Mary and Steve Rhyne built their house in Bartlett two years ago with the intention of later adding a deck for her enjoyment and a finished basement for his.
As Mary tells the story, Steve dallied so long that she called someone and got the deck done in a few days. As Steve tells the story, Mary spent his basement money on a deck that she can use only four months of the year.
`I won’t touch drywall’
Prodded by his wife, Steve has now defined his dreams for the basement. He wants comfortable space for personal relaxation or entertaining his friends as well as an office/guest room that could accommodate visitors from out of town. He also wants a half-bath, fireplace, bar and Ping-Pong table. Some of the work, such as the electrical, he can do, he says. “But I won’t touch drywall.”
Mary is in favor of finishing the basement but would prefer turning the job over to experts. “I’m hoping if our home is selected (for the column) that a professional architect will be able to give him some good advice, like, `Don’t do it yourself,’ ” she wrote to Home Improvements.
We asked architect Debra J. Wendling of LaPage & Associates, Wheaton, to get the Rhynes started. She recently visited the home and outlined the steps that could transform bare concrete into comfortable living quarters.
The two-story home features three bedrooms and 2 1/2 baths. It has a family room but the couple has three teenage daughters–one of the reasons Steve craves his private space. The front of the home faces east.
The basement measures about 23 by 33 feet. A U-shaped staircase connects it to the first floor at the center of the east side, one of the two long walls. The furnace is on the east side, too, midway between the staircase and the south wall.
Wendling inspected the basement and deemed it to have enough overall space for Steve’s wishes. The couple asked whether the half-bath can be tucked between the stairwell and the furnace. It could, said the architect, but they need to have access to the back of the furnace to change filters. A small door in the half-bath could solve that minor problem, the architect said. Closet doors can hide the furnace from view, leaving the southwest area for Ping-Pong.
Steve envisions the office/guest room in the northeast corner and the bar in the northwest. Wendling said she might want to flip them because the escape window, often a requirement for bedrooms, is on the west wall. “Or if the majority of the time you use the room as an office, it’s probably OK without the window.”
The fireplace, Steve said, will be along the west wall near the center of the room. It will not hook into an upstairs fireplace, which Wendling said was fine. “You can get a gas fireplace and ventilate it out the wall.”
One requirement Steve has is for a drywalled, rather than dropped, ceilings. If repairs must be made to overhead pipes, he prefers to cut into drywall and patch it later. It’s a nicer look, agreed the architect. The cost will be somewhat higher, she added, because there are some beams and ductwork that will have to be covered with soffits.
Steve also wants carpeting. Wendling recommended first building up the floor with 2-by-2s, placing rigid insulation between them and then layering a vapor barrier and 3/4-inch tongue-and-groove plywood.
“That’ll make the basement warmer, especially if you want to sit on the floor,” she said. “And screw the plywood in so you don’t have squeaks.”
“That’s a good idea,” Steve said. “I hadn’t thought about raising the floor.”
The walls will also have to be built out, with either 2-by-2s or 2-by-4s and packed with rigid insulation, Wendling said.
“Not the foamy stuff?” asked Mary.
Insulation needed
Rigid insulation is as not as affected by moisture, so it keeps its R-value better than other forms, said Wendling. “And you may want some sound insulation, too, especially if you want to keep the office area quiet while someone else watches television.”
“No, it’s MY basement,” Steve said emphatically.
Wendling estimated the cost of the job at $50 to $60 per square foot. She diplomatically refrained from encouraging or discouraging Steve from tackling the project himself. If he has friends, how-to and patience, he should go ahead, Wendling said. “But sometimes it’s a little easier to get someone else in.”
Still undaunted, Steve replied: “For me to do it, it will cost less.”
“But it will never get done,” said Mary.
Stay tuned.
