Just because the economy is in the dull-drums doesn't mean people have given up on improving their homes. Lately our Seattle General Contractors business has seen an increase in home owners wanting to add space by either finishing an existing basement or converting a crawl space into basement living space. If your home construction lends itself to basement finishing it can be a very cost effective way to add livable squarefootage to your house.Unfortunately it's not the highest return on investment like adding a second story addition. But if you plan on staying in your home for many years the ROI may not be as much of a factor. Depending on your homes configuration, basement finishing with new windows and glass doors can be very light and uplifting spaces.
Probably the biggest mistake made when converting a crawl space into a basement is not planning for surface and ground water. Great care must be taken to ensure that the new depth of the house is protected from water intrusion. Every project is different and there is no one size fits all solution. Thanks for reading. You can view a short video of a Seattle basement finishing project here. We also have additional construction related information on our Squidoo - Seattle General Contractors lens.
