Finished Basement

The basement in Canton that we have been renovating is finished!  The homeowners are now using their new space including an area for enjoying music, a new bathroom, and a new den with a wet bar.  With their choices of lighting, flooring, doors, windows, and trim designed to match the first floor, the new space immediately feels like home.  Check out some images of the new space below:

Craig Carter

Basement Flooring

To complete the finish work for the basement we've been working on, we installed floating vinyl strip flooring.  The commercial grade planks look just like wood and are removable if necessary in the future.  It is the perfect solution for installations over concrete because its vapor barrier prevents bending and cupping of the material.

The flooring is quick and easy to install, and the completed look is first rate.  Paramount Rug in Brockton, MA provided this excellent flooring solution.

With the flooring done, all that remains to do in this basement renovation job is to obtain the final inspections from plumbing, electrical, and building inspectors.  Check back soon for images of the new living spaces our clients have added to their lovely home in the Boston suburbs.
Craig Carter

The Basement Finish Work

The basement that we are finishing is starting to look more and more like another wing of the house.  The walls are painted, and we are installing all the plugs, switches and switch plates.  Sconces are going up, and the lights are being trimmed.  The ugly electric panel is now covered with fine cabinet doors.

The built-in cabinetry will not only be functional, but it will add the charming detail that invites one into a room. 

We have begun the tile work in the bathroom which now looks like any first floor powder room. 

In the wet bar and bath, the countertops have been installed on the new cabinets so the next step is the final plumbing work.  Check back for our next post to see how we are converting this basement from dark, under-utilized storage areas into appealing and comfortable living spaces.

Craig Carter

Creating An Unbasement-Like Basement

We continue to make good progress renovating the basement for our client who wants to take advantage of this spacious, but under-utilized area in his new house. The plastering of the ceiling and walls is done, and it looks great.

After the plastering is done



Trim and doors upstairs

What makes the new basement rooms seem to be an extension of the rest of the house is matching the trim, windows and doors.  The trim upstairs consists of simple but elegant casings.  The raised panel doors have two insets, and the top one is arched.  The casings and doors are painted white.

                                                                                                




Trim and door in the basement

We use the same materials in the new basement even on the wide opening between rooms. 

NOTE: Before we installed the doors and door jams, we made sure to seal the bottoms with Kilz.  Although we found no evidence of water, leaving unfinished wood exposed is never a good idea, especially in a basement.

The next steps to finish our basement will be the installation of cabinetry and the templating of countertops.  Look for future postings about this part of the job.

Craig Carter

The Basement Ceiling

My clients want their renovated basement to look like the rest of their home so they are making many similar construction choices here including a high plaster ceiling instead of a lower, dropped ceiling.  We will be putting up blueboard and plastering over it to match the finishes elsewhere in the house.  It will cost a little more than a dropped ceiling and take a little longer to install, but the feel of the new rooms will be very unbasement-like. 

In the framing, I am using studs about 107” long for the 8’ 6” foot ceiling height to save lumber and labor costs.  If we had used 10’ studs, we have had a lot more cutting to do and faced some unavoidable waste in materials. 

So, the remaining tasks before installing the ceiling will be some plumbing and the wiring for power, lighting, smoke and motion detectors, and audio/visual components.  We previously installed a new electric subpanel to handle the electrical requirements of the basement.  All the new audio/visual wiring will return to a central closet where stereo equipment will be placed at a later time. 

The client wisely spent many hours browsing magazines and the Net looking for lighting ideas, and together with her brother-in-law, an electrician, she has arrived at a well thought out lighting plan.  Another choice would have been to work with a first rate lighting company such as Yale Appliance and Lighting in Boston or A.D.Cola in Natick, MA. 

One drawback of a plaster ceiling is having no inherent access to the plumbing and wiring connections after the ceiling is installed.  To solve this problem, I utilize strategically placed plastic ceiling panels.  Not only do they provide the necessary access, but they can be painted to match the rest of the ceiling.  See more about them on the Net.

And so the crucial work on the infrastructure of the new basement continues.  Note below that in preparation for the plastering steps (both ceiling and walls), I laid down tar paper to protect the floors.



Craig Carter