[NA] Semi-finished basement ideas

flyingcheesehead

flyingcheesehead

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iMooniac
Hi all,

I have a basement that is half finished, and I'm planning to start making more use of the unfinished side as a workshop/project area. I'm looking for some ideas on how to make it a nicer space, without going to the expense of finishing it.

The basic configuration has the stairs in the middle, which turn 90 degrees toward the finished side. It's a little bit odd in that the finished and unfinished sides are split on the long axis of the house, so it's somewhat narrow. The unfinished side has furnace, water heater, water softener, sump, radon mitigation system, and electrical panel so fully finishing it would make it into a pretty weird shape anyway.

Three walls of the unfinished side are concrete, the fourth is the back of the finished side so mostly exposed insulation and studs. The ceiling is open (wooden joists), with plenty of romex, coax, ducts, etc running through it.

Has anyone done something like painting the concrete, adding vinyl flooring, etc? In the context of a basement with the various moisture issues that might be encountered (no leaks, FWIW), what is and isn't advisable?

Thanks for any ideas!
 
Our basement holds a two car garage and the other side is finished. We do have the occasional leak when the ground is saturated but nothing too bad. Moisture is definitely a concern! The previous owners are the ones that finished it out. They put cherry planks on the walls spaced out from the concrete block on 1x2's. This leaves in air gap which seems to help everything stay dry. On the floor they used a very stiff stick on tile, not sure of the kind. Good idea, but they have started to curl up at the edges and my guess is that's humidity. They used a drop ceiling which isn't aesthetically pleasing, but is functional.

If you decide to paint the concrete use one of the epoxy flooring systems. Hard wear and doesn't really care about moisture.
 
I guess the first question is: what is it you're wanting to do with it? I understand "making more use of it", but are you wanting to spend more time down there? If so, what is it you want to be doing while in that space? If you just want utility, put up some pegboard/storage racking and make a workshop out of it. If you are trying to "man cave" the space, you might google some concrete wall coverings to find cheap ways to "finish" it without going all out on a renovation with studs/insulation. Things like cedar planking/corrugated metal can give it a rustic or industrial appearance while hiding some of the mechanical aspects of it if you so desire. Outdoor rugs can be used on the flooring to break up a drab floor while still being moisture tolerant.
 
SoonerAviator said:
I guess the first question is: what is it you're wanting to do with it? I understand "making more use of it", but are you wanting to spend more time down there? If so, what is it you want to be doing while in that space? If you just want utility, put up some pegboard/storage racking and make a workshop out of it. If you are trying to "man cave" the space, you might google some concrete wall coverings to find cheap ways to "finish" it without going all out on a renovation with studs/insulation. Things like cedar planking/corrugated metal can give it a rustic or industrial appearance while hiding some of the mechanical aspects of it if you so desire. Outdoor rugs can be used on the flooring to break up a drab floor while still being moisture tolerant.
Click to expand...

Ah yes, I need to define the mission. ;)

I spend next to no time down there right now. Refilling the salt in the water softener and schlepping stuff to and from the storage racks I put up in there is about it. It's mostly an unused space.

The prior owners of the house, when they remodeled the kitchen, kept the old kitchen cabinets and put them up down there. The main thing I'm going to do is put up a workbench underneath those cabinets, and use it for soldering, doing fun experiments with my son, building random stuff, etc...

I'm going to re-do the lighting (currently just pull-chain bulb fixtures) to LED tubes (already bought supplies for that), put some lights under the cabinets to shine on the workbench, and put in a long power strip along the back of the bench (something like these). I'll probably put another toolbox down there.

The furnace only heats the 1st and 2nd floors, not the basement. The currently finished half of the basement has electric baseboard heaters but those have a bum switch that doesn't like "off" so I generally keep the breaker off on those. I was thinking I might just put some electrically heated floor tiles in the workbench area.

That's all I've figured out so far, which isn't much.
 
I don't live in basement land. But my brother does. 2/3rd finished 1/3rd not. The not finished side is concrete walls, one door to outside, the "equipment" for the house, storage racks, wine cooler (300 bottles), and a workbench area like you are describing.

Main thing I'd consider is some rubberized mats to stand on while you're doing your projects. Standing on hard flooring like concrete is brutal.

The less you spend on the space the less you care about spills, bumping walls or the like.
 
Put pegboard up on the studs, whatever you want on the floor and call it a day. Don’t really need much more unless you want to spend a lot of time there.
 
If you are going LED I would at least try to stick with a warmer color for the main area, and use the 5K color temp for the under cabinet lights over your workbench. It gets a little harsh having a bunch of bright fluorescent lighting in an otherwise dark space, so the warmer color temp 3-4,000K can make the area a bit more tolerable for longer periods.

Definitely set up the workbench with some comfortable stools and an anti-fatigue rubber mat to avoid throbbing feet from standing in on concrete floors for hours. Heck, even a couple of comfy armchairs and a lamp or two can be useful for perusing manuals. Don’t forget a nice source of music like a Bluetooth speaker or small bench top stereo.
 
I put down Armstrong's newish plank vinyl in my basement. It's sort of ship-lapped and the easiest of any floor technology I've ever installed.
That being said, I really like the Mannington Ardura premium vinyl. I have it in my kitchen, laundry and everything else at grade.

I just studded out the concrete walls. It really isn't that hard.
 
I'd hunt for some carpet being demoed from a commercial building - most all commercial carpet, these days, is done in glue-down squares with integral padding, and the stuff they take out from commercial projects just peels right up, and unless there was some poorly-applied floor fill under it, you can just lay it back down on your concrete - ba da bing, and done. Pretty good chance that, if you're willing to haul off, you can get it for free.
 
On the finished side... if it were me, I'd have a drain and sump pump system put in to keep it dry, then carpet or do whatever you want. Tile also works even if it does get seepage... but you'll be a whole lot happier if it's just dry all the time. Fix the problem first, rather than working around it.
 
To check for moisture issues...tape a 1 or 2 ft square of plastic to the floor and walls. Needs to be clear, like trash bag or similar. And sealed on all 4 sides. Go look at it after 24 hours. If no visible moisture or a very small amount trapped under the plastic...you might be ok to seal the floor/walls with a paint or floor covering.
I would leave it for a while...weeks even and just see. This spot test works most of the time... but if you only have have moisture issues a certain time of the year...or after lots of rain this might miss it.

As for usage ideas...peg board, shelving galore, work bench, fridge, airplane themed man cave, stripper pole...just let your mind run wild
 
DaleB said:
On the finished side... if it were me, I'd have a drain and sump pump system put in to keep it dry, then carpet or do whatever you want. Tile also works even if it does get seepage... but you'll be a whole lot happier if it's just dry all the time. Fix the problem first, rather than working around it.
Click to expand...

The finished side is already carpeted, the unfinished side already has a drain and sump pump. The water softener drains into the drain, and occasionally that flows a couple feet around the drain. That's one reason why just epoxying the floor would be nice... But I'm also not looking to do the entire floor, because that would involve lifting up the water heater, water softener, furnace, etc...
 
Our basement is completely unfinished. We painted the walls with a white, waterproof paint which makes it feel a lot less dark and gloomy and more inviting. I started epoxying the floor but never finished. The idea was to do one half then move everything so I could do the other half. If I had to pick one, epoxy the floor or paint the walls, I'd paint the walls. I've done a few "projects" in the basement, and while clean-up of the epoxy floor is easier, it is just a basement.

The previous owner put in a french drain as a condition of sale due to some water that was in the basement. In hindsight, I should have just had someone come in and grind and seal the concrete since the entire basement was already dusty from the french drain install.

I've managed to keep everything stored along the walls and tucked away into alcoves so I can:
- Set up a shooting tarp for hockey
- Roller blade and stick handle
- Practice some mountain bike handling skills
- Setup a laser tag arena :)
 
Reklats said:
Our basement is completely unfinished. We painted the walls with a white, waterproof paint which makes it feel a lot less dark and gloomy and more inviting. I started epoxying the floor but never finished. The idea was to do one half then move everything so I could do the other half. If I had to pick one, epoxy the floor or paint the walls, I'd paint the walls. I've done a few "projects" in the basement, and while clean-up of the epoxy floor is easier, it is just a basement.

The previous owner put in a french drain as a condition of sale due to some water that was in the basement. In hindsight, I should have just had someone come in and grind and seal the concrete since the entire basement was already dusty from the french drain install.

I've managed to keep everything stored along the walls and tucked away into alcoves so I can:
- Set up a shooting tarp for hockey
- Roller blade and stick handle
- Practice some mountain bike handling skills
- Setup a laser tag arena :)
Click to expand...

60174671.jpg
 
I would put up some cheap paneling or thin drywall to keep the insulation out of my son't lungs. After that I would find some rubber matting like they sell at Harbor Freight to cover the floor to reduce the stress on your feet on concrete. I would advise against carpet since it will collect dust and whatever debris you create with your projects. I don't' know if the basement is fully underground or if you have some way of putting a vent to the outside. If you can that would be advisable. Finally, unplug the radon fan it is a waste of money.
 
Unfinished is fine with me. I have a radon reader from Amazon, about $100 I thought. It gives the long term average and the shorter term radon reading. I just use a fan out my Bilko Door opening on nice weather days occasionally. My radon level averages about ‘5’ lonterm, for the time we spend there, good enough.

There are other DIY radon mitigation techniques, haven’t tried them yet.

I vote a few gun safes & a reloading area.
 
cgrab said:
I would put up some cheap paneling or thin drywall to keep the insulation out of my son't lungs. After that I would find some rubber matting like they sell at Harbor Freight to cover the floor to reduce the stress on your feet on concrete. I would advise against carpet since it will collect dust and whatever debris you create with your projects. I don't' know if the basement is fully underground or if you have some way of putting a vent to the outside. If you can that would be advisable. Finally, unplug the radon fan it is a waste of money.
Click to expand...

Good ideas, but you're wrong about that last part. The reason the radon system is in there is that when we had the home inspected, it had the second-highest radon levels the home inspector had ever seen. :o

I wouldn't do more carpet since it is going to be just a work area. The basement is mostly underground but there are two window wells on the outside with two small windows near the ceiling (one on the finished side, one on the unfinished side).
 
I also disagree with the radon fan. Put one in the house I had finished the basement after the finishing for some reason caused the radon readings to double. The thing only uses 50 watts or something like that (it only has an inch of pressure) but drops the measured radon to nothing.

Of course adequate ventillation is desirable anyhow. There's lots of other stuff you don't want to be breathing.
 
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