How Do You Finish a Basement

By Jason

How do you finish a basement? 

Start by breaking all the rules.

Next, throw out all the traditional notions of home improvement projects. Focus on a test cycle that will speed you through the 8 major phases (see below).

Framed walls of my new workshop with recessed lighting. Charlotte poking her head in the shot while finishing my basement.

Framed walls of my new workshop with recessed lighting. My daughter Charlotte poking her head in the shot while I was finishing my basement.

Finally, empower yourself by learning the one “skeleton skill” that can un-lock the door to anything you’ve ever wanted.

I’m going to address the whole “skeleton skill” part at the end of the post but I’m not just blowing smoke here.

This post will answer the question how do you finish a basement, but in doing so you will get so much more.

How do you finish a basement

You need to think big, start small and fail fast.  This is a mantra I stress regularly in my day time profession as a digital marketer but it applies to basement finishing as well.

Stop worrying about getting permits or finishing some 20 page design or budget. Just stop. I want you [Read more...]

What is the Cost of a Basement?

By Jason

cost of a basementIn 2013 almost 90,000 people per month search Google for, “what is the cost of a basement.”  Most of the time the websites they find say “it depends”.  Thanks, thanks a lot.  So let’s start with a super quick and direct answer.

The cost of a basement is between 10 and 35 dollars per square feet. Let’s say an average basement is 1,000 square feet of finished space. So the cost of a basement is between $10,000 and $35,000.  10k if you’re doing most of the work yourself and up to $35,000 if you’re hiring a contractor to finish your basement.

Now. What is the cost of a basement for you? Well…. That depends. I have some information below that will help you figure that out.

cost of a basement tip

To save on the cost of a basement – “Follow the Big Dog”

Don’t be discouraged if you think that amount is to high.  I have some cost saving tips that can bring it down significantly.

I’ve nicknamed my best tip “follow the big dog”. It saved me almost 1,500 dollars and [Read more...]

Basement Trick to Get more light from your basement window.

By Jason

I’ve been blogging about basements, basement ideas and basement finishing for more than a year now and I thought I’d seen everything.

My basement ideas Pinterest page has 30+ boards and over 240 pins, but I’ve never seen this done.

Big props to Tony for sharing this idea and the photos – this is his handy work [Read more...]

How to finish your basement faster with a laser distance measuring tool.

By Jason
Jason and the Bosch GLM 80

Finishing my basement would have been quite a bit easier with this.

The tape measure(er).  Wait, is it tape measure OR tape measurer?

Regardless, it’s a fun but frustrating little device.  It never seems to be quite right.

When I was finishing my basement I would measure a 2 x 4 then walk to my cutting station and mumble to myself  something like “80inches and 4 ticks plus a hair”.

I’d say it over and over instead of writing it down ’cause I’m lazy and always forgot my pencil.  “4 ticks plus a hair” – what the hell does that mean?

Of course, each of those little tick marks has a name and I feel like a total dumbass when I can’t remember what those names are, especially when another dude is around. [Read more...]

What’s an Up Flushing Toilet? Plus 12 other tips and ideas from my parent’s basement finishing project. (video tour)

By Jason

Even though this website is all about finishing your basement with your own two hands of glory… I completely understand that not every wants to do this.

So I hope this will be the first of many “virtual basement tours” where you can learn first hand the good, the bad and the ugly in the world of basement finishing projects.

This first tour hits close to home because in a way, it is home! I’ve slept in this basement many times, it’s my parent’s basement!

Here’s a tour of their basement. Hi Mom!  Hi Dad!

They finished their 700 square foot basement for about $38,000. My parent’s basement took about 8 weeks to complete.   If that’s sounds a little steep for just 700 square feet, hang with me till the end, they had some unique issues to deal with – one of which required a saw blade that was the size of an oven door.

1. How Did They Find Their Basement Contractor?

My Mom first saw the company they eventually used in the local paper and some of those advertising inserts. Their website had a lot of good reviews and they [Read more...]

What Kind of Electrical Wire Do You Need To Finish a Basement

By Jason

which wiring for electrical plugs - lightsMaybe you’re thinking;

“I can’t really finish my basement on my own, because I don’t know how to do electrical stuff. I don’t even know what wire to buy!”

You say “stuff” because you really don’t have a clue what it’s all about.

Well… I would say back to you - “That’s a really lame excuse.”  You haven’t even investigated it yet.

You haven’t read an article like this that reveals to you this 1 simple fact:

You only need 3 wire types:

14/2 – The White Wire – used for wiring lights and light switches

12/2 – The Yellow Wire – used to wire plugs

14/3 – Same as 14/2 but with an extra red wire in it so you can control the same lights with 2 different switches (like for hallways and stairs) [Read more...]

How many recessed lights do you need for your basement?

By Jason

How many recessed lights do you need for your finished basement?  That’s what you’re wondering. Right?

I thought about scouring the internet for that perfect illumination calculator that GE probably built. I’m sure it has some crazy complicated math that hinges on the light spectrum, what phase the moon is in and the color your eyes… but then I thought, “F” that.

I’m going to shoot a video of me, walking around my basement, showing you how many recessed lights I put in and where I put them and then I’m going to give you 5 awesome tips to help you finish your basement with recessed lighting.

Here’s the video

The truth is that there is no universal basement lighting truth.  Everybody has an opinion and to a degree they’re all kind of right.

So please allow me to sprinkle some of my insights into your basement dreams and desires (in regards to lighting). These aren’t the end all be all  - these are just 5 rules of thumb to consider when designing your lighting. If you follow these, you’ll be pretty happy with how things turn out. [Read more...]

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