Finish a Basement: A DIY remodeling adventure!
Take all the steps to plan your basement remodeling project to get you started on a beautiful finished basement!

Return to our Home page
Visit our project planning page to learn how to prepare to finish your basement whether you're remodeling your basement by yourself, or hiring a contractor to finish your basement
Visit our design page to see how we created our basement design, and for tips on how you can design the basement of your dreams
Check here for information on the tasks you'll need to complete to finish your basement. Complete with the lessons we learned as we remodeled our basement, and tips to help you avoid some of the mistakes we made.
Whether you're designing a dedicated home theater, or creating a multi-purpose media room, check here for tips on selecting home theater components, and calibrating, and setting up your AV equipment
Check here to follow along as we complete our DIY basement remodeling project!






 

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Getting Started

One of the first things you should do as you plan you basement project is take measurements. This will help you decide what should go where, and what you can fit in your basement without it appearing too crowded.

Try using graph paper to draw your basement to scale, or use an interior design program to help you draw and design your finished basement. If you want to try graph paper, download it here or get the .pdf version.
   

When I decided to do this site as a chronicle of my progress, I figured I'd need some decent images to put on the site. I also wanted an interior design package that would allow me to move walls and change color schemes and decor. After reading reviews of both Punch's Interior Designer software and Better Homes & Garden's Interior Designer, I went with BH & G.

In addition to being able to add furniture, lighting, and other decor, the software allows you to create 3D views and walk-throughs that help give you a better idea of how your final design will look. Here's what I came up with as my 'final' version.

 
Interior Designer's dollhouse view lets you see a 3D view of your entire floorplan. [Click to enlarge]  The floor plan view provides all the details of your layout [Click to enlarge]

3-D overhead view
[Click to enlarge]

Floor plan view
[Click to enlarge]

 

    

 

 

Planning Topics

Getting started

Deciding what you want

Project planning tools

Establishing a budget

Hire a contractor? Or do it yourself?

Clearing out the junk

Getting an education

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