Attic or Basement Remodel

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Author Message   patmich Citizen Username: Patmich Post Number: 44 Registered: 3-2005 Posted on Thursday, February 9, 2006 - 12:43 pm:        I am going back and forth as to where to remodel and make a playroom/guestroom. We have a basement with low ceiling, one window, the utilities are there and agains it's a basement. However, it is close to the first floor and we could hear the kids easily. We have an attic, which is unfinished, bright, but 2 floors away. What would you do? Which one has more resale value?   Virtual It Girl Citizen Username: Shh Post Number: 3971 Registered: 5-2001 Posted on Thursday, February 9, 2006 - 1:48 pm:        I like the basement playroom for my kids. I am so glad we did it, it makes a HUGE difference in the quality of space on the first floor. Though our basement has amazingly high ceilings, I never thought much would come of it. By spending about $12k we have a small tv room, bathroom, office and playroom (utility room and storage too). Bright paint & good lighting made a huge difference. (My husband insists we would have been better off leaving it more open as opposed to making so many rooms, but I didn't want poles all over the place.) OTOH, if it's got low ceilings and you intend to use it as a guest room with any frequency, I'd consider the attic. Perhaps you can inexpensively make it a playroom now and do the attic for a nicer guest space/extra room eventually. Depending on your kids' ages, they may not feel comfortable so far away from the ground floor.   patmich Citizen Username: Patmich Post Number: 45 Registered: 3-2005 Posted on Thursday, February 9, 2006 - 2:04 pm:        Thanks VIG! Who did you use for the basement remodel? $12K for all that sounds like a bargain!   Virtual It Girl Citizen Username: Shh Post Number: 3972 Registered: 5-2001 Posted on Thursday, February 9, 2006 - 2:24 pm:        No one I'd recommend! It was about 7 years ago...the quality of the work was not all that great and we have a lot of fixing to do, eventually! The space however, has worked out wonderfully. As much as I'd like to eventually do our attic, we need to raise the roof, so it wasn't as cost effective an option for us. If perhaps you made a room near the window and put in good lighting, it might turn into something much nicer than you'd imagine. For a playroom, it's nice for the kids to have a space where they don't need to bring their friends though the bedrooms to play, and the easy access to outdoors is great.   Meandtheboys Citizen Username: Meandtheboys Post Number: 2952 Registered: 12-2004 Posted on Thursday, February 9, 2006 - 4:13 pm:        I beg to differ with VIG, but only in terms of resale. I think if people were looking at 2 houses where everything else was the same--the only difference being one had a finished basement, the other had a finished attic--I think the finished attic would be a much bigger asset. I don't believe most people would consider a basement a "living space," particularly in old houses like we have here. Whereas a finished third floor could easily sell as an additional bedroom, provided it met requirements such as having a closet and heat. IMHO.   Smarty Jones Citizen Username: Birdstone Post Number: 336 Registered: 10-2005 Posted on Thursday, February 9, 2006 - 4:20 pm:        Two points....first is that I agree with M.A.T.B and that the attic will have a resale appreciation, and the basement will actually have a negative return. (ie you'll get your money back and than some on the attic, you won't get your money back on the basement)... there's a couple real estate articles out on this, easy enough to find and I've seen it more than once. That said, if you'd rather have a playroom in the basement, it's probably a much better place to put it. I just wouldn't go crazy with bathrooms and guestrooms down there, save that for later in the attic.   Virtual It Girl Citizen Username: Shh Post Number: 3974 Registered: 5-2001 Posted on Thursday, February 9, 2006 - 4:25 pm:        I didn't say a word about resale. I was only saying how the space could be used and best utilized. With a small house I have found most things I do are more for our comfort and enjoyment than potential return on our investment. If I did everything based on how much return I'd get I'd be a miserable soul.   Dave Supporter Username: Dave Post Number: 8581 Registered: 4-1997 Posted on Thursday, February 9, 2006 - 4:29 pm:        But it's easier to spend money on improvements if you think of it as "an investment". :-)   Meandtheboys Citizen Username: Meandtheboys Post Number: 2954 Registered: 12-2004 Posted on Thursday, February 9, 2006 - 4:33 pm:        Not to mention here in M/SO, your resale value goes up steadily, as long as the house is reasonably maintained, without making any significant improvements.   mjc Citizen Username: Mjc Post Number: 1044 Registered: 10-2004 Posted on Thursday, February 9, 2006 - 4:39 pm:        When it's time for sleepover birthday parties, I think you'll be glad if the kids are in the basement instead of in the attic over your not-sleeping heads.   patmich Citizen Username: Patmich Post Number: 46 Registered: 3-2005 Posted on Thursday, February 9, 2006 - 4:40 pm:        I agree that the attic would be the better "investment" because it could be classified as a bedroom in the future. And, it just feels better up there, since the space has almost 10ft. ceilings in the middle and there are windows at both ends of the house. I appreciate all the comments.   Meandtheboys Citizen Username: Meandtheboys Post Number: 2957 Registered: 12-2004 Posted on Thursday, February 9, 2006 - 4:53 pm:        patmich, FWIW, we have our bedroom and a bathroom on the third floor and it is wonderful up there. Sort of like my own private retreat/loft/treehouse. And it's so far removed from the hubub of the house and the street.   Lydia Supporter Username: Lydial Post Number: 1658 Registered: 5-2001 Posted on Thursday, February 9, 2006 - 6:54 pm:        I've seen some nice finished basements, but they still feel basement-y to me. The only great basement re-do I've seen was one that was made into a screening room. I think it's also against code for people to sleep in a basement, finished or not. A finished attic feels like a lovely private extension of the house, there's plenty of natural light and air circulation - I'd go with the attic. I saw one attic renovation that had a big clawfoot tub surrounded by a wooden half-wall with plants cascading over the top and a skylight above - nearby was a wall of bookshelves and a chaise longue, I wanted to move right in.   doulamomma Citizen Username: Doulamomma Post Number: 960 Registered: 3-2002 Posted on Thursday, February 9, 2006 - 8:09 pm:        Lydia, I *think* as long as a basement has a proper exit door it can have a bedroom.   Virtual It Girl Citizen Username: Shh Post Number: 3976 Registered: 5-2001 Posted on Thursday, February 9, 2006 - 8:26 pm:        I've seen some basements in Newstead that were amazing!   Bob K Supporter Username: Bobk Post Number: 10607 Registered: 5-2001 Posted on Friday, February 10, 2006 - 4:36 am:        A door or a large window (there is a square inch requirement) set fairly low to the floor can meet the secondary egress requirements. I also think there has to be an "egress window" in attics as well if they are bedroom space. With kids, up through college age, a finished basement rec room has a lot going for it. We have never had one and both our kids tended to hang out at friends houses who did. With that said our old attic was simply finished and had the kind of tree house, lofty feel that Lydia mentions. For resale I think a finished attic, especially if it has a bath, is more of a selling point than a finished basement, but this can vary depending on if you have a first floor family room or not.   Smarty Jones Citizen Username: Birdstone Post Number: 340 Registered: 10-2005 Posted on Friday, February 10, 2006 - 6:19 pm:        We've been told a coule of times that the window in our attic needs to be an "egress" window. What is an egress window?   The Soulfullest Mr T Citizen Username: Howardt Post Number: 1430 Registered: 11-2004 Posted on Friday, February 10, 2006 - 6:34 pm:        FWIW, we have a beautifully finished basement with 9-foot ceilings. a bedroom, full bath, large family room with big-screen TV, closets, small fridge and wet bar, big fridge-sized freezer, laundry room, door to back yard. We had the work done before we moved in 2 yrs ago. We LOVE it. NB: We refinanced recently and when the appraiser came he REFUSED TO COUNT ANY OF THE BASEMENT AREA AS ROOMS. I was shocked. He said that to be considered a "room," it has to have windows of a certain size and a certain height and meet other criteria. The appraisal came in very low so we insisted that the lender send another appraiser who found a way to include the "value" of those rooms and gave a much, much higher appraisal - almost $200k higher. Kinda makes you wonder how I keep from goin' under...   Bob K Supporter Username: Bobk Post Number: 10630 Registered: 5-2001 Posted on Friday, February 10, 2006 - 6:51 pm:        Smarty, an egress window has to have an opening of a certain size so that a person can climb through it in the event of a fire. There are requirements on how high off the floor as well. I don't have the specs, but the Building Department can provide them to you and will be happy to do so, at least that has always been my experience.   Old Toad Citizen Username: Skewer1 Post Number: 10 Registered: 11-2005 Posted on Tuesday, February 14, 2006 - 10:16 am:        Soulfullest Mr T: how was the contractor's job / price? Would you recommend him? I'm looking for someone to finish the basement in my house   The Soulful Mr T Citizen Username: Howardt Post Number: 1445 Registered: 11-2004 Posted on Tuesday, February 14, 2006 - 10:38 am:        You Old Toad, Our builder was Victor Garbowski, he's great. He's done many jobs for us. Cell 917-403-8510. Please tell him Howard referred you. He's very busy so if you want to start right away, he's probably not your man. I think discussion of costs might just be confusing. How big is your space? Putting in a full bath? French drain system? Wet bar? Wood floors? Pergo? I have found him VERY reasonable. Great work, a real solutions guy. A designer if you need him to be... He works alot in Maplewood these days. I think he's doing a job on Durand now.   Old Toad Citizen Username: Skewer1 Post Number: 11 Registered: 11-2005 Posted on Wednesday, February 15, 2006 - 9:57 am:        Thanks Soulful, I'll give hime a call sometime soon. Timing's OK as we're in no real hurry to get it done. I'm thinking of putting in a wine cellar, games room + bar and a home theater room there but haven't finalized details yet.