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Top 4 Reasons You Need a Finished Basement – Especially When You’re Safer at Home

Once upon a time American workers didn’t NEED a home office, or a home gym, or a home theater. These were optional spaces, nice extras for those who sometimes had to answer some emails after hours, or who didn’t feel like hiking out to the gym, or who really liked their at-home film experience.

But a lot has changed in 2020, and as of this article’s publish date hundreds of millions of Americans are stuck at home round the clock, and it’s getting REALLY old REALLY fast.

Fortunately, there is a Fort Collins Finished Basement solution that can help you make the most of this difficult situation. And that solution is your basement, professionally finished by none other than yours truly: Artisan Remodeling & Design!

Reason #1 why you should finish your basement: Space

The more time you and your family spend in your house the smaller your space is going to feel—and the crazier everyone is going to feel stuck inside it. Finishing your basement is the easiest way to add significant livable square footage to your home, which provides more space for everyone to spread out and get off each other’s nerves.

Reason #2: Comfort

Finished basements are naturally cozy. They’re cool in the summer and warm in the winter, making them the perfect at-home sanctuary during extreme temperatures and pandemics alike.

Reason #3: Purpose Built Spaces

Unfinished basements are a natural fit for all the much-needed spaces of the moment like home gyms and fitness centers, home offices, craft and hobby rooms, home bars, and in-home theaters where you and your family can spend some peaceful quality time.

You can choose to go with the basics (drywall, flooring, electrical) and get up and running fast, or go with a more comprehensive basement remodel to create a lasting, useful, and beautiful space for your own use in the short term, and for entertaining and hosting once social distancing ends.

Reason #4: Home Value

Remodeling does more than just improve your experience at home in the short term. It also benefits home value and resale potential years down the road.

We all know the financial system is unstable right now, and we definitely can’t tell you how to invest or where to put your money. But we can say that in ten years people will still need houses and at that point, if you’re looking to make a move, a finished basement would be a great asset to show off.

Ready to Serve

If you’ve been struggling with all this time at home and remodeling to finish your basement sounds like something you’d be interested in, let us know! Artisan Remodeling & Design serves the Fort Collins and Loveland areas of Colorado and we are open for business as we take every precaution to limit social interaction and protect the health and safety of our team members, partners, and clients.

Call us today at 970-691-6995 for more information about our Fort Collins Finished Basement service.

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Home Gyms Are No Longer a Luxury in Fort Collins – Here’s How to Design Yours Today!

The world won’t soon forget the pandemic of 2020, and there’s no telling when the need for social distancing will end. While we all want things to go back to normal, many of us are still feeling a bit weary and prefer to stay at home, where we can remain safe and healthy. In this strange new reality it’s fair to say that at-home exercise and fitness solutions are no longer a luxury for health-minded homeowners. Fort Collins Home gyms have become a necessity.

Fortunately, designing and developing your own home gym is easier than you might think. Here’s how to get started!

1. Choose your Equipment

While you could design the space first and fill it later, working the other way around has its advantages. Different types of equipment may have different structural or electrical requirements, and laying out your equipment ahead of time will give you a good idea of how much space you’ll need.

A few examples of home exercise equipment to choose from include punching bags, stationary bicycles, rowing machines, elliptical trainers, treadmills, weight machines, and free weights/a weight bench, just to name a few.

Make sure to include both strength and endurance-focused equipment that you’ll enjoy using, along with floor space for stretching, in order to balance your workouts.

2. Find Your Space

Depending on your equipment and the amount of space it takes up you may be able to use a spare bedroom or a portion of your basement as-is. Or, you may find that you need to make some changes.

Finishing or remodeling a portion of the basement is probably the most common solution we see. Basements offer a cool, private, and out of the way space with plenty of room. With some drywall, good flooring, lighting, ventilation, and electrical access, basement gyms can be a winning choice. However, some homeowners find that the lack of natural light negatively impacts their motivation.

Spare bedrooms, on the other hand, already have light, power, and ventilation, but often lack the same wide-open open space and lack of distraction that you get in the basement. And when using an upper-level space you need to make sure that the weight of any heavy equipment is safely spread across your floor joists, not placed between them.

homegymfortcollins3. Make It Your Own

A home gym can be a simple as a floor mat and some headphones in the living room, or as complex as a brand new walk-out home addition with professional equipment. It’s up to you to do what you need to do to make your space a space that you’ll enjoy using in the long term, allowing you to cultivate healthy habits without heading out into public.

Some other elements and features you should consider including are:

  • Oversize mirrors for you to watch your form and track your progress
  • Audio/visual solutions so you can follow along with online classes or listen to music
  • Tough, non-slip, easy-to-clean hard flooring
  • Easy-clean rubber or foam floor pads and mats
  • Wall racks, hangers, and other accessible storage options
  • Ventilation, heating, or cooling to keep the air comfortable and remove stale odors
  • Lighting (preferably plenty of natural lighting as well)
  • Personal touches and décor to make you feel comfortable and at-home
Professional Basement and Home Remodeling

Remember, most home gyms pay for themselves surprisingly fast compared to a monthly gym membership. They’re an investment—an investment in your own health and convenience. 

If you’re interested designing and building your own home exercise center, contact Artisan Remodeling & Design at 970-691-6995 today. We’re an expert, local Fort Collins home remodeling company, and we would love to do what we can to help you get healthy and stay healthy right where you are.

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Basement Remodeling Tips to Help You Avoid Mistakes and Pittfalls

Avoiding Basement Remodel Mistakes and Blunders

To add more square feet onto the average house, many homeowners today look down instead of up or out, and this means finishing a basement. The dark, scary, and cobweb-ridden basements of yesterday are nothing like today’s awesome entertainment spaces, extra bedrooms, and playrooms.

Basement Mistakes and Project Enthusiasm

However, if you get too excited about your remodeling and improvement project, you might fall victim to some common basement mistakes. Transforming your wet, dirty basement into a warm and inviting space requires planning and talks with your contractor about items like code, insulation, structural integrity, and the threat of water.

Seems complex and overwhelming, but a good plan will make any significant and complicated basement remodeling project run like clockwork.

Meeting the Challenges of a Basement Remodel

Canadian home improvement tipster Steve Maxwell suggests that many challenges of basement remodeling aren’t “obvious” when you first look at improving the space.

Underneath all these worthy possibilities you’ll find challenges unique to the basement finishing game. And these are especially sneaky because most of the challenges aren’t obvious at first. More often than not, they allow themselves to be ignored, at least for a while. But then, when all the work is done, they make themselves known in the form of trouble that’s almost impossible to fix afterwards.

Two Questions to Ask During Planning

Asking yourself some simple questions about your basement will help ensure you plan right and get the best result from the project. The most important questions revolve around water and the threat of a leaky basement.

Consider these questions when discussing the wishes for your future basement with your contractor:

  1. Does your basement have any problems with water?
  2. Does your basement have water-resistant insulation?

The biggest mistake any homeowner can make is to install some amazing features in the basement only to have continuous problems with water each season. One of the best reasons to consult with a contractor is because home improvement professionals can train their expert eye on a basement to determine its propensity and risk for flooding and the invasion of water.

A Warm and Dry Floor

Just like the walls need special consideration for insulation, the floors also need special treatment. Unlike the floors on the upper levels of the home, the floor of a basement is rife with the risk for water and dampness.

The “Chronicle Herald” out of Halifax, Canada shares why floors become damp and wet in the summer months:

Humid summer weather causes many basement moisture problems because basement spaces are cooler than outside air. As warm, moist, summertime air makes its way into the basement it cools, losing its ability to hold moisture, resulting in condensation if conditions are right. This happens most often right at floor level because concrete floors are the coolest part of any basement.

DIY Pitfalls and Basements

Networks like HGTV and the DIY Network encourage homeowners to take control of their homes with projects to beautify the home. However, the basement is a wild area of the home where problems might not seem apparent at the start of a project and may cause some big problems after the basement is finished.

The New Home Blog explains the pitfalls of finishing your own basement:

Be realistic in assessing your skills. Having made a bench in high school shop class may not pre-qualify you for completing a full basement reno with plumbing and wiring, the scope of the project should always be part of your assessment. Sure, you’ll be gaining skills along the way, but the process could be long and arduous.

More Basement Remodeling Tips

Would you like to know how to turn your creepy, dark basement into an awesome entertainment room or an extra bedroom? Contact Artisan Remodeling, today for expert advice on how you can get a beautifully finished basement.

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Short on Space? Fort Collins Basement Remodeling is the Answer!

You love your house. It took some time, but you’ve turned it into a real home complete with pencil marks from measuring children’s growth on the bedroom door moldings, and countless wonderful memories. You’ve devoted years to your yard and gardens. Also, you love your neighborhood, your neighbors, and the schools your children attend.

However, as those handmade growth charts reflect, your children are growing and so is their need for space. Between the toys, books, sports equipment and friends that come to hang out for hours on end, you find yourself constantly tripping over things and people. Maybe the thought of moving makes you sad, or isn’t the right thing for your family. There could be countless reasons you may not want to move out of your home. There is a perfect solution to the space problem: basement remodeling Fort Collins.

Imagine a whole other level of space, custom-designed for the needs of your growing family. You could have another bedroom, or two, or a second family room perfect to send the kids to when things get too loud and crowded. In addition, you can entertain for the holidays and invite everyone knowing you have the room. And if mornings have become stressful with so many sharing a bathroom, then just think what an extra shower could do for peace in the family and for your blood pressure.

By turning your basement into living space, you can make your house a comfortable place to come home to once again. It can be a faster, easier process than you might believe. For more information, contact us.

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Basement Remodeling in Fort Collins (or Loveland) is One of Our Specialties!

Do you dread descending into your basement? Is it a jumble of old boxes, discarded furniture and random orphan items you don’t even remember buying? Wouldn’t you much rather it was a place for your family to relax and play, instead of the spiders that seem to have taken up permanent residence in the darker corners?

Benefits of Basement Remodeling in Fort Collins

How would you feel if you could do that and add value and appeal to your home? Then you should contact Artisan Remodeling and Repair, the Basement Remodeling Fort Collins experts. We can create a custom design that transforms your formerly unused, dusty space into whatever you need, be it a family room, a  multi media home theater, a playroom for the kids, a craft/hobby room, an additional bedroom and bathroom, an inlaw apartment or maybe even that mancave you’ve always wanted.

With a well designed basement remodel, you can recoup around 70-75% of your investment when it comes time to sell, plus you will have experienced years of enjoyment from your new space.

Our licensed contractor status means we can obtain the necessary permits needed for your basement remodel, be it in Loveland, Fort Collins, Windsor, Johnstown or Larimer County. As a family owned business, we also know how important it is to minimize disruption during our time in your home, so we work extra hard to make sure we turn up on time and keep the work area as neat and tidy as possible.

We have so much confidence in our workmanship that if you consider anything to be unsatisfactory, we offer a 2 year warranty on all labor. Whenever you are ready to schedule our free, no obligation estimate, contact us and we will make your dreams a reality.

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