Bright & Fresh Basement Reno Before & After... (& Notes about New Unfinished Basements)



In the fall, we were contacted to finish a basement in a relatively new neighbourhood. Although a newer home may not have the potential issues of an older home, there are sometimes foundational fixes that need to be addressed before proceeding with a basement renovation. I may be wrong (not being a foundation expert by any means!), but I surmise that it could be because of shifting and movement caused by the constant digging at other properties nearby. I often find cracks in new builds. Most of the time, they are harmless and just need to be levelled off, but it's always wise to get it checked out by a foundation expert. Anyway... I digress!

For this renovation, the client (being an engineer), had his own floor plan in mind, so we went ahead and made his vision a reality! I should definitely mention the instant "brightness" impact of the grey -white laminate floor, which is by Quick Step.

 Before & After Rec Room: The basement, being unfinished had no place for storage. The wall on the right in the "after" shot contains a whole area of storage, in which we finished off a cold room for extra storage.

 

 Before & After Bedroom: There was a space at the end of the long floor plan that the clients wanted to make the bedroom since they don't regularly receive guests. Although it is a slightly awkward space, there is enough room to put a double bed, an armoire and a dresser or desk.

 Before & After TV Area: The client wanted to have an alternative location for installing the wall-mount TV, so we had Ethernet boxes installed here as well.

Lastly, I just wanted to show a picture of the glass shower. The client did not want a tiled shower receptacle (the shower floor), because they felt it would be harder to clean. Instead, we opted for this acrylic shower base from Tubs. The client had a design in mind and asked us to install 4" x 16" white glossy tiles vertically in a brick pattern, with a band of mixed glass blue mosaic as an accent from The Tile Store.