Improve Don’t Move By Fixing Up the Basement

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Improve Dont Move By Fixing Up the Basement
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Introduction

• Canadians seem to just love home renovation and
  transforming their basement into additional
  living space is second only to bathroom refits.
  This improve dont move trend had sparked a
  massive surge in home improvements and what they
  call the reno market. Astonishingly more money
  is spent on home renovations around 67 billion
  per year than is spend on building new
  residential homes. One of the reasons for this
  spending is that renovation of basement areas
  adds a lot to the value of the property. Whats
  more it instantly adds more living space for a
  man cave, a recreational area, a gym or a play
  area for the children. Indeed the use that a
  basement renovation can be put to is only limited
  by the space available and the owners
  imagination. Just take a browse on the internet
  it is awash with examples of stunning basement
  renovations that were transformed into gourmet
  kitchens, living rooms, home offices, even a
  cinema and a bowling alley. But before we get too
  carried away there are a few things you rush into
  planning to renovate that dark cold basement.

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Table of Contents

• Why Do Canadians Have Basements?
• What Conditions Must A Basement Meet Before It
  Can Be Renovated?
• Basement Humidity.
• Water Stains And Leaks.
• Tell You Insurance Provider.
• Check The Contractor Undertaking The Work Has
  Appropriate Licenses.
• Check All Contractors Have Sufficient Liability
  Insurance.

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• What Liability Insurance Should They Hold?
• Your Insurance Premiums Will Go Up.
• Understand The Cost?
• What Do You Get For A Turn-key Solution?
• Some Tips For A Basement Renovation.

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Why do Canadians have basements?

• Canadians are lucky to have basements as part of
  their home. In many countries basements simply do
  not exist as they are not needed as a part of the
  structural foundation and in wet climatesthey are
  prone to flooding so more problem that they are
  worth. However in continental climates such as in
  canada having a basement in the home is
  essential.A basement provides a concrete
  foundation based below the frost line which
  supports the home against movement during the
  freeze-thaw cycle. Typically,if the area where
  you live is more susceptible to these extreme hot
  summers and freezing cold winters then you are
  more likely to have a large basement. These deep
  lying basements are part of the concrete
  foundation but also serve a secondary purpose as
  ideal space for storage for things like bicycles,
  skisas well as locating out of site functional
  utilities such as electrical circuit boxes, water
  heaters and telephone, television and internet
  termination boxes. However if certain conditions
  are right they can be transformed into luxurious
  additional living space.

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What conditions must a basement meet before it
can be renovated?

• As we have seen a basement serves a structural
  purpose and is buried below the frost line to
  provide primarily stability to the property.
  Because of this they are often highly susceptible
  to humidity and even water penetration. Therefore
  before you attempt to renovate you must
  diligently check the humidity levels and look for
  any sign of damp. This isnt something you should
  shirk as high levels of damp and humidity will
  destroy any renovation work that you attempt.

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Basement Humidity

• All basements will have higher humidity that the
  rest of the house, so dont worry that is
  perfectly natural. The easiest and best way to
  find out if your home is too humid is to invest
  in an affordable humidistat to measure your
  indoor humidity level. Ideally, the humidity of
  the basement should be between 45 to 55RH and
  should always be maintained between 40 to 60RH.
  The problems that will need addressing are when
  the humidity levels are above 70RH. At this high
  level there will be problems with a renovation as
  these conditions are known to be optimum for dust
  mites, mildew and mould to grow. You may also do
  a visual check of the walls, corners, ceiling and
  look for little back spots as these are mold
  spots and evidence of an existing problem.

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• Another clear sign of existing mould and mildew
  is if you can detect a musty smell when you first
  enter the basement. Mould produce gasses called
  microbial volatile organic compounds (MVOC) and
  if you can smell the tell-tale musky scent then
  you are probably already inhaling the mould
  spores. Whatever you do dont try to cover up the
  smell with air fresher that will just disguise
  the smell and these toxic pores will still be in
  the air.Mould spores can bring on migraines,
  breathing conditions and other ailments so the
  presence of mould has to be removed before you
  proceed with any renovation work.

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Water Stains and Leaks

• Another important thing to look out for is water
  stains and any evidence of leaks or damp.
  Detecting and correcting water leaks can be
  difficult and hard to correct. But they must be
  eliminated before you proceed with the renovation
  work.

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Tell you insurance provider

• You must let your insurance company know before
  you start renovation work this is to make sure
  that the insurance will cover you in the event
  something goes horribly wrong. Depending on the
  scale of the renovations they will let you know
  whether your existing policy will cover you or
  whether you may have to take out a property under
  renovation policy or even a builder risk policy.
  This is especially important in the circumstances
  where you are underpinning the basement, drilling
  though the concrete slab foundation or will not
  be residing in the property at the time.
• Another important factor that needs to be checked
  with the insurance company is whether you have
  cover for any work that you may wish to do
  yourself. For example many insurance companies
  are very concerned about DIY plumbing and
  electrical work. So if you are intending fitting
  a bathroom you will need to let them know and
  almost certainly get the work done by licensed
  professionals who can provide certification for
  the work done. Any electrical work will also
  require permits and inspection along with a
  certification report but that might not be enough
  if your home insurance policy forbids DIY
  electrical work so make sure you check with them
  first.

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Check the contractor undertaking the work has
appropriate licenses

• Many smaller companies specialize in bathroom and
  basement renovations as one-stop-shops that will
  provide a turn-key basement renovation. They can
  do this in areas where the houses are largely the
  same i.E. They have the same foundations and
  basement layout. Because the layout is identical
  they can design and build a vast array of
  different scenarios and uses. They will have
  turn-key designs for a self-contained bed-sitting
  room apartment complete with kitchen and bathroom
  ready for renting out to a tenant. But these
  require a multitude of skills so you must run
  past the insurance company what are the
  requirements they need to cover for electrical
  and plumbing work being carried out by these
  companies. Almost certainly they will need to be
  licensed in the appropriate discipline.
• After all these are just common-sense precautions
  but you dont want to steam ahead with a basement
  renovation until you know you are covered by
  insurance. Its best to find out now rather than
  when your home subsides, floods or burns down.

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Check all contractors have sufficient liability
insurance

• This is something that many homeowners overlook
  especially when contracting unlicensed or
  freelance tradesmen to undertake work on the
  cheap. However should someone be unfortunate
  enough to be injured or even killed during the
  renovation the homeowner could be held
  legallyliable. The homeowners insurance will
  almost certainly not cover third party injury
  under such conditions so the contractor must have
  their own. You must check this or you could end
  up paying the injured parties health bills and
  lost wages out of your own pocket.

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What liability insurance should they hold?

• The canadian home builders association recommends
  you check the contractors undertaking work on the
  renovation for proof of liability insurance to
  ensure it includes
• General liability insurance
• A liability coverage of 1 million minimum
• Includes adequate insurance that covers damage to
  your home or your neighbours properties as a
  result of any renovation activity
• Includes third partycoverage for bodily injury
• That the policy is still valid by checking the
  expiry date

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Your insurance premiums will go up

• During the renovation it is likely that the
  insurance premiums will rise to cover the
  additional risk associated with the ongoing work.
  However after the renovation work is complete the
  premiums may well be adjusted to cover the
  addition value of the property. After all, the
  insurance company will now have to fund the
  replacement of a more valuable and larger
  property. Therefore you can expect the premiums
  to rise depending on the extra value that has
  been added to the property.

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Understand the cost?

• Basement renovations are so popular in canada
  because utilizing that largeunderused part of the
  house is by far the cheapest way to add
  additional casual living space. Renovating a
  basement is cheaper than building an extension to
  the home as you are taking advantage of the
  original walls and floor. Consequently, basement
  renovations are relatively cheap at around 35 to
  70 per square foot.

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What do you get for a turn-key solution?

• Many specialist basement renovators have
  portfolios of basement designs but in typical
  turn-key solution they would be offering a basic
  general purpose design. The turn-key solution
  will typically include stripping down the
  existing basement then putting up and insulating
  new walls and a gypsum ceiling then painting
  everything. This is likely to cost 20,000 to
  24,000. If you want to add a bathroom then you
  will be looking from anywhere between 8,000 and
  15,000. It will be cheaper if you already have
  the water pipes fitted as a large part of the
  cost will be breaking through the concrete
  foundation to run the pipes to the basement.

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Some tips for a basement renovation

• The basement is the coldest and most humid part
  of the house an easy remedy for this is to get a
  fireplace or heating installed. It is best to
  heat your basement 3 seasons a year in order to
  dry out the air in your space and as heat rises
  it will not be wasted as it will heat the lower
  floors of the house lowering the overall hearing
  bills.
• When renovating your basement and installing a
  gypsum ceiling it may be an idea to consider
  soundproofing or insulation if the basement is to
  be self-contained and rented out space.
• Adding a bathroom in the basement is expensive
  but essential if you intend renting out the extra
  living area. If not it always adds convenience
  and significant value so recouping the costs and
  getting a return on the investment is highly
  likely.

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• Typically even in Canadian basements the
  available height might be constraints to design
  so make sure to install architectural lighting or
  pot lighting rather than hanging lights as they
  will give the impression of a larger more
  spacious room.
• For the same reason plan for compact and hidden
  storage as the less clutter like cupboard the
  better as it increases visible and available
  floor space.
• So now that you know what to look for and the
  type of changes that you can make to the living
  space and value of your house, what are you
  waiting for? The only thing now is to pick a
  local reliable, honest and professional
  renovation contractor.
• How to choose a suitable basement renovator
• Probably the first thing that you want to do is
  find a few basement renovators in your local area
  and view their portfolios and references. Once
  your happy and have selected three renovators you
  have confidence in then select 3 if possible and
  ask for quotations for the design that you have
  discussed.

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• As an example of a professional basement
  renovator that covers all types of home
  renovation such as kitchens, bathrooms and of
  course basements and has location across all of
  Canada we can look to the Basement Finishing
  Company. They have a mission to apply their own
  personalized and tailored approach to each job to
  ensure the best possible result while at the same
  time remaining true to the customers budget,
  plan and schedule. To manage all the specialist
  contractors involved in a basement renovation the
  basement finishing company has experienced
  project managers that oversee all the
  multi-disciplined work going on within the
  renovation to ensure flawless adherence to the
  customers goals and the highest possible quality
  of construction.
• Visit - https//basementfinishingcompany.com/