Wife said its time to redo the unfinished basement

[HoughMade]

How well one gets along with their neighbors play into this sort of thing. Folks with an axe to grind are happy to drop a dime when they see contractor vehicle activity, construction related noise, etc.

Well that's true...which makes it good policy to not provoke disputes....and live spread out.

'course when I lived in South Haven, it was like the wild west out there...people adding whole rooms outside the present house's envelope or building 4 car garages on less than a quarter acre- no permits whether it showed or not.

 

[looney2ns]

Permits and inspections are over rated. They only want the permit, so they know to add you to the prop tax log.

Built a room on my house, pulled permits. The so called inspection amounted to the inspector standing in the door way of new room for 30 seconds, glanced around, said looks good, here is your tag. It was a joke.

 

[HoughMade]

Permits and inspections are over rated. They only want the permit, so they know to add you to the prop tax log.

Built a room on my house, pulled permits. The so called inspection amounted to the inspector standing in the door way of new room for 30 seconds, glanced around, said looks good, here is your tag. It was a joke.

When my Dad built onto the front of his house...which showed from the road, he got a building permit. When it came time for the inspections, he called the county (this is in rural Michigan) and was told the building inspector quit and they didn't have a replacement yet. The guy at the county said (over the phone): "Are you satisfied that you did a good job?" Dad said: "yep"- they mailed him the approval.

 

[hoosierdoc]

My first house I applied for the building permit for a deck. I was told I couldn't pour the concrete for posts until I had the permit. I had one week off work to get it done. Inspector was due 9am on day 2. He never showed. I wasted an entire day waiting. I learned my lesson.

 

[Mr Evilwrench]

I've been assessed for a fireplace I don't have for many years just because the structure is there for an optional one, but I don't want to stir up the hornets' nest about it because they'd start asking about the shed I built, and some other stuff. I do my own work generally, and have the skills to do it right; I want to put in the best because I plan on living with it.

Permit requirements vary by county. Some places don't require them at all, but there's one up in, I think Wisconsin that requires lath and plaster rather than sheetrock, and maybe even knob and tube wiring. Here I can build a deck with no permit; it just has to have a rail if it's above a certain height.

 

[jblomenberg16]

Perhaps with your budget you could factor in a hidden room. If you are starting from a blank slate, it might me a neat idea to have a get away room hidden behind one of those bookcase doors. Just saying since it is on my wish list.

We looked at doing something similar. Had a lot of neat ideas, but to really make it work would have significantly compromised the other space we had allocated for other things. In the end we just have lots of locks and doors between the outside of the house, and the things we want to protect, the final of which is a custom built in safe. If someone wants in bad enough, they'll get into it, but its gonna take a lot of work.

 

[unshelledpilot]

Since we're on the subject, does anyone know a guy in NWI that can lay a basement subfloor. Approx ~750sqft.

 

[longbow]

I'm looking for links and pictures at this stage. I should have said it in the OP. J

 

[Dosproduction]

100K can a borrow some. Does anyone know about unincorporated Valpo and permits? I live in Morgan Township, Porter County, unincorporated Valpo.

 

[Slawburger]

You might want to keep part of it unfinished (perhaps an unfinished room by the mechanicals). Eventually you will have a dirty job to do and it will be too cold, too wet, too far to walk to the garage.

Bathroom will save some running up and down the steps.

Since you have an entrance you could add a full bath, bedroom, kitchenette/bar and family room which could serve as a suite for an elderly parent one day.

You said it was a walk-out but does it have windows? Basements can feel dark without windows. Light colored walls help make it feel brighter.

Today's laminate flooring can be installed in a basement but hardwood can absorb moisture from the concrete.

How about a vault in one corner for the day your gun safe becomes too small?

 

[HoughMade]

100K can a borrow some. Does anyone know about unincorporated Valpo and permits? I live in Morgan Township, Porter County, unincorporated Valpo.

I live in Morgan Township too....wish I could help, but I just moved here in the fall.

 

[vitamink]

Complete unsubstantiated rumor buuuuuuut...

I hear if you finish your floor with stained concrete, it doesn't change the status of your basement from finished to unfinished. I think it looks amazing, if done right.

DIY Stained Concrete Floors - SCDUCKS.COM Forums

before and after pictures

 

[Slawburger]

Wow, I have seen some nice stained concrete but those pictures were great.

 

[Tactically Fat]

I whole-heartedly agree with stained concrete...

IF you can stand to have cold feet. That's insignificant to some, but not others. That's why they make rugs and floor mats, though.

Also: OP, after reading through your post history and seeing many of them, I know you know this. But just to rehash: How's the water table in/around your house? What's the POTENTIAL water table around your house? Can your basement handle an extremely wet season or several super heavy rainfall events in a row? If so - great. Fantastic. But would it be worth including some water mitigation tactics in your remodel? Sump pumpS, interior perimeter drain + french drain + sump + pump type system? Having the exterior walls coated with the "keep the water out" type stuff that's supposed to work (but that I have no clue about)?

Are you going to have plumbing? Upflush toilets are kind of neat, but they're expensive. Probably about the same cost of buying one of those and not needing to jackhammer out the floor for more traditional plumbing installation.

How easily do you want to get to the existing utility lines that are now presumably hung and running through the basement ceiling? Spend the big $$ for finished drywall...and may have to cut portions out to make repairs, or hang a ceiling. You can get GREAT looking hanging ceiling systems these days. Not all drop-ceiling tiles are created (And cost) equal. For me and MY paranoia, having easy access to a potentially leaking sewage pipe would be worth the "look" for a drop ceiling. Whatever you do - be sure that your current water supply and waste lines are competent and are secured well. My wife's sister and her husband recently had a several thousand dollar insurance claim due to a failed waste pipe hanger. One hanger broke..stressed another hanger too much...that broke... And all of a sudden, there was lots of fresh poo running out of their pipes into and all over their basement.

 

[longbow]

I talked with a sales rep at Graber Post Buildings. He said to look into metal siding for a basement idea. It might work for the man cave and the ceilings.

 

[JettaKnight]

I talked with a sales rep at Graber Post Buildings. He said to look into metal siding for a basement idea. It might work for the man cave and the ceilings.

I thought about that for the ceiling, but concrete floors and metal ceilings will make for echo that last for two days.

 

[Tactically Fat]

I thought about that for the ceiling, but concrete floors and metal ceilings will make for echo that last for two days.

Not to mention the potential for temperature differential leading to condensation... But I'd imagine that's easily mitigated with some plastic sheeting.

I'd not do it for anything other than trim/accent for the reason that JettaKnight mentioned. Holy echo batman.

 

[JettaKnight]

Not to mention the potential for temperature differential leading to condensation... But I'd imagine that's easily mitigated with some plastic sheeting.

I'd not do it for anything other than trim/accent for the reason that JettaKnight mentioned. Holy echo batman.

My last basement had low ceilings, so a drop ceiling was out. I suck at drywall and don't have a lift, so out. I'm cheap so... out.

What I did was paint all the floor joist and cavities flat black, then I stapled metal screen to the ceiling. The end result was really pretty good looking and very different.

My new basement has 7' walls and the floor cavities are insulated then drywalled (it's a finished basement I'll remodel). I'm looking for ideas now...

 

[The Keymaster]

If there is plumbing/mechanical do not drywall the ceiling. Drop in is easily removed for service work and easily replaceable when damaged.

THIS^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

 

[The Keymaster]

100K can a borrow some. Does anyone know about unincorporated Valpo and permits? I live in Morgan Township, Porter County, unincorporated Valpo.

What is this permit you speak of? We did pull one for our deck. It was a repair so it did not require an inspection, and it didn't add value to the house. Permits in Porter County are all about taxes. With the new yearly visit from the snooper anything done outside that requires a permit, better have one.