Split level home so half is a three feet high terrifying spider-filled space that I avoid at all cost. The other half work/storage area. I’m trying to lessen the storage to have more work area.
In progress…I’m finishing it myself, almost 18 months in. Have finished my office, the bathroom, storage areas and a pocket office for my daughter. A great room with a bar/kitchenette is nearly complete. Will have the home theater in the great room.
@kykazaa One of my regrets is that when we built our house, I did not stub out plumbing in the basement for a bar sink/kitchenette. There is a finished full bath in one corner, but the plumbing is all in an exterior/below grade wall, so not easily accessible for additions.
A blend of laundry, workbench, pantry, extra fridge & freezer, model train, and crawlspace areas. One thing I can say is that we have plenty of light. When we moved in there were a total of 3 creepy swinging bulbs from horror movies. We installed 8 sets of work florescents.
Our house has a full walkout basement. It was only partially finished when the house was built, but I turned it into a family/TV room at one end, a large sewing area for my wife in the middle, and a small bedroom and full bath on the other end. There is also an unheated mechanical/root cellar/wiring room.
@PocketBrain Dry is a key word. Any house I have lived in with a basement has had, at least on occasion, a very wet basement. In a couple of instances included 2’-4’ of water on a fairly regular basis. Other instances just a couple of inches. In one place I built tables out of plywood about 3’ high and put things I needed to store on them (no attic, no storage closets and no extra room to store elsewhere). Once I forgot to move the dehumidifier in a big rain and it got killed. Those are expensive. Usually I had everything on, at least, pallets and the washer and dryer on cinderblocks in any basement I used.
One rental the basement (probably better to call it a cellar) had a dirt floor and the shower was down there. We stood on a pallet while taking a shower and the water just drained into the dirt creating mud. We put cinderblocks from the stairs to the shower.
A couple of places with no basement were actually raised from the ground on blocks (heaven help us if there had been hurricanes or tornadoes) due to run off water flooding.
we live in the attic of an old home converted to a three family. there is a basement, but in going on seven years i’ve never been in it. i’m relatively certain it’s just a typical unfinished storage space that also contains the oil tank and hot water heater and whatnot, but i guess it could be an arcade for all i know.
1/2 finished by the original owner back in the 50’s. So basically paneled walls and tile floor that is missing tiles. The ceiling came down as we ran cable and electrical stuff. That 1/2 has been the hangout room for my son’s friends from middle school to, occasionally, even now that they are in their 30’s. It also was the band practice room for a year. The unfinished half was the washer and dryer, until we put a second floor on the house and moved that upstairs (I would highly recommend having the washer and dryer on the floor with the bedrooms). It is a workshop and storage and the heating and water systems (which I have learned need to be separated from living space by crazy walls if we finally finish the basement by the newest codes) We could use a 1/2 bath too.
You actually read all that? Wow. People are really bored with the pandemic.
Unfinished, but usable with a laundry area, work room with tool storage, area for seedling starting under lights, general storage and room to keep my bike between rides. It also has plenty of low-voltage wires, phone wires and cable TV wires that I keep meaning to remove. Unfortunately, it gets damp and sometimes wet in heavy rains like we are expecting today in NJ.
Live in Florida so you dig 3 feet and you hit water — so no basement for me. I really miss having a basement.
@cengland0 have you considered an indoor pool? Or maybe gator pit for the visitors who went leave?
@cengland0 looking at homes on any kind of remodeling show always hurt a little when they are all “this small home…” and show a giant basement.
A crawlspace!
/giphy crawlspace
At the bottom of my house.
I am currently sleeping in the basement. It is well finished, multiple egress windows, and nice and cool, unlike the rest of the house.
Finished walkout, so another floor of the house. But still storage. And laundry. And office. And exercise area. And game/movie room.
Wish we had a basement; it would be project space (hobbies) and tool storage.
Split level home so half is a three feet high terrifying spider-filled space that I avoid at all cost. The other half work/storage area. I’m trying to lessen the storage to have more work area.
Finished and will eventually be my hockey cave
@tinamarie1974 I know that basements pretty much maintain a constant temperature, but will you really be able to keep the ice frozen?
@Barney ooohhhhh an ice plant, that could be interesting
@tinamarie1974 Here you go.
Other than being purple, I’m not sure why you would want one.
In progress…I’m finishing it myself, almost 18 months in. Have finished my office, the bathroom, storage areas and a pocket office for my daughter. A great room with a bar/kitchenette is nearly complete. Will have the home theater in the great room.
@kykazaa One of my regrets is that when we built our house, I did not stub out plumbing in the basement for a bar sink/kitchenette. There is a finished full bath in one corner, but the plumbing is all in an exterior/below grade wall, so not easily accessible for additions.
A blend of laundry, workbench, pantry, extra fridge & freezer, model train, and crawlspace areas. One thing I can say is that we have plenty of light. When we moved in there were a total of 3 creepy swinging bulbs from horror movies. We installed 8 sets of work florescents.
/giphy surface-of-the-sun
@j2 pics of train?
@duodec it’s not set up yet. Planning in process but something always comes up to derail getting started.
@j2 thus always with hobbies…
Our house has a full walkout basement. It was only partially finished when the house was built, but I turned it into a family/TV room at one end, a large sewing area for my wife in the middle, and a small bedroom and full bath on the other end. There is also an unheated mechanical/root cellar/wiring room.
No basement; it’s all slab on grade here due to the aspect that there’s no frost line.
No basement, but the attic is dry storage.
@PocketBrain Dry is a key word. Any house I have lived in with a basement has had, at least on occasion, a very wet basement. In a couple of instances included 2’-4’ of water on a fairly regular basis. Other instances just a couple of inches. In one place I built tables out of plywood about 3’ high and put things I needed to store on them (no attic, no storage closets and no extra room to store elsewhere). Once I forgot to move the dehumidifier in a big rain and it got killed. Those are expensive. Usually I had everything on, at least, pallets and the washer and dryer on cinderblocks in any basement I used.
One rental the basement (probably better to call it a cellar) had a dirt floor and the shower was down there. We stood on a pallet while taking a shower and the water just drained into the dirt creating mud. We put cinderblocks from the stairs to the shower.
A couple of places with no basement were actually raised from the ground on blocks (heaven help us if there had been hurricanes or tornadoes) due to run off water flooding.
Part finished, part work area. It seems the more of it that gets finished, the less work area I have.
@mehcuda67 I share your feelings on unfinished space. Unfortunately, I don’t have any.
Lifelong Californian here so…no basement. I’ve always been jealous of those hometown movies where the kids play in a big ass basement.
Half finished, half storage with washer dryer.
we live in the attic of an old home converted to a three family. there is a basement, but in going on seven years i’ve never been in it. i’m relatively certain it’s just a typical unfinished storage space that also contains the oil tank and hot water heater and whatnot, but i guess it could be an arcade for all i know.
@jerk_nugget man, you are missing out!
/giphy basement arcade
1/2 finished by the original owner back in the 50’s. So basically paneled walls and tile floor that is missing tiles. The ceiling came down as we ran cable and electrical stuff. That 1/2 has been the hangout room for my son’s friends from middle school to, occasionally, even now that they are in their 30’s. It also was the band practice room for a year. The unfinished half was the washer and dryer, until we put a second floor on the house and moved that upstairs (I would highly recommend having the washer and dryer on the floor with the bedrooms). It is a workshop and storage and the heating and water systems (which I have learned need to be separated from living space by crazy walls if we finally finish the basement by the newest codes) We could use a 1/2 bath too.
You actually read all that? Wow. People are really bored with the pandemic.
@smilingjack I did read all that. It didn’t take that long.
If I was building my house from scratch, I would have a washer dryer in my clothes closet.
Half storage, half workout/dog training area. My wife likes her hobbies
Unfinished, but usable with a laundry area, work room with tool storage, area for seedling starting under lights, general storage and room to keep my bike between rides. It also has plenty of low-voltage wires, phone wires and cable TV wires that I keep meaning to remove. Unfortunately, it gets damp and sometimes wet in heavy rains like we are expecting today in NJ.
Dry thankfully