Valuable Real Estate
In the quest for extra square footage, a dry, unfinished basement is a holy grail. For the cost of some finish work and mechanicals upgrades, you can get a whole new room, sometimes two or three.
For years kitchen designer Karen Berkemeyer used her below-grade space as a laundry room. But the desire for what her home lacked—an informal space for family lounging and TV viewing—caused her to take a second look. “We never had one space where we could all gather and watch a movie,” says Berkemeyer. So the basement was transformed into just that, and during the process upgrades were made to the laundry room and storage closet, and a full bath was added, allowing the space to double as a guest suite.
The biggest obstacle wasn’t moisture—it was headroom. Since dampness wasn’t an issue, the major hurdle was excavating below the concrete slab to achieve the 7-foot finished ceiling height needed to meet code. The team also removed a wall to dig out an under-porch crawl space and fold it into the new family room, with a steel beam providing support in its place.
Letting in the Light
Though only one was required to meet code, two egress windows were added in the family room; their top halves sit above the grade. Custom fieldstone window wells with drains in the bottom dress up the view. Additional lighting is supplied by multiple recessed fixtures.
Adding egress windows below grade is more involved than it appears. As This Old House Magazine explains, the contractor must cut a rough opening in the foundation using a concrete saw from both the interior and exterior, or a water-cooled chainsaw that can make the full through cut from outside. Window wells then require excavating an opening, and in some cases installing a drainpipe down to the footing drain, a deep gravel pit, or even a dedicated dry well.
Neutral Nooks
The whole of the bathroom is wrapped in limestone to prevent dampness, including the ceiling. In the laundry, the Miele washer and dryer are tucked under a Corian counter.
Laundry Sink
The limestone backsplash behind the Kohler laundry sink and faucet provides a focal point when viewed from the main living area.
Guest Bath
In the bath, honed black granite tops an antique-dresser vanity.
Before
The old basement, which housed the washer and dryer, had a concrete floor, exposed plumbing, and stone foundation walls. The main challenge was excavating below the concrete slab to achieve the 7-foot finished ceiling height needed to meet code.
Water Heater
The water heater in the mechanicals closet still stands on the original concrete floor, 8 inches higher than the renovated areas of the space.
Original Layout
An exterior wall divided the basement from crawl space under a porch, a tiny—but key—70 square feet of extra room.
What They Did
1. Removed a wall to dig out under-porch crawl space and make it part of the new family room. A steel beam provides support in its place.
2. Dug out the existing floor except in the mechanicals area to achieve a 7-foot finished ceiling height.
3. Kept the original locations for the water heater and boiler, shutting them away behind doors.
4. Created a storage closet to hold extra household goods, from cases of wine to bulk-size paper towels.
5. Squeezed in a full bath measuring 5 by 5 feet.
6. Moved the laundry to the far end of the space, tucking the washer and dryer under a counter, adding a sink, and installing a space-saving ironing-board cabinet.
7. Built in cherry cabinetry by Wood-Mode to maximize storage for the TV, stereo, DVDs, CDs, and books.
For the last 20 years, kitchen designer Karen Berkemeyer hadn’t given much thought to the below-grade space in her 1920s Bronxville, New York, townhouse. “I used it for the washer and dryer, but other than that, I ignored it,” she says. With the upper floors already put to full use, the basement was the obvious place to carve out a family room that could double as a guest suite.
To make the most of the reclaimed square footage, designer Karen Berkemeyer specified furniture-grade built-ins and plenty of recessed lighting, sticking to a pale neutral palette to enhance the feeling of light and air. Limestone tiles help prevent dampness from wicking up through the concrete subfloor, while baseboard heat and air-conditioning keep the space cozy in winter and cool and dry in summer.
