Basement finishing
Marren Lake lower level
An unfinished basement turned into a family room with a media wall, a wet bar and a guest suite with its own bath and an egress window.
- 1. Poured walls, dry, 7 ft 9 in. ceiling
- 2. Steel column stays, gets wrapped
- 1. Egress window cut
- 2. Ejector pit
- 3. Rigid foam on every wall
- 4. Guest suite framing
- 1. Wet bar with a beverage fridge
- 2. Media wall
- 3. Egress window and well
- 4. Three-quarter bath
BeforeUnfinished, one steel column, small windows
- Existing wall
- Removed
- New framing
- Water
- Electrical
1The challenge
The challenge and the solution
Grandparents visit for weeks at a time and the family needed a guest suite, but the basement had one steel column in the middle, a low duct run and no window big enough for a bedroom.
2What we did
We wrapped the column into the family room layout, rerouted the duct into a soffit over the bar, cut a new egress window for the guest suite and set an ejector pit for the three-quarter bath. Every wall got rigid foam before framing.
3Scope
What was in the contract
- Family room with a media wall
- Wet bar with a beverage fridge
- Guest suite with an egress window
- Three-quarter bath with an ejector pit
- Rigid foam on every exterior wall
- Luxury vinyl plank over a subfloor system
4Highlights
What the owners notice every day
- a.Guest suite with natural light
- b.Bar tucked under the duct soffit
- c.Warm, dry floors
- d.Media wall wired for the TV and speakers
5Schedule
How the weeks went
- Design and selections4 wks
- Permits3 wks
- Demolition1 wk
- Rough-in3 wks
- Finishes6 wks
- Punch list1 wk
About 18 weeks end to end. Typical ranges from past projects, not a commitment: your project manager writes your schedule during design.
6Selections
The finish board
“Our parents stayed six weeks this summer and it felt like a hotel suite. The kids have taken over the media room.”
Marren Lake homeowners (sample). Sample quote for a fictional business.