As the Basement Systems web department grew, company President Larry Janesky knew that department’s work area needed to grow as well.  With a creative vision in his mind he used his carpentry skills, as well as the talents of his friends, colleagues and employees, and built an extravagant treehouse work area right in the middle of Basement Systems Headquarters in Connecticut.

The area that formerly fit only 14 work stations now fits almost 30 scattered about on high lofts and tucked away in crevices.  In a two-week building blitz starting in December, volunteers worked late into the night sawing, drilling, painting and cleaning.

The web team moved into their new work home at the beginning of January.  They were able to start their year off in a fresh, new, creative way, and have lots of empty work stations around just waiting for new team members!

For more photos, visit the Connecticut Basement Systems blog.

A Total Basement Finishing dealer in Maine, Keith Trembley,  came across an interesting story about a boy who was allergic to nearly everything.  The boy was homebound due to a weak immune system and his family was hoping to finish the basement to provide more living space, but were concerned that all of the mold and mildew could be dangerous for the boy.

Keith donated his time and Total Basement Finishing donated material and the family’s basement was finished with our inorganic basement finishing system and a SaniDry air filtration dehumidifier.  The boy is now able to spend plenty of time in the basement without getting sick.  The basement is now a healthy environment free of allergens thanks to Keith’s effort and the Total Basement Finishing system!

Green Remodeling is sweeping the nation as homeowners seek to save energy and reduce their carbon footprint in the environment.

There’s never been a home improvement revolution that’s swept the nation with quite as much force as green remodeling. People have become much more eco-sensitive in recent times, with increasing reports of global warming across the newswire. And with winter settling in and heating bills on the rise, the need to make the most of the energy in the household has been driven home more powerfully than ever before.

Insulating the basement walls and floors can save a lot of money while keeping the space beautiful and comfortable.

The Wisconsin Environmental State has recently reported that green products are being used for 40% of remodeling work. This already high number is on the rise! The Green Tech Forum reports that the number of green homes is expected to increase tenfold in the next five years! And as they remodel their homes and begin to save money (the US Department of Energy has shown that as much as $400/year can be saved just by insulating the basement walls), homeowners are become increasingly grateful for their work. 85% of homeowners, according to Qualified Remodeler, are happier with their newly green home than ever before!

From the basement walls to the floors to the windows, Total Basement Finishing is making sure all the products they install in your home are energy-efficient, green, and clean. Contact us today for a free basement renovation estimate!

Careful planning is a vital first step to a successful basement finishing. Be sure to take the extra time to prepate for the best!

Finishing the basement can be very exciting! When you decide to remodel, you suddenly find yourself facing a huge prospect: if you life in a one-story home, your living space is about to double, if it’s a two-story house, then you still will find that you have a 50% increase. You’re going to be living in this space for a long time, and you’re going to want to do it right. Total Basement Finishing has these tips for anyone creating a basement finishing plan:

1. Decide on what you want to do with the basement. Be sure to keep a long-term view of the area and how the area can transform with a shifting lifestyle. For instance, if a basement bar is designed properly, it can double as a serving area for children’s birthday parties and as storage for snacks and cold drinks for teenagers wishing to spend some private time with friends. Installing a children’s play area properly can create a space that could easily be changed into a family room or home theater in the future.

Sidewalk chalk is a simple and easily cleaned way to draw out your basement finishing plan to better plan your ideal layout.

2. Obtain sidewalk chalk. Then go down into the basement with a ruler and begin to draw out where you’d like the rooms directly on the basement walls and floors. Putting the rooms into perspective may change how you feel about the space. Are the rooms too big? Too small? Will walls overlap your basement windows or simply “not work” around staircases, utilities, or other obstacles? Does a hallway suddenly seem to narrow? You may be surprised.

3. Carefully research the best products for your home. Check around- every basement finishing company will tell you that theirs is the best. Be sure to do some careful research on the products available and their strengths and weaknesses. Make your own opinion on what makes sense to you based on the information you read. All basement finishing systems have strengths and weaknesses, but not all systems are equal.

4. Check out the local basement finishing contractors. How long have they been in business? What does the Better Business Bureau, Angie’s List, and others say about them? Are they able to share references? You’re spending a lot of money here, and it’s important to check out every angle you can. And remember- you’re living with this work for a long time- the cheapest solution is not likely to be the best buy.

Whether personal or professional, there are countless good ways to finish the basement. Click on the image for more information on just a few of the ways a basement can be transformed!

Preparing for a basement makeover is an important step to a major purchase for your home. Taking the time to plan out exactly what you want, research the options, and carefully selecting the best contractor in the area will reward itself many times over in the long run. And if you’d like a free, no-obligation estimate and an 88 page full-color book on basement finishing, Total Basement Finishing is here to help you!

A basement drywall installation in progress

I’d like to share a sad story with you.

Mr. and Mrs. Soker begin this story as a happily married couple with a baby on the way. They own a cozy one-story home in a neighborhood they love, and while they need additional space for their growing family, they’re not ready to leave the area.

Their solution, they decide, is to finish the basement. This will provide a beautiful new area in the home, nearly doubling their livable space, and by leaving a small area unfinished and boxed away, they hope to retain some room for storage and to house their washing machine and dryer. They pick a spot in a corner of the basement that sometimes leaks – that can be their unfinished space.

Excitedly, they spend many days in the basement with sidewalk chalk, drawing floor plans right on the concrete to help them decide just how they’re going to finish the new space for themselves and their children. In the end, they decide to add a basement bedroom with a small basement bathroom. With the large remaining area, they boxed it off to serve as a children’s play area in the early years. Later, they would transform it into a basement family room for all to share.

Drywall can look OK when it's first installed, but as moisture begins to ruin it, many homeowners regret installing it.

Once they’ve planned their basement makeover, they call Tim the carpenter, who did such a wonderful job on their neighbor’s cabinets. For the next few months, Tim’s in the basement, hammering away at wood studs and literally working up a storm, in the form of drywall dust, as he cuts and fits the walls. The Sokers are glad they started on the job early, as the baby is just about ready to join the family by the time he’s done laying the carpet on the basement floor. Overall, the job is messy but cheap, and in the end, they feel mostly satisfied with the results.

The baby arrives, and gifts abound from friends and family. The new space is filled with baby clothes, new furniture, and toys. The Sokers buy a beautiful leather couch to finish off the basement design, and they start feeling a little better about the space.

Until one dark and story night…

When a basement floods, it damages more than drywall. Everything in the area, including sentimental items, can be destroyed.

At first, the Sokers thought a pipe had burst. Sure, it was raining, but they’d never seen so much water in the basement before! They rolled up their pants, waded in and recovered everything they could find that wasn’t ruined by the water. Everything was piled upstairs, a plumber was called, and they called Tim back to the house to pull the carpet up to have it dried in the driveway.

The basement was never the same after that. The drywall had been damaged badly by the water, and the carpet began to smell right away. A photo album placed in a low bookcase was soaked and ruined, as were many stuffed animals, toys, and a computer in the main area. Their insurance covered almost none of the damage, as they’d never paid the extra amount for flood damage. Concerned for their child’s health, the Sokers moved him upstairs and made do with what they had, waiting until they could afford to refinish the basement.

This story is fictional, but it’s based on a great many true stories that Total Basement Finishing hears about every day. If you’ve ever had any water in your basement, then your home is especially vulnerable to a flood. Insuring the home will help, but what you really want is to start with is a basement that will stay dry all the time. Total Basement Finishing would like to help you by connecting you with a reliable basement waterproofer in your area. If you’d like a FREE estimate on your basement waterproofing, click here!

Combining many different types of lighting options will make your basement beautiful and unique!

Picking the best basement lighting for your home is a decision that can mean all the difference when adding beauty and energy-efficiency to your home. How well the basement is illuminated sets the ambiance for the entire area, can reduce eye strain, and can add to the feeling of comfort and convenience in the home. Total Basement Finishing has these suggestions on the best basement lighting:

Incandescent Basement Lighting

Although using incandescent lights is very popular, it’s becoming more and more obvious that they’re not the best option for a finished basement. These lights are short-lived and poor in energy use, with 90% of the energy they use being released as heat instead of light. And while they work well in can lights, when they’re installed in a basement ceiling with heavy traffic above, the constant vibrations will cause the lights to burn out early. They’re also very sensitive to even a slight amount of excessive voltage, which can quickly shorten their life.

Incandescent lights do have their strengths, however. Fluorescent lighting tends to burn out in areas where the lights are flipped on and off quickly such as in closets and stairways. Incandescent lights, with their significantly lower expense, are much better for these areas. Additionally, incandescent lights work best for lights with dimmers, and to many homeowners, there’s just nothing quite as attractive as the light of an incandescent.

Florescent light is a great way to improve a finished basement!

Florescent Lighting

Florescent Lighting is becoming the industry-required standard worldwide as well as in the United States. Lasting ten times longer than incandescent lighting and using one-third of the energy, it’s a green choice that reduces carbon emissions and air pollution. EnergyStar.gov reports that “[i]f every American home replaced just one light bulb with an ENERGY STAR qualified bulb, we would save enough energy to light more than 3 million homes for a year, more than $600 million in annual energy costs, and prevent greenhouse gases equivalent to the emissions of more than 800,000 cars.” 90 medium-sized power plants could be shut down if Americans were to switch to energy-efficient lighting, and an enormous amount of money could be saved. As General Electric reports, simply replacing 10 standard 60-watt and five 100-watt incandescent bulbs would save the homeowner as much as $120 each year in utility costs and more than $650 over the life of the bulbs!

LED Lights

LED lights, or Light Emitting Diodes, use clusters of two to 36 solid, miniature light bulbs. While these bulbs have been in use since the 1960s, they’ve only become inexpensive enough to consider for home lighting in recent times. While a bulb can cost as much as $40, they’re able to last up to ten times longer than a compact florescent light, withstand vibrations well, and they generate less than 1/20th of the heat of incandescent basement lighting.

One disadvantage of LED lights is that they tend to shine in focused beams of light. Means of diffusing that light are being designed, but in their current state, they’re best only for task lighting purposes such as in desk lamps, nightlights, spotlights, or for use to light up cabinets and closets. The technology is changing rapidly, however, and it’s definitely worth watching!

Halogen Basement Lights

When combined with flourescent basement lights, well-placed halogen lights are a great way to add beauty to the space!

Halogen lights may not have the level of energy-efficiency of some other lighting options, but they have strengths that are hard to beat. Although they’re designed with the same technology as incandescent lights, they do so with 30% more efficiency and can provide the truest, most radiant, and brightest light available. They’re not set to be phased out as incandescent lighting is, and they offer a sensible compromise of beauty and energy-efficiency.

Unfortunately, the application of these lights are fairly limited. While they work very well in can lights, track lights and task lighting, a homeowner planning to design their basement with them will find them best used in combination with other lights such as fluorescent.

The Best Basement Lights

Finishing the basement should be forever, and planning forever deserves professional attention and careful design. Total Basement Finishing would like to provide you with an expert basement finisher that can transform your dark, dank basement into a beautiful new living space! Each of our experienced certified basement remodeling specialists is here to help you make your basement finishing project into exactly what you’re looking for in your home. If you would like a free basement refinishing estimate, call or contact us today!

Whether your family is growing, looking to sell your house in a few years, or anticipating regular visitors, finishing the basement is a great idea! However, when finishing a basement, it becomes clear that the space is unique and offers many challenges and special conditions that are not present on the other floors. Let’s take a look at a few:

Basement Windows

Crystal Clear EverLast Basement Windows

In a basement, window space is a real commodity. Basement windows tend to be smaller than windows on the upstairs floors, and they often receive less direct sunlight than the floors above. Additionally, many homeowners will install singe-paned steel basement windows in the area, which rust and create an ugly eyesore. Additionally, these windows are cold and draftt, and they can allow water into the basement if the window wells clog and fill with water.

Instead of single-paned steel basement windows, it’s best to install double-paned vinyl basement windows. They’re able to last as much as twice as long as their steel counterparts and they offer as much as three times the insulation.

Basement Ceilings and Floors

Very often, the basement’s ceiling will be much lower than any other area in the home. Therefore, preserving head room can be vital to a successful job. A low ceiling can give a room a cramped, uncomfortable feel and will ultimately make the room much less hospitable to all who live there. If you’re looking to save head room, look down. Install a basement floor product that is close to the ground, inorganic, and one that sits on raised pegs to provide an air space underneath the flooring. Vinyl floor tiles take up a faction of the vertical space of a basement, and they last much longer than other options (especially wood!).

Basement Lighting

Keep the basement beautiful with tastefully placed lighting!

Due partially to the lack of large windows, a basement can be a dark, dismal place if the homeowner isn’t careful with the design. However, installing mold-resistant drop ceiling tiles will allow for a great deal of versatility in the basement design. Drop ceilings are perfect for recessed lighting, can lighting, drop lights, and energy-efficient florescent lighting. Florescent lights are best for the area, as they use a third of the energy and last ten times longer than their counterparts. It’s also a great idea to strategically place some floor and table lamps at every location possible and to use as much brightly-colored furniture as possible.

No matter how many lights you install, there will be few substitutes to good lighting in the basement. Installing large egress windows instead of basement doors is a fantastic start. In the smaller basement windows, replace all those dark, rusty steel basement window wells with covered SunHouse window wells to reflect in as much beautiful sunlight as possible for the basement space.

Basement Water and Humidity

Drywall can quickly grow mold once it becomes moist.

Basements are notorious for being humid, leaking areas. If the basement has ever had any foundation water leak in, then it should be completely waterproofed and protected before the basement finishing. However, even with a carefully waterproofed basement, humidity can still pass through the porous concrete of the basement walls and floors as water vapor, filling up the area and adding dampness to materials. If carpet, wood, drywall, fiberglass, or any other material that contains organic material is present, it can become a habitat for mold, mildew, and rot. And with all the sinks, pipes, tubs, toilets, water heaters, washing machines and other plumbing in the house, a failure and flood is unavoidable!

When finishing a basement, be sure to install only inorganic materials in the space that are warranted against mold and moisture. Drywall, carpeting, and wood will grow mold and rot, and wood will become saturated with water, causing it to swell and buckle. Even mold-resistant drywall has no long-standing warranty against mold, and it can still be damaged easily by water.

Total Basement Finishing’s line of basement remodeling products are made specifically with the basement environment in mind. These bright, beautiful products resist mold and moisture, and they’re sure to keep the basement looking beautiful and attractive for decades to come. Additionally, the insulated wall panels, floor tiles, and low-E double thermopaned basement windows combine to make a system that’s warm, sensible, and cost-effective. And if the area is being used as a game room, children’s play room, or entertainment area, you’ll be grateful that you have walls that won’t crumble and break on impact, replaceable ceiling tiles, and basement floors that are twice as durable as the alternatives. There’s nothing like the Total Basement Finishing system!

The home improvement industry rates the effectiveness of insulation by something called the R-Insulation Rating. The higher the R-rating of the material, the better insulated the area is. Each R-rating is 50% closer to 100% than the previous one. If a building material is spread across a wall in an unbroken sheet and has an R rating of 1, then it will be able to reflect back 50% of the heat that reaches it. A building material with an R-rating of 2 will be 50% more effective, sending back 75% of all hear. R-3 reflects 87.5%, R-4 reflects 93.75%, and so on.

Brand new single paned steel basement windows for example, are installed with an R-insulation rating of 1. This means that 50% of the heat that strikes these windows is reflected back into the basement. As the steel basement windows corrode, rust, and become drafty, they will rapidly lose their insular properties. Double-paned vinyl basement windows do much better, with and R-rating of 2 (reflecting 75% of heat). Adding Low-E glass to the basement windows like EverLast basement windows will raise the R-rating to nearly 3. Insulating basement windows is extremely important, as these portals offer the weakest insulation points of the entire home.

In many areas of Canada and North America, the code requirement for insulating basement walls has been set at R-13, with the International Energy Conservation Code recommending heavy basement insulation as a way to save money and add to comfort in a basement. A basement wall with R-10 insulation installed in Minneapolis, Minnesota will save $400 each year on energy bills!

Basement floors are also a concern in homes. Cold concrete floors are uncomfortable surfaces that will cool the entire home. Installing a completely inorganic plastic vapor barrier on the basement floor that sits on raised pegs will add a layer of insulation to the floor that can keep the ground as much as ten degrees warmer than the concrete below.

Keeping your basement well-insulated is a great way to add comfort and energy efficiency to your new living space. Unpainted drywall has a R-rating of .5: is that really what you want in your home? Before you add cold walls in your basement that can grow mold, rot, and mildew, check out Total Basement Finishing’s Finished Basement Wall Panels. With a 50-year warranty against mold and moisture even if the basement floods, they’re the best product on the market! They hold 300 pounds per square foot, clean easily, and will not crumble like other products. Check out these beautiful panels today!

Basement Ceiling

Our Mold Resistant Basement Ceiling Tiles Keep a Basement Beautiful for Decades!

There are two methods of finishing a basement that have proven popular- basement drop ceilings and drywall ceilings.

Drywall ceilings have historically been a popular basement ceiling solution for one primary reason: homeowners are looking for a cheap way to finish a basement to look just like the rest of the home. However, a basement has fewer windows, a lower ceiling, water heaters and utilities, and different needs for finishing the walls and floors. If you want to finish the area, it’s never going to look just like the rest of the home. Ultimately, drywall is a cheap, dusty, dirty material, and when it’s installed on the ceiling it offers poor access to pipes, electrical wires, and ducts even if an access portal is created.

Conversely, basement drop ceilings provide a quick, clean installation that is compatible with energy-efficient florescent lights, recessed lighting, can lights, and suspended lights.

With Total Basement Finishing, your basement can become your favorite room in the house!

Each panel can also serve as a convenient access point for air ducts, pipes, and electrical wiring. Additionally, if there is a plumbing failure or damage dealt to the ceiling, individual tiles can easily be replaced with a few minute’s effort instead of attempting a drywall patch. Drop ceilings can also muffle sounds between the basement area and the second floor, providing additional comfort and privacy for the entire home.

In a basement, the product should be completely inorganic and come with a warranty against sagging that will lasts for at least 25 years. Drywall products offer no guarantee like this, and they have no way to provide the unique types of materials that a reliable basement finishing requires.

Across the world since more than 4,000 B.C., tiled flooring if one of the most ancient ways to cover a home’s floor. There’s no doubt that the designed look of tile is one of the best looks in a custom-designed basement. Unfortunately, appearance is all you’ll get in a basement environment with a tiled basement floor. These cold, expensive, hard surfaces can shatter easily and can a health risk.

10 Reasons to Avoid Ceramic, Stone and Marble Basement Floor Tiles

1. Stone and ceramic tiles are usually grouted directly to the floor, which makes them costly, difficult, and messy for removal.
2. Installing tiles is a long, tedious, and involved project. After installation, they will need to sit for at least two days without being used in order to seal correctly on to the floor. To learn how to install tile to the floor, click here.
3. Because these tiles do not add insulation to the basement floor, they tend to be cold and uncomfortable underfoot.
4. Porous grout lines can absorb moisture, stain easily, and grow mold, bacteria, and mildew. To care for them properly, they should be resealed each year.
5. Floor tiles made of ceramic are fragile and can easily crack, chip, shatter, and crumble.
6. Stone, marble, and ceramic tiles have a surface that is hard, cold, and unforgiving. Dropped objects will shatter easily on impact, and injuries sustained from slips and falls will be more severe.
7. Wet tiles will be slippery when wet, making them less safe than other flooring materials.
8. Porous tiles easily stain and grow bacteria. They need to be treated routinely with sealants.
9. Stone, marble and ceramic tiles reflect sound and make a lot of noise underfoot.
10. High quality stone and marble flooring is very expensive and can cost upwards of $25/square foot.

Replacing old stone, marble and stone tiles can cause exposure to asbestos and other harmful chemicals and should be done by a professional. However, if you hire a professional, you should carefully check for hidden costs, as many will add a charge if you want them to remove furniture, remove and dispose of the previous flooring, or prepare the subfloor for tiles. Finishing the floor could be more expensive than you think!

Total Basement Finishing’s ThermalDry Tiled Basement Flooring is a much more convenient option. It installs with all the beauty of ceramic, stone, or marble flooring and without many of the disadvantages. ThermalDry offers a warmer surface (up to ten degrees) that installs with a build that will not stain or shatter the way other tiling does. Installation is fast, easy, and requires no grout. If they ever need to be removed, they can be taken up easily even by a novice homeowner. They’re more forgiving to falls, and they will not support the growth of mold, mildew, and bacteria like grout does.

If you’d like to learn more, Total Basement Finishing would like to connect you with an expert representative that can meet with you and offer a free consultation on finishing your space. Call or contact us today for more information!