certainly doesn’t help.

There is about 30 million tons of wallboard manufactured in North America each year, and even though it is recyclable, it still tends to sit in landfills. If you are getting rid of drywall, be sure to recycle it. Drywall scraps can be used in wall cavities during new construction, which eliminates disposal and transportation costs. Habitat for Humanity also accepts donated drywall to use when building homes. If most of the paper is removed, the gypsum can be recycled into new drywall.

Look into a greener alternative to drywall, such as the Total Basement Finishing System. The EverLast basement walls don’t dent like drywall and will never get moldy or rot. They can last for 50 years and can support the weight of objects such as shelves, cabinets and even plasma TVs, which will reduce resources otherwise needed to repair drywall.

For more information on our basement finishing system, start on our homepage.