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.

Basement Design Ideas

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

By Francine Maglione

Designing any room can be tough, but a basement can be especially uninspiring for design ideas. Bad lighting, a cold atmosphere and mechanical eyesores popping out everywhere don’t give homeowners much to work with when they’re coming up with remodeling designs. Use these basement design ideas to guide you as you revamp your basement.

Add Your Individual Style
This basement is yours so all of your basement design ideas should reflect your personal style. Not all trends work for everybody, so it’s best to just use them as inspiration rather than copy them completely. Better Homes and Gardens suggests personalizing the items in your basement, such as repeating a pattern throughout the room by adding it yourself to pillows and window treatments. Choose a color and add squares of paint along the hanging edge of a curtain, and then add painted squares of the same color to pillows.

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!

Money Saving Tips: Make the Most of What’s in your Home

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

By Francine Maglione

There are many money saving tips out there that can help your bank account in small ways. How you manage your spending and how you make use of what you already have in your home can make all the difference in this fickle economy. Give these tips a try and stop being afraid of your bank statement.

Begin at Home
Money saving tips can be utilized all over your home. The Simple Dollar has a number of great tips to help you stick to your budget. Want to save money on weekends? Invite friends over rather than going out all the time. For the amount of money it would cost to get food and drinks at a restaurant or bar, you could serve a group of friends at your home for much less!

Do you collect something? If your collection has become something that is more out of habit than something that brings you joy, a good money saving tip might be to ease up on it. Maybe put this hobby on hold temporarily until your financial situation has more wiggle room, or even just limit yourself to how much you collect. However, the Simple Dollar warns against cutting out things that you feel strongly about and have a lot of meaning to you, as you’ll have a greater chance of relapsing.

Change Shopping Habits
Oftentimes, a trip to the mall can be viewed as a form of entertainment. However, if every time you leave the mall you’re carrying several shopping bags, it may be time to find some other way to pass the time.

There are few greater temptations then walking through a shopping mall with plastic in your wallet. To keep yourself from spending more than you should, Simple Dollar recommends leaving the credit cards at home and only bringing enough cash as you’ll need. When you’re going shopping, make a list and stick to it. You’ll be less likely to splurge on other items that way. Also, if you’re questioning whether you should make a purchase, use the 30-day rule. Typically, the urge to buy something passes after 30 days.

Make your home work for you and save you money. Keep your house insulated, especially your basement, which is where a lot of heat can escape and cold air can enter. Our Total Basement Finishing System is just what you need, with insulated walls, windows and flooring to keep cold basement air from rising up through your house. Get your free quote today!