Basements & Roofs – Planning a Rocking Rec Room

*By John Voket, RISMedia Consumer Columnist

 
We have been talking about basements a lot recently. Not only am I interested in taking a look down those stairs and shining a light on some of the most common winter basement issues, I want to provide tips on turning that dark hole into wholly usable space.

Enter Randy Glazer of Atlanta’s Glazer Remodeling & Construction (glazerconstruction.com). He says basement build outs and rec room remodeling can help transform your basement from a place for storage into a place for fun.

According to Glazer, whether you have a pool table, ping-pong set-up, pinball machine or air hockey game, you want to ensure that your guests have ample space to enjoy them. That means removing non-load bearing walls will open up your basement space to give you more options for placement.

Also, be sure that lighting you choose doesn’t hang too low over the tables. Speaking of lighting, Glazer recommends using as much natural light from windows and basement doors as possible.

And if your basement doesn’t open outside, use track lighting, wall lamps and under shelving lighting to save space.

Ceilings are a great place to add an element of design to a finished basement, too. Leave the ductwork exposed for an industrial look, select a reflective ceiling to make the basement look bigger or install hanging shelves for storage.

A custom built bar is an excellent entertainment addition to a basement and can serve many purposes. Have it flow into the media room for seamless design, and install floor to ceiling cabinets or shelving for additional storage.

In our next segment, we’ll hit rewind and talk about retiring or repurposing your rec room or other finished basement space – stay tuned!

Give us your questions, feedback and opinions on this topic.