Mary Stroble didn’t really like venturing into her home’s old basement. Walking
down a stairway at the rear of the Sunset Hills home, between the main floor’s
kitchen and family room, she would run right into a wall when she got to the
lower level.

If she turned right, she would find a door. If she turned left, she found a
second door. It was like the stairway to nowhere. The two doors led to dark
spaces. The generic off-white walls offered zero personality and warmth.

“Before,” said her husband, Matt, “it was your typical down and dirty
basement.”

Today the three-bedroom, 2,300-square-foot home Mary and Matt share with their
16-year-old daughter, Kristin, boasts a refinished basement that feels like a
comfy yet sophisticated family entertainment zone. The former down and dirty
basement is now one of the home’s main attractions when guests arrive.

Before they overhauled their basement, the Strobles thought about selling their
home and buying a bigger one. But after looking around, the couple decided
their home was fine — if they just finished 1,200 square feet of space in their
basement.

They are not alone.

With the struggling housing market, more homeowners are trying to maximize the
space they have in their homes instead of buying new ones. Experts say
renovating existing space in a basement can be a cost-effective way to increase
your home’s living space.

A typical basement redo can cost anywhere between $25 and $75 a square foot,
and possibly less if you act as your own project manager.

“I think any basement can be redone,” said Tom Placke, vice president of sales
and construction for Stumpf Homes, which handled the Strobles’ basement
project. “Basically everything you need is already there.”

Experts say it’s best to have a plan before you begin. An architect or
construction contractor can help get you started and let you know if your plans
will work with the home’s design. One key factor for any basement redo is
waterproofing. Make sure the floors and walls have been properly waterproofed
and any cracks have been repaired. If necessary, install a sump pump in the
beginning stages of the project.

Matt, 46, and Mary, 48, said they wanted a dual function for the basement of
their home, originally built in 1996. They wanted a comfortable hangout for
their two daughters (Kelsey is a freshman at the University of Dayton) and
their friends, with the goal of keeping them near and dear. And they also
wanted the basement to work for their grown-up entertaining needs as well.

How they did it

The new basement, they say, serves the whole family.

Matt and Mary renovated in two phases. The first phase, completed about six
years ago, opened up the rooms by removing walls — and the two interior
doors — and adding light by knocking down a wall that blocked light from
several windows. They also added a bathroom with a vanity, toilet and shower.

The most recent phase, completed in the last year, made the basement a true
living space that flows nicely with the rest of the house.

One open room off the stairwell is dedicated to working out. One wall features
floor-to-ceiling mirrors with a dance bar, for the couple’s two daughters. The
room is also home to a treadmill, Bowflex machine and foosball table.

Two TVs, one hanging from the ceiling, and another at ground level allow Mary
to multitask her entertainment/news needs during morning workouts.

The basement’s main room, opposite the workout room, is decorated in a warm,
Tuscan style courtesy of CBI Designs of St. Louis. The space serves as a
family, living and entertaining area, complete with a gas fireplace, flat
screen TV with surround sound and a nearby pub table. Ceiling fans whir from
the 9-foot ceilings.

Can lights were layed out during the design stage. Experts say recessed
lighting is often the best choice for a basement because head room is often an
issue (though it wasn’t for the Strobles who had a 9-foot pour in their
basement).

Ceramic tile and carpeting make up the flooring.

The room’s premiere attraction is an L-shaped bar with overhead arches and
recessed lighting. Its base is covered in gray, rough stones; its counter, warm
tile with etched stone around the edges. Its sink and refrigerator are
surrounded by cherry wood cabinets. A bathroom with a shower off the bar
completes the space.

The result

Matt notes that the basement isn’t particularly large. “But this size works
well for the size of family we have,” said Matt, a retail marketing manager
for Anheuser-Busch. “When people come over and get settled, this is where they
come. You have everything you need in one little area.”

At times, the family has had as many as 50 people in their basement.

For Mary, a clinical process leader for BJC HealthCare, the basement redo
exceeded all expectations. She it feels like an extension of their home.

Matt and Mary say they can see themselves in their home for years to come.
They’re glad they didn’t sell and move. Plus, they said, the cost of the
project seemed right. They spent about $77 a square foot for the work Matt
described as “turn key.”

“It’s a true room addition,” Matt said. “It beats paying $350,000 for a new
home.”

When establishing your kitchen or bathroom design, there are many new options available that mimic the same interesting, clean lines of your new fixtures. Some things to keep in mind are:

– Cool colors and modern decor can be made more dramatic with halogen or GE Reveal® Bulbs, which give off cool, bright white light. Alternately, to warm up a modern room slightly, chose frosted or coated bulbs, or Soft White bulbs which cast more golden tones.

– Pendant lighting is another contemporary way to brighten your kitchen and put a spotlight on your prep spaces - like over a stainless steel sink to keep your task work well lit.

– On bathroom walls, try sconces that reflect light onto the walls in geometric shapes and boxy patterns; you’ll enhance the feel of the room by accenting sharp lines of modern faucets and bathroom accessories.

With some of today’s more modern faucets, like Moen’s Level Suite or the ShowHouse and Vivid Suites, using a particular detail of the faucet’s design to inspire the other elements of your redesign can go a long way toward tying the entire room together. For instance, the arc or shape of the faucet head or handles, or the color of the glass or plastic accents on kitchen or bathroom accessories can be picked up and carried into your light fixtures and mirrors. As with any design challenge, consistency is paramount.

Use these easy ideas to make your move toward modern today.

Source: PRNewsWire

Many scientific studies have established links between colors and moods. Blue is generally regarded as peaceful and calming. Red is associated with energy and action. Green symbolizes nature and can create a refreshing, rejuvenating feeling.

“More and more homeowners are opting to use bold colors as they renovate or redecorate,” says Jim Rocchetta, vice president of marketing for nationwide home-improvement contracting network Handyman Connection. “Whether they have their own ideas or get advice from a certified handyman, homeowners have more alternatives than ever before for bringing color into their homes.”

When you’re considering brightening up your home with new wall coverings, here are the primary materials you have to work with:

Paint: Paint areas where people gather, such as living or family rooms, using warm colors such as reds and yellows to promote sociability. To create a feeling of calmness and serenity, bedrooms should feature blues or greens.

A different color on one wall, known as an accent wall, can make a design statement without dominating the room. Lighter colors will make a room seem larger, while using complementary colors can add dimension and additional depth.

Wallpaper: Wallpaper offers the advantage of multiple colors in a single pattern, which allows you more options in choosing your furnishings and accent pieces. Dark colors or dense patterns can seem confining in smaller rooms, so be sure to obtain a wallpaper sample and see how it looks in the room before you decide.

Tile: Although generally associated with the bathroom or kitchen, tile has become a more popular design element for introducing color into other rooms as well. Patterned tiles can be an especially effective complement to dining or transitional rooms.

Depending on your skill level, you may be able to tackle these projects yourself, or you can consult with a local professionally licensed handyman to discuss details and receive a cost estimate.

“It’s amazing how a bit of color can make a big difference in a room’s appearance — and your attitude, too,” adds Rocchetta.

You can keep the “blues” at bay during these chilly months by looking on the bright side-and adding some color to your home.

Souorce: North American Press Syndicate

Solid oak flooring, carved pine doors, handmade ceramic lighting fixtures, flagstone and plumbing pipe.

What one builder or home renovator doesn’t need becomes another’s treasures at places like Habitat Restore and Rio’s Salvage in Santa Fe.

And seasoned wood recovered from old barns and cabins is prized for new home construction.

Recycling useable old materials or excess building materials is an important aspect of “green” building. New “green building” standards are increasingly giving higher marks to builders who reuse existing materials or reduce waste at construction sites. Santa Fe’s new proposed green building code and the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification both award points for reduced construction waste.

Habitat Restore, now located on 2414 Cerrillos Road, benefits from a constant stream of both new and old building materials. The store’s revenue supports Habitat for Humanity, a nonprofit group that helps low-income families build homes.

Simone Ward, Santa Fe’s Habitat Restore director, said a lot of small-scale remodelers donate unused grout and paint, used doors and windows, and other materials from construction sites. Tile stores regularly bring her new boxes of tile. “Doors, windows, furniture and appliances are our best selling items,” Ward said.

She thinks the Restore is attracting a few more clients as people realize they can find good deals and save money compared to even big box stores such as Home Depot or Lowes.

Douglas Maahs, owner of Honey Do Repair in Santa Fe and chairman of the Santa Fe Home Builders remodelers committee, said he takes a lot of reusable materials to Habitat Restore. The materials get a second life and his clients get a tax deduction.

Maahs brings old appliances, carpet lining, and other recyclable materials to Capital Scrap Metals on Cooks Lane. The company accepts scrap aluminum, brass, steel cardboard and auto parts as well. Untreated lumber is often used by his workers as kindling for wood stoves.

“We’re trying to figure out with our own company how to minimize or recycle leftover building material,” Maahs said.

The National Home Builders Association will release new green building standards for remodelers at the end of this year or in January. Maahs said remodeling and renovations make up more than 90 percent of building projects, so it makes sense to encourage remodelers to reduce waste and recycle materials.

Reducing waste during construction lessens the impact on local landfills and saves clients money, he said. He said some builders are figuring out ways to reduce excess building materials such as drywall and plumbing pipe by more than 50 percent. “Green building is not just what goes into the house when putting it up, but what is taken away,” Maahs said.

Santa Fe builder Faren Dancer said he used to take apart old buildings and chicken coops to build structures from scratch. He’s moved up now to building custom, energy-efficient homes. His latest project, the Emerald Home south of the Santa Fe Opera, is designed to produce all its own energy needs. As part of the home, he tracked down 200-year-old hand-carved wood beams from Midwest farms to use as vigas. All the hardwood for the interior doors, cabinets and flooring are reclaimed from old farm buildings. He’s still having to haul the material, but he’s not cutting any new trees for the materials. “Whenever you can reuse materials, then you’re addressing embodied energy,” Dancer said.

He said he’s trying to buy as many materials as possible for the home from within a 500-mile radius of Santa Fe.

Custom or prefabricated kitchen cabinets? That’s the question that’s stumping a Mill Valley home-owner who’s planning and budgeting for an upcoming kitchen remodel. His architect is steering him toward custom cabinets on the premise that prefab cabinets compromise the quality and craftsmanship and, possibly, the overall value of the house itself.
The kitchen in his turn-of-the-century Mill Valley home has a fairly standard configuration for the cabinets, and the bid for the cabinets, with glass doors on the upper cabinets, comes in at about $32,000 including the finishing.

In a recent Fine Living column, he read about Robert Nebolon, the San Rafael architect who customized IKEA cabinets in the remodel of his Eichler home. Although the Mill Valley homeowner wasn’t interested in IKEA cabinets, he would consider some from Home Depot or Expo Design, but would they be viable alternatives?

Licensed contractor Mike Sterling of San Anselmo is owner of Sterling and Co., a remodeling specialty company, and Sterling Inspection Services, a construction consulting firm. He’s also an experienced construction cost estimator, a certified home inspector and qualified expert witness in construction defects.

Here are his considered opinions on the questions posed by the Mill Valley homeowner:

Q: Is there some rule of thumb or what prefabricated cabinets cost relative to custom made? The IKEA example in your article was $5,000 versus $25,000 for custom.

A: The world of manufactured cabinetry is nearly as wide as that of custom cabinets. The extreme upper end is occupied by custom cabinetry and the lower end by modular, manufactured cabinetry. Quality, likewise, can be comparable in the high-middle to upper end of the price range.

For a standard configuration in which medium- to high-quality cabinetry is specified, manufactured cabinetry can be a cost-effective option. In all but economy, or lower-end jobs, one must accept the need to go through the cost comparison exercise. Which is the better choice? It depends.

I have encountered instances in which manufactured cabinetry costs actually exceeded those of custom cabinets of similar quality and there have been times when the quality of the delivered custom cabinets was unacceptably low. Selecting upper-end cabinetry should be done on a case-by-case basis.

No general rule of thumb exists with regard to cost comparison. Comparing costs can only reliably be done after basic design decisions are made. Otherwise, it turns out to be “apples to oranges.”

Q: I have been told to expect a one- to two-month delivery period for the custom cabinets.

A: That lead time is about right for custom cabinets and, depending on supplier, may also be applicable to manufactured. Sometimes the lead time can be cut with both, depending on their respective production schedules.

Q: Are there timing or other issues that come with prefabricated?

A: The biggest issue is the greater lead time usually needed by manufactured cabinetry suppliers for correction of order errors. That may take another month or more, depending on the error. Custom cabinetmakers are usually more responsive and require a shorter correction time.

According to Sterling, these factors need to be carefully considered in either custom or manufactured cabinetry:

- Style. While the style options in manufactured is broad and varied, that of custom cabinetry is virtually unlimited. Obviously, for very special styling or sizing, custom may be the only way to go.

- Finish. Due to the environmental restrictions on certain kinds of finishes in California, out-of-state finishes can be more durable.

- Carcass construction. The thickness and type of the material used in the floor, partitions and back can vary from particle board at the low end to veneered plywood at the upper end. Medium density fiberboard (MDF) is typical and acceptable for most applications.

- Drawer construction. Here the options run from low-durability drawer components, minimally fastened together without adhesive or interlocking parts to high-quality wood and plywood employing mortised, or even dovetail, joints. Drawer hardware can range from none or flimsy stamped metal to ball-bearing models with self-closing features.

- Door construction. Again the material, joinery, hinges and pulls can vary widely in both options.

- Installation. Assuming the order is complete and correct, installation costs can be similar. In his experience problems with the order have been greater with manufactured cabinets, but are not uncommon with custom orders. Resolution of the problems tends to be quicker with custom orders, especially if the shop is local.

- Reputation of cabinetmaker. Do the research, check the references.

- Planning. With any cabinetry job, planning is critical. That is not to say, however, that there cannot be options at various levels of decision, but the options should be clearly identified. Prepare a design in both plan view and elevation. Investigate and specify material, finish, door and drawer hardware. Request proposals from a number of reputable custom cabinet makers and manufactured cabinetry suppliers. Don’t forget about checking the qualifications of the installer. Review the proposals and make a decision.

When it comes to remodeling your basement, the era of 1970s-style wood paneling and thick shag carpeting is over.

These days, basement designers want to make your cellar look as polished as the rest of the house. The only limits are your budget and the amount of space downstairs.

Trendy transformations include home theaters, workout rooms, walk-in closets, bars, pool rooms, wine cellars and guest suites.

But before you spend tens of thousands of dollars on fixing up your basement, think twice about what you’re actually likely to use, says David Schrock, a Chicago-area basement remodeling expert who sells a detailed guide of tips for basement remodeling projects on his Web site, www.basementideas.com

For example, while almost everybody wants a downstairs bathroom these days, people often overestimate how much they are going to use it. “If you’re not going to use the shower, maybe you don’t want to dump the money into it,” he said.

And just like any other major home improvement project, there are plenty of pitfalls to avoid, like water damage from flooding and unscrupulous contractors.

Kyley Davis, owner of The Southern Basement Co. in Cartersville, Ga., advises consumers to get at least three bids from contractors that primarily focus on basements.

Davis says homeowners should insist on several references and photos of the contractor’s previous jobs. And if you can, he says, tour the contractor’s previous work in person.

Many contractors were put out of work because builders halted construction projects as the housing market went into a severe downturn. That means they are desperate for jobs and may low-ball estimates. While that sounds good at first, it could mean cutting important corners.

“You need to be very leery that they know what they’re doing,” Davis said.

Preventing flooding and water damage in the basement should be a primary concern. One popular option: a sump pump system with a battery-operated backup that can pump out water even if there’s a power failure.

Consumers should install such a system before they kick off an expensive remodeling project, said Eric Tullio, national operations director at Mid-Atlantic Waterproofing in Laurel, Md.

He warned, “If you have a water problem after the fact, you’re going to have to tear it all apart.”

Schrock, the Chicago basement specialist who has a over a decade of experience, advises homeowners to get rid of 1970s-style drop ceilings in favor of drywall. Doing so can actually make the room feel more spacious, even if it only makes the ceiling an inch or two higher.

He also advises installing recessed lighting — one for every 6-by-6-foot space — to provide lots of light and reduce the dark basement atmosphere.

Schrock has remodeled basements throughout the Chicago area, with common features including bars, built-in cabinetry and workout rooms. One of his favorite projects was done for a couple who had recently moved out to the suburbs. To create an industrial, loft-style feel, Schrock left the ceiling beams exposed and had them painted black. The basement’s walls were painted red and yellow, and Schrock installed a dark wood bar.

Scott Stevens, owner of Denver-based American Basement Co., has remodeled 600 basements with features as unusual as a golf simulator and a lap pool.

For $600, Stevens will produce a three-dimensional computer model of how your basement will look after it’s finished — including such details as the location of the pool table, bar and flat-screen TV — and will send you the blueprints. “You tell me the measurements and I’m drawing the plan right in front of your eyes,” Stevens said.

David Widlund, who runs his own mortgage company out of his house in Castle Rock, Colo., hired Stevens’ company for a $40,000 basement project more than two years ago.

One particularly good addition, Widlund said, was a large egress window — a window large enough for a person to crawl out in an emergency. It allows a good amount of natural light to pour in, brightening up the space.

His basement now features a bedroom, a bathroom and a home theater with a 100-inch projection screen, and he admitted, “We hang out there a little too often.”