Finishing A Basement (Part 3)

Once you have determined the layout of your basement living space you can devote your imagination to the "look and feel". Lighting, flooring, mouldings, paint are the most significant factors that will influence how people feel when they spent time in your basement.

Lighting
Light can come from a variety of sources like windows, ceiling fixtures and floor/table lamps. Each has its strengths and weaknesses, for example, natural light is preferable but is only available during sunny days! The big decision most people struggle with is when to use standard light fixtures and when to use pot lights. Before you can make this decision you have to understand the difference between the two types.

Pot lights are recessed into the ceiling and cast a spot light straight down. From a height of 8 feet that spot will be about 6 feet across. This means that, in order to overlap the spots and provide uniform lighting, pot lights must be installed in 4-5 foot intervals. Because of the nature of the light they project, pot lights are ideal for small areas where a more intense light is needed.

Ceiling fixtures provide diffused lighting, that is, the light is evenly spread out over a wide area. This means a small number of fixtures can adequately light a large room. Unlike pot lights, because the light is unfocused it is not suitable to work areas. Also, if your ceilings are less than 8 feet high ceiling fixtures take up valuable head room. This is the primary reason why pot lights are widely used in basement applications.

Flooring
There are many types of flooring that are suitable for a basement such as carpeting, laminate, hardwood or tile. Each type has its appeal and, if installed correctly, will provide long life.

The key with flooring is to ensure it cannot get wet. Nothing is worse for a basement than wet flooring. Aside from damaging the product, trapped water breeds mould and mildew, as well as the musty smell we associate with older finished basements.

Fortunately, there are many ways to ensure your flooring product stays dry. If you are installing directly over concrete you must first ascertain if the floor is leeching water. Place a sheet of plastic over the floor overnight and check it in the morning. If the underside of the plastic is damp then your flooring will get wet. If not, you're good to go, presuming your basement does not leak!

If there is a risk of water on the basement floor then you must install a raised floor beforehand. This will ensure any water either in or on the concrete floor does not come in contact with your flooring product.

Having taken the necessary steps to ensure you will have a dry floor then you can choose which type of flooring to use. Tile should be used in high traffic areas such as stairway landings and walk-outs where dirt and moisture will be tracked. Beyond that, anything goes!

Mouldings and Paint
Baseboards, door/window casings and crown mouldings are what decorators refer to as "architectural details". They are pleasing to the eye and break up the monotony of all the straight lines of walls, floors and ceilings. The best way to make them noticeable is by highlighting them, typically with white paint. White is a good contrast with all paint colours, gives a clean appearance and is a good break between the different colours and textures found on walls and floors.

In the same way you highlight these architectural details you can draw attention to the walls, floors or ceiling of a room. Pick a dramatic paint colour for a "feature wall" or use a richly coloured hardwood or laminate on the floor. Use your imagination! A word of caution here though... if you plan to sell your house soon then neutral colours are advised. Nothing turns off potential buyers faster than bold colours! After all, we all have different tastes in decorating :-)

Good luck with your basement!

Mike.
http://www.m2renterprises.ca