House in Progress Diary

Your situation seems similar to ours. We bought a 1920s Craftsman bungalow in Chicago 3 years ago and always wanted to convert the basement into liveable space. When we discovered that the wooden columns supporting the beam were rotting, we decided to replace them with steel columns. We excavated 12" down and poured a new 4" floor, and we are mid-construction right now.

The "rec room" (hate that term) will have a loft look, with acid stained concrete floors and the exposed steel columns, but the doors will match the upstairs, and the bathroom will be very period appropriate (console sink, basketweave tile, medicine cabinet, etc.). We had an open ceiling down there until 2 months ago, but you'd be surprised how much dust comes through the floorboards, and the drywall really dampens the sound.

Here are some pics of the construction process:

http://picasaweb.google.com/pharrigan/BasementRemodel?feat=directlink

Good luck!

I think the "loft" look is perfect for a Chicago bungalow basement. Is the concrete floor in good shape? You can either pour a new self-leveling layer or grind it down and then do a DIY acid stain, so you get a finished floor without sacrificing headroom. Then you can add area rugs to define the space.

While I enjoy the "loft" style, I find that when it's not done right, it just looks like a partially finished space - the picture posted from Rate My Space above is a perfect example. It just looks like a space that wasn't totally finished because (a) the owners ran out of money; or (b) ran out of ideas; or (c) ran out of intertia.

When done well, it can actually be just as expensive as a traditional finish job.

We aimed for the same type of loft look in our bungalow basement and so far it's worked out very well. We painted the floor, designated different functional areas with rugs, carefully clustered furniture, and then added back to back Ikea Billy bookcases for walls. We love it, but the big trick is the ceiling. I agree that the difference between the "loft look" and just plain being "unfinished" is the ceiling. Lofts pull it off because the ceilings are high I think. We don't have a good solution for our ceiling yet. It's the last remaining piece of the puzzle. I can't wait to see what you do! Good luck.

Oops! Note on the post above: I'm officially clarifying that I'm Jeanne A. from Oak Park. Not Jeanne from HinP. That way the readers wouldn't be confused that I'm YOU, the original Home Improvement Jeanne. Ha. There you go.

Hey you guys did the right thing by going with loft style for your basement. I have just cleaned up my basement after long period. I am getting ready for home improvement for my basement. I have to get a new ceiling in my basement which elegant and rust free. After that, I will footsteps of you by going for the loft style in the basement. Your post guided me to go with best choice in selecting loft style for my basement.

Hey you guys did the right thing by going with loft style for your basement. I have just cleaned up my basement after long period. I am getting ready for home improvement for my basement. I have to get a new ceiling in my basement which elegant and rust free. After that, I will footsteps of you by going for the loft style in the basement. Your post guided me to go with best choice in selecting loft style for my basement.

We finished our basement (1930's Tudor) this past year and, in looking at your photos, I guess we too went with loft. The ceiling was the key: We left it open, tidied up all the wires (replaced a few, ran some new lines), re-ran some idiotic gas lines (let's circle the WHOLE basement for no reason)... and then we painted it matte black. Sprayed everything - wires, pipes, radiator lines - and suddenly a low ceiling seemed to lift and disappear. We still have access to all the space which is good because I doubt we are done with maintenance of the pipes and wires - and the lower heating pipes add character (and heat). We did put a drop ceiling in the bathroom, for humidity and privacy purposes.

The rest: floor is simple tile. We wallboarded the walls for insulation. Bathroom we kept black and white and traditional. All in all, it's a nice blend for the basement.

So did you end up dumping all the rest of the "what on earth" stuff? Or are you renting a storage space, ha ha, for all the stuff you have yet to go through and appraise? Throw away much that might've been valuable and/or cool (to someone else)?

this is the toughest work to complete mate. i have been thinking of doing my basement for last 3 months. always start it then leaves it inbetween and then resart it again only to find that work this time is a lot harder than before. lol

Very interesting! I love it. I was wondering if you dug out some of the floor to gain more headspace? Keep up the good work.

I agree with some of the above comments you guys did the right thing by going with loft style for your basement.

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