How to Animate Your Basement

Here’re a few ideas re how to animate your basement by digging a walkout condition (and adding a patio, possibly) either for greater enjoyment by your family or to increase your home’s revenue potential by adding a basement suite with its own separate entry and lots of light or better yet (from an ROI POV) a few micro apartments down there each with their own entranceway…

Many of these examples are from London England where space is at a premium, land prices are astounding and utilization of basements and subterranean rights is imperative to cope with an influx of people, numbering in the vicinity of 400,000 per annum, although that may slow down in the face of Brexit.

In case you think it can’t be done in cold weather and wet cities, well London is pretty damp, and Denver Colorado can be quite cold and snowy. As long as you plan for and take care of drainage, you should be alright.

Even Hollywood has been getting in on the action for quite some time. According to TopTenRealEstateDeals.com, Angelina Jolie (actress, director and humanitarian) recently bought this home that formerly belonged to renowned director Cecil B DeMille for $24.95 million. https://www.toptenrealestatedeals.com/homes/weekly-ten-best-home-deals/2017/04-17-2017/2/

Look at this walkout condition from her rec room…

Here’s the front elevation of her new residence:

I call these “manufactured walkout conditions.” The reason? Because most builders won’t consider going to the extra expense of producing these conditions on a flat site either by adding strategically-located fill or by excavating around the foundation, insulating the footing and foundation against frost in more northern climes and connecting a drain to the storm-water management system so you don’t end up with a swimming pool in your lower level instead of a nice, bright apartment with its own egress and ingress.

If there’s no natural slope, you usually won’t get a walkout, which makes the lower level a dark and less valuable space…

Anyway, here are a few more walkout conditions:

@ profbruce @ quantum_entity

postscript: I was also asked by real estate investor Bina B, “It would be fantastic if we could also install some sort of glass ceiling that people can walk on so there isn’t even any loss of either outdoor space or floor space or light. Is there glass strong enough for that?”

Excellent question.

The answer is, “Yes. Install Lexan glass (a polycarbonate). It’s strong enough, lasts a long time, isn’t too expensive and works well (ie, maintains its strength) even in cold weather.”