Green Basement Ideas for your Home. Follow up Post to:
http://stlouisrenewableenergy.blogspot.com/2010/07/wet-basement-suggestions.html
Added bonus is the top 6 Mistakes in Basement Remodeling.
For assistance in your basement renovations Scotts Contracting will supply a free green estimate on your project.
Additional Basement Ideas at:
- St Louis Renewable Energy: Basement Stairway Ideas Part 1If the upstairs hall and basement floor are both carpeted, you'll likely want to carpet the stairs as well. If you're building new stairs or relocating the current ones, consider which areas you're connecting before you decide on ...
Learn More About How You Can Have A Green Basement!
You aren't going to be gardening with that green thumb, you're going to be remodeling your basement with green basement finishing products and thumbing through all the money you just saved with a more energy efficient finished basement!
Your home isn't going green, it's staying green! Although being more energy efficient and conscious of your energy emissions is the new trend for most homeowners and business moguls, it's time for every homeowner who wants a green basement to have a green basement. Maybe you have believed that going green is more expensive, the way the organic vegetables are nearly double the price of the "had-beens" that are other vegetables.
But, if you want a more energy efficient basement, and lower energy costs, you have got to invest in some green basement finishing products.
What's the Benefit?
So, why are you finishing your basement anyway? If you want to have more living space or update your home with a customized room, or maybe you've heard that you can upgrade your basement with new and/or green products that you will save money -- you're right! If you want any of these for your home, then you can see the great benefit in remodeling your basement, especially to save a dollar, or a couple hundred.
Some basement finishing companies actually offer green products, from ceiling tiles to flooring.
Green Products
Ceiling Tiles: How could a ceiling tile be green? Well, it would have to be able to withstand a lot of damage and last a long time, therefore saving you money from all those replacements. It would also have to be made at such a high quality that it tightly seals and helps maintain the appropriate temperature. And, of course a recyclable product is always a bonus. Did you know that some metal framings, where the ceilings are installed, are actually recyclable and are known to last for decades? It's true.
Wall Panels: You know that insulation helps maintain temperatures, and that's why it's important to have the best quality insulation in your basement.
In particular, some insulation is actually 94 percent less ozone-depleting than all the other insulation on the market.
Not only is the wall's insulation green, but so is the wall board. A wall board can be found that is made with 95 percent certified recycled materials.
So, it might be wise to reconsider using that drywall and fiberglass on your basement walls. Oh, and by the way, by avoiding these two products and choosing the right ceiling tiles you could save up to $400 a year! Is that green enough for you?!
Basement Windows: We've now reached the belt of your head-to-toe green basement transformation; the windows. Some windows are just grisly to the eyes. You know the ones. They resemble the wood that a clan of termites just had for dinner. Wood can rot, corrode, and need updates such as new coats of paint. And, because wood can get moist when it's hot, or obviously if it gets wet, then it can become a habitation for mold.
So, what's your alternative? When you choose the vinyl window design you will own windows that will not corrode, rot, need paint, or welcome mold growth. Considering this vinyl design will also lessen the drafts that are all too common to most windows. Thus, your new windows will be conserving energy.
On average, your vinyl window, when compared to the single-paned, steel-framed window, could save you 30 percent or more!
What's the other part of a window besides the frame? The glass. With something called Low-E glass you can lessen the pounding heat in the summer and the squalls of wind in the winter.
Laminate Flooring: This can become the most essential aspect of your green basement. Think about this: after some research you will find that some floors are made of laminate. According to floor facts, laminate flooring has many more benefits when compared to pre-finished engineered hardwood flooring.
Laminate flooring ranks as having very good or excellent performance in resisting scratches, stains, fades, impacts, and easy maintenance.
Additionally, yes there's more, some laminate flooring is made from post-consumer products, and is recyclable. As for the o-zone, that's coming in at a big, fat ZERO.
Flooring can also have a huge influence on your health, as many other household items or appliances. Chemicals are used more prevalently than you think, and can be polluting your home. But with some laminate flooring, you can sleep better knowing they do not contain lead, cadmium, mercury, or formaldehyde.
Remember, mold loves to grow in moist climates, so it's best to have mold resistant products, like the vinyl windows we just discussed. But, your laminate flooring can come waterproof, and you know that, no water means no mold!
As laminate flooring lasts for what seems forever, your investment in laminate flooring will outlast any other flooring. Therefore, by purchasing laminate, you're saving money while going green.
Tiled Flooring: It has some similar benefits that we saw in laminate flooring. The tiles are made with post-consumer products and are fully recyclable. They are also very long lasting.
Isn't it always a shock to your poor little feet when you scurry across your chilly concrete basement floor? It's almost as if you're playing a game -- the floor's made of ice, get to a carpet for safety! But seriously, cold floors are uncomfortable. With special tiles in your basement, you can expect the floors to be about 8-10 degrees warmer.
Basement Dehumidifier: So, we have learned how to make your basement green from ceiling to flooring, but there's one more thing you must consider; the air.
No one wants a musty, muggy basement, so by choosing not only green materials, but waterproof materials as well, you are almost to the point of completely removing moisture from the basement environment. With an Energy Star rated basement dehumidifier you can remove so much moisture and allergens, too! With particular dehumidifiers you can eliminate up to 110 pints of water each day without even having to empty a bucket!
Top Six Mistakes People Make in Basement Remodeling Projects
June 23rd, 2010 by cynthia
Almost everyone who owns a house with an unfinished basement, dreams of having it finished. How can you not think of it? After all, an unfinished basement is a whole floor's worth of space that can be easily turned into any type of room your family needs.
However, basement finishing projects are hardly inexpensive and, because basements are like no other room in the house, there are special challenges when it comes to choosing the best finishes and configuration. Basements usually house utilities, plumbing, wiring. They are also quite prone to moisture and water accidents. All of which must be taken into consideration before you tackle your project. Making the wrong choices, can literally spell disaster.
Below are the six most common mistakes homeowners make in basement remodeling projects:
1 – Finishing a Wet, Damp or Flood Prone Basement
Because of the way they are built, basements are always prone to moisture and floods.
Your basement is basically a box of porous concrete, buried in wet ground, and when that ground gets saturated with water, the resulting hydrostatic pressure pushes the water against the foundation walls. That water will eventually find its way into your basement, through cracks, the joint between walls and floors, as infiltrating the concrete through capillary action. To make matters worse, basements can also be flooded by plumbing leaks, broken water heater tanks and other water accidents. Without proper drainage, a reliable sump pump system, and proper dehumidification, no basement is dry enough to be finished.
2 – Using wood studs, fiberglass insulation and drywall.
While these materials work well when finishing rooms above grade, in a basement they usually spell disaster. Basements are naturally humid, and all these materials have the tendency to absorb moisture. They are also made with organic compounds: wood, paper and, in the case of fiberglass, a urea based adhesive is used to hold the batch together.
When you combine moisture with organic matter, you create ideal conditions for mold to develop. In addition, fiberglass loses all its R-Value when damp and drywall, in contact with water, will begin to decompose and release toxic fumes. Basement walls should be finished with 100% inorganic and waterproof materials that will survive a basement flood or water accident.
3 – Using wooden subfloors, hardwood floor, cork or bamboo.
Basically, anything that is made with organic materials is a bad idea for basements. Manufacturers might tell you that these products are either naturally "mold resistant" or are chemically treated to be so. Some wooden basement subfloor manufacturers might claim that the product has a vapor barrier and it is raised from the floor to keep the wood from soaking the moisture from the slab. However, read the small print. None of them really stand a chance to survive a flood, which can be caused by a plumbing leak, for example. Look for basement flooring solutions that are specifically engineered to withstand all sorts of basement moisture conditions.
4 – Improper use of vapor barriers
Many contractors will tell you that if you attach poly sheets all over the walls and the floor of the basement, you can pretty much use any type of finish you want, because the "vapor barrier" will protect the materials. Some will have an even worse suggestion: Placing the vapor barrier over the studs and the fiberglass, and then attach the drywall. According to the US Department of Energy's Building America Best Practices recommendations, moisture from basement walls and floors should be allowed to evaporate and dry to the interior. This kind of vapor barrier will only do one thing: trap the water vapor between the concrete and the barrier, where it can condensate, and can cause mold to grow.
5 – Not having a backup sump pump
Every year in Wisconsin, millions of dollars are spent on basement flood cleanup, restoration and replacement of flood-damaged property. To make matters worse, the damage is never covered under homeowners insurance, and even special flood insurance establishes coverage limits when it comes to basements. Even if your basement is properly waterproofed and has a good working sump pump, without a battery operated backup sump pump, you are at risk for a basement flood. Keep in mind that the same storms that have the potential to flood your basement can also cause power outages. No power, no pump! Battery backups are also useful in case of a primary pump failure or other electrical malfunction.
6 – Disregarding moisture control.
You did all the right things when finishing your basement. You provided drainage, a good sump pump with battery backup. You chose all the right materials for the walls, floor and ceiling. Yet your basement smells musty or you found some mold spots growing in the furniture, fabrics or paper. Although proper waterproofing and good basement finishing choices can greatly improve conditions in the basement, in some cases they will not suffice to control the moisture in the basement.
Basement moisture levels tend to be higher because of temperature differences between the basement and the areas above grade. When basement moisture levels go above 60% mold will start to develop, especially in organic surfaces. Even if you don't see it, if the basement smells musty, the mold is present. Basement moisture levels should be closely monitored and a dehumidifier should be used to keep RH levels at or below 55%.
- For beautiful, impeccably finished, basement remodeling in Milwaukee, Wisconsin trust LakeSide Total Basement Finishing.
- As an authorized Total Basement Finishing dealer, Lakeside offers 100% waterproof and mold resistant green basement finishing systems.
- Cynthia Freeney is the Social Media and Web Reputation Manager for Total Basement Finishing.
- Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Cynthia_Freeney
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