Finishing your basement can add liveable space to your home

"When someone says that they want to finish their basement, there are a lot of questions we ask. What do you want to do with the space? Are you going to use it for storage? Are you going to use it for a play room? A family room? A bedroom? These are all factors that come into play when we design a space for them,." explained Kevin Koval, President of Adirondack Basement Systems. "If there is a bedroom, we have to have an egress window in that bedroom in case there is an emergency. If there is just general living space just one egress is required." Finishing your basement instead of building an addition is typically less expensive.

"It's a space that is already constructed with walls. So when we come in, we're just finishing that space as opposed to putting an addition on their home where it's much more expensive because they have to put in the whole foundation, a heating system," said Koval. "Whereas with a basement that is finished, you already have a heating system in place, air conditioning, things like that so it should be less expensive to finish a basement than it would be to construct a whole addition on a home"

Before you finish your basement though, there are several factors you should consider. Moisture plays a huge role in the outcome.

"Is it a dry space? And when I say is it dry, what I really mean is has it ever flooded before and also is there a high humidity level in the basement? It's two separate things. If it's ever flooded, you want to make sure that you have the proper drainage system in place with a proper sump pump," said Koval. "With humidity, you want to make sure the humidity is controlled. Anything above 55 percent relative humidity, you can get mold growth in the basement and get that nasty, dank, musty smell that basements are known for. What you really want to do is seal up as much of the air infiltration that you can, and then condition the space with a good quality commercial dehumidifier."

The original article can be read on Central New York's Your News Now website.