Renovating an Existing Basement?

It only makes sense but...

More often than not, the basement is an area homeowners are itching to tackle as a DIY renovation project and why not? When it comes to creating affordable livable space, the basement has a great deal going for it. Doing it yourself adds to the satisfaction of having accomplished something wonderful and adding some valuable skills to your repertoire too.

The basement provides you with an ideal space to finish - a floor, walls, and a ceiling of sorts are already in place.

Compared to building an addition of the same size, your basement renovation makes perfect economic sense when it comes to the cost to create a finished space.  Since there's a real incentive to make the basement livable, especially when you consider how it will free up cluttered space upstairs, most homeowners count on the space being ready for conversion into a family room/man cave/secondary suite.

Not so fast...

Before you begin to even contemplate renovating your basement, you need to ensure the basement is fit for development.  What this means is the space needs to be evaluated to ensure the time, effort and money poured into the project is worth it.

Doing the project the wrong way can have catastrophic implications, and I'm not talking resale either. I'm talking the structural failure of your foundation or needing to replace your foundation.

A basement cleaned and prepared for conversion into an apartment - Photo by author

Signs of trouble

This photo shows a classic condition of foundation walls that are in imminent danger of collapse.  Actually, these walls were so unsafe they were demolished and replaced at a significant cost.

However, there are signs indicating these walls are in trouble.

"What are they, these signs?" you ask.

Well, off the top of my head - efflorescence, spalling and lifting floor tiles - just to name a few.

The unfortunate part of this story is when the house was purchased, the basement had been finished - completely - walls, floors and ceilings. As a result, the new owners had no idea of the condition of the foundation walls behind the painted drywall and trim. However, the owners mentioned something was a bit off by the moldy smell and the dehumidifier that constantly ran.

Here, the previous work to finish the basement was done without a permit.

Look, listen and follow your nose

So before you decide to invest in your basement renovation, you need to evaluate your foundation walls to ensure the time, effort, and investment you make in finishing the space is worth it. 

Look for signs of water infiltration. Visible evidence of efflorescence and spalling means there's work to be done outside before converting your unused interior basement space into a comfortable healthy living area for you and your family.

Be sure to:

• Measure the walls and floor with a moisture meter. If you don't have a moisture meter, spiders are your next best resource.  Spiders love wet moist areas and typically build their webs in areas where high moisture is constantly present.
  
• Be aware of the comfort of the space. Moist, clammy air is another indicator more exploration is required to determine where the water is coming from.
  
• Sniff test for mold or musty smells
  
• Moldy books, linens or other fabrics stored in the space are another indication the moisture level is inexplicably too high.
  

A safe level for the relative humidity of the air in your basement is 45%.  If your dehumidifier struggles to maintain that level, you have some investigating to do to determine why.