This year’s company convention was a huge success! The Total Basement Finishing dealers had their convention on Wednesday and Thursday, dividing their time between the Marriott in Hartford and the Total Basement Finishing headquarters in Seymour, Connecticut.

Dealer sat through informational classes and seminars to learn new techniques and hear about new products in the Total Basement Finishing line, including new ceiling tiles and floor tiles.

There was also a dinner cruise along the Connecticut River and an awards ceremony at the Bushnell Theater in Hartford featuring this year’s guest speaker, Nick Vujicic.

A great time was had by all!

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.

In general, basement finishing systems consist of wall, ceiling, floor and window materials, on top of the labor.  Unlike drywall, where bacteria thrives, modern finishing systems are moisture, mold and mildew-resistant.  Still, if your basement leaks water, you must have it fixed before the finishing process.  The systems are made to withstand high humidity, but they do not waterproof.

Read the full article here.

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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.

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Among all the necessary steps to take when hiring a basement contractor, asking for and checking a contractor’s references is most commonly overlooked by the homeowners.  Some are not comfortable with the idea of bothering a complete stranger, or calling someone on the phone to ask about the work performance of another. Others just don’t know how to do it, or what to ask.

In our experience, when our customers are really happy with the service, not only will they not feel bothered for having their contact information used as reference but they will be delighted to provide the information requested.

This is why our policy is to offer references right away before you ask for them, and even before your ever get to meet our representative in person. As for exactly what to ask a contractor’s reference, the NAHB (National Association of Home Builders) website has excellent tips.

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The impact of high-quality Total Basement Finishing products is reaching further every day! Dan Powell recently wrote a five-party review of the SaniDry basement dehumidifier for the website Daily Home Renovation Tips. Powell wrote a wonderfully positive review on the SaniDry and the Basement Systems dealer that installed it.

The Energy Star-rated SaniDry was installed in the home of Dan Powell, a contributor to Daily Home Renovation Tips. Powell wrote that because his daughter uses the basement as a bedroom when she is home for college, the atmosphere down there needed to be comfortable. Powell wanted to have the SaniDry installed in order to immediately begin saving money on his energy bill, as well.

Daily Home Renovation tips is operated by homeowners who share their own personal experiences on making major and minor home improvements. They are not contractors or renovation professionals. They discuss current products on the market and have been focusing more recently on energy-efficient products, such as the Sani-Dry.

Read the entire series of articles by clicking here: http://dailyhomerenotips.com/2009/04/16/sanidry-dehumidifier-part-1-my-new-energy-conservation-toy

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.

CNN recently reported that the Consumer Product Safety Commission has found Chinese-made drywall in some Florida homes. This drywall has reportedly been emitting smelly, corrosive gases and ruining household systems such as air conditioners and dishwashers. The gases have also been corroding copper wires and turning them black.

Read more here: http://www.totalbasementfinishing.com/basement-finishing/basement-walls/articles/tainted-drywall-warning

There are enough reasons to stay away from drywall (it’s organic, susceptible to mold and mildew, not waterproof, can’t hold any weight, etc.), but did you ever think drywall could pose a danger to your electrical and plumbing systems? Homeowners in Florida, and possibly other places, now need to worry about drywall emitting a terrible odor from gas that ruins electrical wiring and corrodes metal!

According to the St. Petersburg Times, houses south of the Tampa Bay area in Florida that were built during 2005 and 2006 were made using sub-par drywall. This cheap, China-manufactured drywall has been found to emit a sulfur-like gas that corrodes metal and plumbing, eats away at electrical wiring, and smells terrible.

The Florida Department of Health received more than three dozen complaints from homeowners across Florida, but mainly in Manatee, Sarasota and Lee counties, as well as Pinellas, St. Lucie and Collier. This drywall may have been used in hundreds or even thousands of homes throughout Florida, and even other areas.

Read more about this drywall problem here: http://www.tampabay.com/news/business/realestate/article972128.ece

For a safe and clean drywall alternative, trust the Total Basement Finishing wall system!

You are cordially invited to join us for wine and hors d’ oeuvres to celebrate the grand opening of ‘The most unique office interior in the United States’: the treehouse!

It takes place at Basement Systems on Tuesday, February 10, from 4:00pm to 7:00pm, 60 Silvermine Road, Seymour, Connecticut.

The Tree House at Basement Systems, home of the high-tech Internet Dept., is quickly becoming a fascinating human interest story with special features on:
Better Connecticut on wfsb-tv 3
Fox 61 news at 10:00

There is a rough, fun edge to the architecture, with remarkable attention to detail. Unique materials create curious, interesting surfaces — stone wall facades, wood-pile motifs, & cut-out leaf windows accentuate the hand painted murals decorating the walls throughout!

This unique opportunity is free of charge to invitees. Prizes will be handed out.

Please respond by calling Amy Fitzgerald @ 800-640-1500 x9321 or reply via email: amylynn@basementsystems.com

For more treehouse information, photos and video, visit our site: http://www.treehouseworkspace.com

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, in 2002, almost half (49 %) of the nation’s businesses were operated from home.  With recent technological advances in communication, companies are now open to hiring home workers, telecommuters, and freelance professionals.

In a tanking economy with so many companies downsizing and thousands of regular jobs being cut every month, working from home can be a viable way for many Americans to make a living. There are a lot of benefits that come from working at home: you get to spend more time with your family, your hours are more flexible, and you can save a lot of money by avoiding daily commutes.

Whether you are starting your home business, or applying for telecommuting and work-from-home positions, the first thing you need is to make sure you have a suitable place to work in and conduct business from.

The Home Office Buddy website offers a lot of information to help you design the perfect home office according to your needs.

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