Help design my basement

[charlie2]

Decided to go ahead and develop the basement. I am gonna contract it out myself and do some odds and ends on my own.

Its a walkout that is approximately 1097 sq ft that is essentially 30' wide by 38' deep (with a 4' bump for the back door area. There is a support beam and 3 posts running down the center. The side with the stairs has 9' ceilings, the side with the furnace's has about 7.5/8' ceilings as all ducting runs that side.

I am looking to add window into the front corner near the furnaces to create a bedroom in this space (bottom right). Bathroom is roughed in for a simple 3 piece and I can't move the stairs or the furnaces.

I want to have one bedroom, a bathroom, some storage, a space for the treadmill/gym/weights, a bar (dry), gas fireplace and living space. The bedroom will be used by the nanny that will be moving in soon.

Lets see your creative minds at work....keeping in mind a decent budget (which I have yet to really determine)...but no granite waterfalls and 200" home theaters!

any suggestions or ideas appreciated, doesn't have to be a completed drawing.

Link/pic of builders floor plan attached.



floor plan


Thanks!

[JordanLotoski]

Hmmm.. Are you willing to add an additional window?

[frozenrice]

Are the furnaces actually located exactly where the plans show? If not it wouldn't hurt to measure where they are located. Looking at the layout of the joists and center beam, the furnaces don't necessarily have to be where they are drawn. Of course now that the house is built, it'll be a pain and expensive to relocate them. Personally I would have planned it with the mechanical room right to the front of the house (adjacent to garage). It would have left the rest of the basement with more flexibility for room layouts.

Looking at the general basement layout the builder didn't give you many options. Do you have an inside picture of the wall on the furnace side of the beam? How the foundation and sidewall framing are done will have an impact on how the added window will work. If you can take a shot of that wall and some general dimensions, it'll help with how the rooms might fit into the layout.

[charlie2]

Originally posted by JordanLotoski
Hmmm.. Are you willing to add an additional window?

Yes, Its in the plan to add a window to the wall just to the bottom right of the furnaces. A small window to make it a legal bedroom was the plan.

Are the furnaces actually located exactly where the plans show?

yes they are, unfortunately. This was a spec home we purchased so i had no say in anything. They are in the worst spot, but I'm not going to consider moving the furnaces as any option due to cost. The water tank and plumbling is all there as well.

...will work on some pics tomorrow in light, but basement is currently packed full of stuff so will have to move some of it around.

[frozenrice]

Here's a quick sketch.....the new window will partly depend on how that wall is constructed. If the framing is stepped down enough along that wall, it'll be a lot cheaper and easier to put a new window in. Otherwise you'll have to cut concrete which isn't a big deal but just a bit more of a PITA and $$$.

[JordanLotoski]

Originally posted by frozenrice
Here's a quick sketch.....the new window will partly depend on how that wall is constructed. If the framing is stepped down enough along that wall, it'll be a lot cheaper and easier to put a new window in. Otherwise you'll have to cut concrete which isn't a big deal but just a bit more of a PITA and $$$.

[charlie2]

sweet.

Thats pretty much the layout I have planned, except the bar would have run from the mech room to the post and I had planned to put gym equipment next to that window by the mech room. Bar would be smaller, but i'm not planning on a sink so small is ok.

concrete or not, window will go in there, its just not an option to have that huge wasted space.