A bit on materials for finishing the basement: The typical drop ceiling is in no way a must. Since pipes and ducts start out exposed, homeowners sometimes assume they must stay accessible. In the rare occasion that the pipes need servicing, a cut and a patch into a drywall ceiling is simple enough. The look of the drop ceiling is too commercial — you see it every day at your office. Instead, install a nice drywall ceiling and perhaps even ceiling moldings to replicate ceilings on your other floors.

Be sure to use below-grade mastic and adhesive materials on the floors and walls. There are different formulas that hold up under potentially moist conditions.

To get an idea of the spaces needed, I first asked the homeowners about the activities they planned to do once their basement was finished. They produced a fairly typical list, including a lounge area for watching television; a mini-kitchen for preparing snacks; a spare bedroom; three-quarters bath; laundry room; area for a workbench; and a craft room for sewing, gift wrapping and other hobbies.

With only three extremely limited windows, it was almost impossible to make the most of the natural light. Any bedroom in a basement requires an egress window with a large window well if the window is below-grade. Since this type of window takes up exterior space, we located it (A) on the side of the house, in order to not interfere with the deck (B) on the back.

The allocation of activity space really becomes a process of elimination. Because the furnace and water heater locations (C) provided the greatest restriction, we decided to leave that entire section (D) unfinished. The workbench will be located there, plus shelving for general storage (an important thing not to forget when finishing a basement).

The family room area (E) is centered in the space. By opening up the stairway on both sides (F), the space feels larger and more accessible. A solid wall along the stair (G) was intentionally plan
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