Weeks ago, when I fully believed the drainage company would easily resolve our basement issue, I let myself imagine what a finished basement might look like.
I had cunning bookcases concealing our support and sewage pipes. The air conditioning duct became an architectural feature. I decided on painted black beams, not a drop ceiling. And a barn door sliding over the bumped-out storage area.
Luckily, I only spent an evening on Pinterest puzzling this all out, because the next day I looked up 'finished' basement codes in my city.
Yeah, no, I will never have a finished basement. Not unless I want to tear holes in the basement walls for larger egress windows and exhaust vents. And God forbid a toilet or any plumbing goes down there; that's another nightmare. And don't tell yourself you can put a bed in a basement. That's another set of laws.
So, after a few hours of fantasy I'm back to a basement for storage and painting. At most maybe some paint, maybe some fabric to divide up the space. That's okay by me.
Is it okay if your basement has aspects where it looks "finished" as long as you don't try to sell it to someone as a finished basement? It seems like "no, you must leave your basement entirely naked unless you meet code" wouldn't be that likely, but I don't know. But it'd be nice if you could do some things, anyway, because I like the idea of cunning bookcase nooks...
Posted by: KC | August 19, 2022 at 01:47 PM
KC - well, that;s the thing, Finishing the basement slaps 10K- 20K on the asking price for the house, I'm more charmed by that than the thought of a pretty basement. I supoose if it ever becomes dry I could do cunning things with room dividers and paint.
Posted by: theQueen | August 19, 2022 at 07:21 PM