Basement Remodeling: Flexible Spaces, Lighting, Mechanical Planning, and Making the Lower Level Feel Like Home
Host:
Welcome to the Home Remodeling Show with Edge Construction on News Talk 1310 WIBA. Have a question? Email it to EdgeConstructionRadio@gmail.com.
Now, here is your host, Sean Prebil.
News Talk 1310 WIBA.
This is the Home Remodeling Show, brought to you by Edge Construction.
The website is EdgeConstructionCompany.com.
That is Edge Construction Company dot com.
It is a great website to learn more about Edge Construction.
Head over there now because throughout the program, and a little bit later as a matter of fact, we are going to talk about a recent project — a really cool kitchen project titled Bistro-Inspired Kitchen.
There is a lot to this remodel.
Mike and I were talking a bit about it before the show, and it is a really cool remodel.
They did a lot of work, and it looks really great.
So check that out online right now at EdgeConstructionCompany.com.
Also check out the links to Houzz, Pinterest, and Facebook as well.
The telephone number for Edge Construction is 608-636-3343. That number is 636-EDGE.
Joining us this week is Mike Twohig of Edge Construction.
Mike, how is your morning so far?
Mike:
Great, Sean. It is good to see you.
Host:
We are going to be talking about basements.
When I was glancing out of the corner of my eye, I had a pile of papers, and I thought it said “fitness in your basement.”
It actually says “finesse your basement.”
But you guys do a fair number of little home gym-type spaces.
Whether it is a place for the bike or a place for the weights, you often incorporate that stuff into remodels, don’t you?
Mike:
We do.
In my house, we kind of joke about the fitness equipment.
When we first arrive at lower levels that need to be finished, it seems like everything but the kitchen sink is down there.
There is usually some fitness equipment down there that might be a little dusty, Sean.
I do not know about your fitness equipment, but the hope is, when you have a good place to do it and it is a little more enticing to get down there, then you are going to dust it off a little more.
Host:
Yes, my bike seems to be the ideal place to hang my clothes.
I do not think I am alone in that.
That brings up the first area when it comes to ways to finesse your finished basement.
One of the notes says different zones for different purposes.
I know we have talked in the past about multi-use, flex space, and those kinds of things.
But overall, in the basement, you do want a bit of flexibility, don’t you?
Mike:
You do.
When we were talking about a nicer, higher-end basement finish 10 or 15 years ago, it would have a media room.
It would have some place to watch movies or a little home theater deal.
I am not going to say we never do it, but it is just not like it was.
People are not thinking in terms of that as much.
I think they want more flexible space.
If they have a great room that is going to have a nice TV and maybe a wet bar, it is just a place to congregate.
They want that to dual-purpose as a pretty good spot to watch a movie, be social, or watch the game.
The home office thing coming out of COVID is still on everybody’s mind.
If they are going to gain a bedroom down there, it should probably dual-purpose as possible office space if their life changes or something.
What else?
Maybe a bathroom. That is still big.
Then you mentioned the workout stuff.
It is a little hard to dual-purpose that with some other things, but we have had really small basements where we say, “Okay, this area is going to be dedicated to some workout equipment.”
Maybe we do a little bit of planning for a data port, a smaller TV, or whatever you need to be entertained down there.
Maybe we add some outlets to plug things in, a little different kind of flooring, and that sort of thing.
It might be the same room, but it has areas that work for those pieces of equipment.
Host:
One of the things I find interesting about modern basement remodels and the work you guys do at Edge Construction is that not all that long ago, the ceilings in basements always felt very low.
The technique was always to use those acoustic tiles, like we have here at the station, and you lost some headroom.
One of the things I love about what you guys do at Edge Construction when you are designing basements is that you really try to get that finished look throughout.
That includes the ceiling.
You make it feel like there is good headroom, but also like you are not in a basement.
You really work to achieve a ceiling look where, if you did not know, you would think you were on the main level of the house.
Mike:
I think you hit it at the end there.
You do not want this space to feel like a lesser space.
You want to at least meet the finishes of the upstairs.
Most of the time, when people can pick things out and do their own design in that basement, they are actually stepping things up a little bit.
They are thinking, “I am going to get what I wish the rest of the house looked like.”
So we are doing some fairly nice lower levels, and the ceiling is a big part of it.
Up until about five years ago, we would have maybe one a year where somebody would say, “Nope, I want a drop ceiling in case something happens. I want to have access.”
We try to explain that there are ways around that now.
You do not really have to do that anymore.
We can move access points.
If you need a shutoff for a hose bib outside or something, it is not that big a job to move that lever into an unfinished area so you can turn it off for the winter.
Or even if we do need access, we can cut a hole and put an access panel up there — something small, maybe a six-inch round panel.
You can reach your hand through and do the job, but we will paint it with the ceiling so it blends.
Lighting is a big part.
All those things key in when you are talking about lower levels.
I like it when you come down there and it feels just like the rest of the house.
Host:
It is amazing when you look at the portfolio on Houzz for Edge Construction or check out EdgeConstructionCompany.com.
You see some of these pictures and do not even realize you are looking at a basement until you read the title and it says basement remodel.
It is amazing design.
When we talk about quality design, obviously the visual and feel are important.
But I think one of the things you touched on as well is that, when it comes to the basement, there is a lot of functional stuff down there — mechanicals for the home and those kinds of things.
There needs to be a design and a plan for how all of this stuff is going to operate afterwards.
If you have to access something, where are those points?
Sometimes we overlook those parts of design, but they are arguably the most important part.
Where are the heat runs going to go?
Where are the water pipes?
Where is the electrical?
Are those things going to be accessible if needed?
That type of design and plan may not be the exciting part, but at the end of the day, it is the important stuff, isn’t it?
Mike:
It is.
With the new CAD stuff, we are able to do the renderings.
If you go to EdgeConstructionCompany.com, go to the portfolio, and look at finished lower levels, the first one that pops up is an older house we did.
We actually worked on all three levels of this house, but the first one that pops up is the lower level.
You look at the finished picture of that space and think, “Oh yeah, that turned out nice.”
Then you need to go to the before picture because you will see it was an older house.
When we first walked down there, I said, “You want to do what?”
We were supposed to try to get a bedroom in that space.
Now I love how it turned out.
It is one of my favorite rooms we have done in lower levels, partly because of the challenge and partly because I love how comfortable and niche-y it feels.
It has some cool little custom touches.
I think the way you make your basement stand out — or even what we do as a company — is sometimes in those little details that do not really cost much more.
It is just a little more design upfront and a little more getting on CAD and seeing what the possibilities are.
Sometimes you do not realize what the possibilities are until you see those renderings.
Then you say, “Now I get it. Now we can go ahead.”
Host:
Are people surprised by that, by the way?
When you are able to show them what is possible?
You and I have been doing this for 10 years.
Mike:
We should have a birthday party.
Host:
Anything to eat cake, Mike.
Mike:
We will get a band.
Host:
That sounds like fun.
Until you and I started doing the show together and having conversations about basements, I did not realize all the possibilities.
I have to guess homeowners are the same way.
When you guys come in, take a look, talk with them, and work through that design process, homeowners have to be amazed at what is achievable and what you guys are able to do at Edge Construction for a basement remodel.
Mike:
We are trying that.
I think people sometimes underestimate the value of spending the time on design upfront.
I have been there too.
You kind of want to get going.
The first question is never, “How much time are we going to spend on design?”
It is, “When can you start?”
That is not exactly the right question because the design needs to follow its path, especially in a more challenging space.
Like I mentioned, that job that is the first one in the lower levels on our website was a thinker.
We had to come up with ideas, and it morphed a little bit through the design process.
I think the homeowners, looking back, would have said, “We were kind of impatient upfront. We just wanted to get going.”
But the end product made it worth spending that time upfront on design.
Host:
It is pretty cool to check out those projects and see the before and after on those spaces.
Mike, when we talk about basement remodels, you mentioned there are cost advantages to doing a basement remodel.
The walls are there.
The floor is there.
The ceiling is there.
Obviously, they need to be configured for livable space, but a lot of your big fundamental things you need to build the space are already there.
That can make it a more affordable option to gain space, can’t it?
Mike:
Yes.
This particular house actually went through that discussion.
They were looking at a sunroom or screen room.
They were going to make it into a screen porch, actually, so we were kind of going backwards.
They wanted to take the glass out of it and make it more usable in their minds.
But up above it, they were saying, “If we cannot get this bedroom down in the basement, maybe we can do an addition over the top of that and make it a two-story room.”
The cost advantage was huge to not have to tear that whole thing off and rebuild it from the ground up.
Then we would have had to evaluate whether there was enough foundation underneath there and beams on that existing structure to go up.
It was kind of rife with problems.
Like you said, the basement already has foundation and already has a roof.
We do not have to do those two big things.
The systems are all there.
The furnace is there.
The ductwork is there.
We just need to reconfigure a little bit and tie in.
It is usually fairly easy to get to electrically.
You are not far from the panel.
We did replace the panel on this one.
I think we actually replaced it and added another panel.
This house was just kind of woefully short of electric.
Those things are huge advantages.
I always think, if you are changing the outside of the house, then you have HOAs, zoning, and hoops to jump through.
If the foundation would not support an addition, we would have to dig it out and put something in there.
There is a lot of work to that.
Host:
One of the less glamorous parts of a basement is utility.
Including that in the design is important.
We talk about all the really pretty things, and I guarantee some of your electricians and plumbers would say the utility space is beautiful.
But it is important to include that in the design and understand that there are things in the basement that not only need to function, they need to be accessed and organized.
That part of the design process, as a homeowner, may not feel glamorous.
But the reality is, that is one of the very important functions of that space.
Tying it in with your design and remodel is important.
Mike:
Yes.
I will go back to this job.
Have you ever heard the term octopus?
I do not know if everybody else uses it, but in old houses especially, heat ducts tend to get added on here and there.
We start calling it the octopus.
It looks like tentacles going out, and it looks like there was no plan.
There was a plan when it was originally done, but then it got morphed and changed, and things maybe got added.
This was one of those.
We did a fair amount of cleanup in this house with those mechanicals.
That was part of the plan.
Doing that basement bedroom and working on another great room down there gave us the excuse.
Since we were already down there and already messing with all this other stuff, we said, “Okay, let’s solve some of these problems and straighten this up.”
We have talked about this in the past.
This was another house that had three different types of plumbing pipe, maybe even four.
The electrical had bare junction boxes everywhere.
A bunch of this stuff just needed to go back to zero.
I am sure there were good reasons for doing it the way it was done when it happened, but at some point, somebody has to fix it, make it safer, and make it last longer.
Host:
That is really cool to see.
Maybe someday we need to put a page on Edge Construction showing utility spaces.
That would make your electrician and plumber happy.
Mike:
Yes.
We do not bore them in our meetings talking about beautiful stair work.
They are ready to take a nap.
But if you want to talk about wires and outlets—
Host:
I know you and I have talked about this, and I know you are a big fan.
I have become a big fan as well of This Old House.
That is one of the things I always love when I watch.
Not only the beautiful work, the craftsmanship, and the design ideas, but when they bring out these products or take on a project like converting forced air to a radiant heat system.
That was a massive undertaking.
Seeing that project come together, I do not know, maybe it is something in my DNA, but I think, “Wow, that is beautiful.”
Mike:
It is.
They just have the privilege of never seeming to run out of budget.
We do update those systems, especially when it makes sense.
If you are touching this thing a lot, and let’s say you are in the basement, that is a discussion we are having upfront.
We are saying, “How old is this furnace?”
If it is a 40-year-old oil furnace, it is not too efficient.
We need to mess with a lot of things anyway.
We might be changing the trunks and plenums and heat runs and things like that.
That is the time to evaluate all that stuff.
Whatever we can see when things get opened up, we have to touch it then.
We plan for this.
We budget for this.
It is part of the deal because we are not going to open this up knowing we have problems and just cover them up.
It just would not be good for the house.
Host:
When you mention that octopus situation, where these furnaces have been added on to, I have to guess when you clean that up, it helps with efficiencies as well.
Just having fewer diversions and a cleaner design.
You think of airflow and having fewer bends.
At the end of the day, it has to work more efficiently to have a better-designed, more engineered plan for that system, right?
Mike:
Right.
Having done this for a long time, I will look at that octopus and say, “How does this room heat?”
It looks like there is 50 feet of eight-inch duct going over there and no return air.
Then the homeowner says, “It is a little cold in the winter and a little hot in the summer.”
Maybe we do need to come up with a different plan.
It is amazing how you can affect how that system works by taking a bend or two out of a heat duct because you lose so much efficiency.
Everything in that house affects something else.
Fixing those things is, I do not want to say second nature, but I think it needs to be when you are working in old houses.
Host:
We are talking this morning with Mike Twohig, owner at Edge Construction, talking basement remodels this week.
We will talk about some of the really cool stuff and different styles.
Maybe you like to shoot pool or billiards — I do believe that is what the classier folks call it — and we will talk about those types of additions to your basement remodel.
Whether you are thinking of doing a basement, kitchen, addition, going up, going out, or doing a whole home remodel, Mike and the team at Edge Construction would love to talk to you.
All you have to do is pick up the phone and give them a call: 608-636-3343.
That number is 636-EDGE.
The website is EdgeConstructionCompany.com.
Edge Construction brings you the Home Remodeling Show right here on 1310 WIBA.
Host:
The Home Remodeling Show with Edge Construction continues now on News Talk 1310 WIBA.
This is the Home Remodeling Show, brought to you by Edge Construction, online at EdgeConstructionCompany.com.
That is all one word, Edge Construction Company dot com.
Hanging out this Saturday morning with Mike Twohig of Edge Construction and talking about basement remodels.
We have really just scratched the surface — or I do not even know if I can call it the surface because we are talking underground.
We scratched something.
There is so much to basements, and they are such a great space.
Do we see people going a little bolder sometimes with design choices for the basement?
I know we want high quality and we want it to feel like any other space.
We do not want it to feel like, “It is a basement, so maybe lower quality.”
People want quality.
But do they have a space where they are maybe a little freer to try out different textures, different colors, and those types of things?
Mike:
Yes, that has been a really fun part.
I do not know if it is the influence of the internet or places like Houzz and Pinterest and seeing what is possible, but people are willing to be a little bolder.
Part of me thinks, “What was holding them back before?”
They have all these great ideas and things they like, but in the past they were maybe saying, “Just because I like it does not mean I want to take too many chances.”
You mentioned quality products.
There has been this flip.
It seemed like people were willing to give up quality, and all they cared about was that it looked normal so they could sell the house if they decided to move next year.
Maybe that is changing.
People are staying in houses longer.
That is what the stats say.
It is a combination of things.
Sean, if I was going to take your interest rate at two-point-something and offer you 7 percent, would you be super happy about that?
Host:
Nope.
Not going anywhere.
Mike:
I have to say, that is playing in.
We had this little blip where inventory ticked up just a tiny bit, and we are through that already in Dane County.
We are just so underbuilt that there is not much to pick from.
I am hearing people are back to offering over asking price again, and it seems like we are stuck in that world for a while.
It is another reason why, if you can get a space like this and make it really nice, people are willing to do quality products.
That has really become important.
People want natural things: wood floors, stone countertops, real wood cabinets, and things like that.
It seems like people are willing to go that route.
They are also, like you mentioned before, willing to take chances on design.
Host:
Is there something too about the main levels of your home?
If you have company over, maybe you want that to be a little more traditional.
Then when company is hanging out in the basement, whether it is watching football or sports, you can make it a little bit more like the family space.
I see some of these pictures you shared with me with a pool table.
When I was younger, if one of my classmates had a pool table in their basement, they had made it.
Somebody in their life was doing real well.
Mike:
A pool out back and a pool table in the basement, and you are in.
Host:
Do we see stuff like that, where people say, “I have this hobby, this activity, or this game I really enjoy, and I want to make this space conducive to that lifestyle”?
Mike:
A little bit, yes.
On the bigger things, like a pool table, ping pong table, or some old bar games, from foosball on up, those things are showing up.
People find these things, and some of this stuff is almost collectible.
John is nodding, like, “Do not listen, wife. I am going to find ways.”
But yes, that stuff happens.
If anything, overwhelmingly, it is gaming.
It is a place to store the games, a place to play the games, and a place to get several people to play at once.
You also need enough power to do it.
People are really serious about it.
They are not necessarily doing it on TV screens.
They are doing it on big monitors, and everything is tied together.
I would say that is more pervasive than anything.
Host:
Really?
Mike:
Yes.
Host:
That is neat stuff.
You mentioned speakers.
I would like one of those — what is the bowling game with the sand on it?
Mike:
Shuffleboard?
Host:
Yes.
That thing is cool.
Mike:
They are neat.
They take up about 14 feet.
Host:
Yes, they do.
Have you guys ever worked on a home with a bowling alley?
Mike:
We have not.
Host:
If you have a bowling alley and are listening this morning, Mike would love to work with you.
And I will come and help out.
That is so cool.
Mike:
We have had putting greens.
A long time ago, we did a contoured concrete floor for a putting green.
Host:
Really?
Mike:
Then a few years later, the house sold, and the person who bought it said, “Why would anybody do this?”
I said, “Well, do you want us to take it out?”
Host:
Yes.
You and I have a mutual friend who would probably be an interested buyer.
We will not mention his name, but I think people know who he is.
We are talking this morning with our good buddy Mike Twohig at Edge Construction.
Online, EdgeConstructionCompany.com.
All one word, Edge Construction Company dot com.
Telephone number is 608-636-3343. That number is 636-EDGE.
We are talking about basements, some options down there, design thoughts, and the process of basement remodeling.
Mike, I love looking at all the different pictures of basement projects you guys have worked on.
You mentioned lighting earlier, and lighting is important in every project.
In the next segment, we are going to talk about a recent kitchen remodel you guys did with some nifty lighting.
But basements especially — getting the light right seems to be an important, I will use the term trick, but an important part of what you guys do to make it feel like a main level.
Having the right lighting, hues, or shades is an important part of any remodel, but especially in the basement, isn’t it?
Mike:
It is.
You have to think in terms of daylighting.
We use that word a lot.
In a basement, you are not going to get much natural light.
But in Wisconsin, for six months of the year, if you are gone during the day, you are not home when there is a lot of natural light anyway.
It gets dark early, and the sun comes up late.
So you need to daylight these places.
If you look at all of our basement pictures for the past probably 10 years, we have been using LED lights.
We call them can lights, but they are really not can lights because there is no can.
It is just a one-inch-thick stamped fixture where the whole bottom of the six-inch light fixture is the light.
When you turn on an old can light, the bulb is up in there, and the cone is narrow.
It shines down.
It takes more of them to do the same job.
Then you have to change bulbs, and you can see up in there.
It is just not that attractive.
So LEDs changed everything.
If you notice in your basement or anybody’s basement, we have those heat trunks.
Now you will see LED can lights underneath those heat trunks, where before we would have needed at least six inches of space above.
We can fit those LED lights where we want them.
The key is to put enough of them in and make them controllable, which means putting them on dimmers.
You do not always want blaring light when you turn every light on.
Sometimes you want them all on, but at a lower level.
With technology now, the dimming technology has gotten a lot better on those fixtures.
That is our new plan.
Host:
Pretty amazing stuff.
Check it out online at EdgeConstructionCompany.com.
All one word, Edge Construction Company dot com.
Their telephone number is 608-636-3343. That number is 636-EDGE.
We will talk a little bit with Mike about some recent projects.
We will also wrap up our conversation about basements.
We will do that next as the Home Remodeling Show with Edge Construction continues right here on 1310 WIBA.
Host:
The Home Remodeling Show with Edge Construction continues now on News Talk 1310 WIBA.
This is the Home Remodeling Show, brought to you by Edge Construction, online at EdgeConstructionCompany.com.
All one word: Edge Construction Company dot com.
There are links there to Houzz, Pinterest, and Facebook.
Again, it is a great website and a great resource to learn more about Edge Construction.
Their telephone number is 608-636-3343. That number is 636-EDGE.
Mike, earlier you mentioned that a lot of times we all get guilty of this.
I am as guilty, if not more than most.
We want to go now.
We want to hurry up and get going.
One of the cool things about basement remodels is that, since the floors, walls, and ceilings we were talking about earlier are there, that allows the timeline to be shortened.
You still want to spend time in design, obviously.
But when it comes to the building, some of those things that tend to take up time are already taken care of.
So it does give you an accelerated timeline, doesn’t it?
Mike:
It does.
Certainly, all newer houses are built knowing that somebody is going to finish the basement.
They give us a little bit of a head start by keeping some of the things out of the way.
They might keep the plumbing lines all in one spot next to the heating trunks and things like that.
You are sort of prepped for it.
Usually the furnaces are sized for that.
There is a head start.
Like you said, the main structure is already there.
We are not often having to deal with moving anything load-bearing, so that goes fairly quickly.
It is a fairly short timeline if you think about gaining 1,000 feet of space on your house.
Sometimes in a couple of months, that is a fairly quick remodel.
For a lot of people, it does not even feel like a remodel.
If you have outside access to the basement, our people and that pathway will not come through your finished space.
We will just close that off and come in through a patio door.
Everything can come that way, and it is much nicer for homeowners.
They really do not have to deal with the mess and things like that.
That is pretty helpful.
There is one advantage a homeowner mentioned to me this last week.
She said it was the best excuse to force her husband to get rid of a bunch of stuff he thought was not necessary anymore.
So it does make you clean up the space and evaluate what you want to keep and what you do not want to keep.
We all need that incentive sometimes.
Host:
I feel like the garage sale that was on just before us — I think a lot of the callers are probably—
I know you guys have done a few projects that involved the space underneath the stairs.
Utilizing all these nooks and crannies and making interesting spaces, whether it is a great place for the kids and grandkids, a little playroom, offices — you guys have done wine storage, do I remember that?
Mike:
Yes, we have done that.
We have done some wine storage in there.
We have done pets.
We did a finished space with a couple of interesting ways in and out for pets.
Those niche-y areas are great places to get on Houzz or Pinterest and search.
People come up with interesting ideas for those areas.
You can only design a bathroom so many ways sometimes, although I think we do a good job of coming up with ideas there.
But those spaces are fun because you can really see what the possibilities are.
A lot of times people will say, “Can you come up with a couple of different versions? We do not have any idea what this should look like. We just know we want to do something interesting.”
Host:
Is there something to embracing the unique character of a basement?
One of the pictures I was looking at had a desk, a little office, and a really nice L-shaped desk placed underneath the stairs.
That might not be something you see on a main level, but it really embraces the basement space and says, “We are going to do this thing.”
The finished product is really cool looking.
Mike:
It is.
We love doing something just a little bit unique that gives the space some personality.
Again, a lot of times it is just coming up with the idea.
It does not necessarily add to the cost or add much to the cost.
It is coming up with those little touches that can make the space feel unique to you.
Host:
We are talking this morning with Mike Twohig, owner at Edge Construction.
The website is EdgeConstructionCompany.com.
All one word, Edge Construction Company dot com.
Check them out online.
Facebook, Pinterest, Houzz — all at EdgeConstructionCompany.com.
Their telephone number is 608-636-3343.
That number is 636-EDGE.
Edge Construction brings you the Home Remodeling Show right here on 1310 WIBA.