Here is a basement done by Luke Simonovski--Our Builder in East Toronto Ontario. He renovates basements all over the GTA Toronto area. We are going to walk you through the entire process of professional basement refinishing using this Toronto home's basement as an example.
When you are hiring people to finish basement space you need to keep in mind that they will all use different specifications for the build...and some leave important issues at substandard levels. This will illustrate why you are often better off using a more experienced contractor to finish your basement--since you will have a more functional finished product that won't need repairs for decades.
Any functional basement renovation starts with a layout that takes into account what the space needs to be used for, as well as obstructions and plumbing tie in locations.
Luke starts out by insulating all the exterior walls using Blue Styrofoam SM rigid insulation. Here you can see the plumbing stack left open until the tie in. We will show you how that is done in a later post.
Code dictates that the fuse panel can be closed in, but only in an approved enclosure. It has to provide clearance. Circuits need to be added for receptacles and lighting in the basement as well. Luke brings in qualified tradesmen for all plumbing and electrical work.
It is always a good idea to fire proof the furnace room just in case of a malfunction. Furnaces have been known to explode on occasion and closing it in with a double layer of fire rated drywall can buy the homeowners time to escape.
Luke likes to use steel stud for framing basements because nearly every piece of framing needs to be a different length. Steel stud costs more...however you save money in the end because it is more efficient. He always uses wood around the openings so that the doors don't work loose over time.
Posts need to be factored into the design so that it doesn't obstruct. There are many ways of decorating or hiding posts within walls. Often posts can be moved, however that is a labor intensive and often cost prohibitive thing to do. Stay tuned... more photos of this project to come!
L
Dan Maragno of Maragno Contracting does renovations in the Oakville and Wasaga Beach area year round. Summers he is an Authorized Design builder for GardenStructure.com and since his family has a cottage in Wasaga Beach, he shares his time between the two places. This cottage owner approached us to add a porch to this home, however, the building department nixed their plans for the porch. They simply were not allowed by Tiny Township to build the look they wanted. 
