One of the best places to expand existing living space is to convert an unfinished basement. There are environments where basements are not structurally good ideas such as flood plains or areas with high water tables. After doing some research, it appears basements until the last sixty years or so, were not the best places to expand a living space.

Basements, also known as cellars, crawl spaces, or root cellars, were initially used as places to store food, wine, coal and other foods that were consumed during non-harvest seasons. These storage spaces did not take into account air ventilation, or dampness that could result in mold growth.

In the late 1800’s and early 1900’s existing basements were dug out or expanded to accommodate electricity, furnaces and boilers. Basements were especially useful in dense urban environments, where the best way to expand a house was to add a basement.

In some instances basements were used as a sign of wealth. In larger homes of the wealthy, basements were used as as living quarters, and the layout of the upper floors would mirror the basement with similar bedroom and bathroom layout.

In the 1950’s, houses began to be built with basements. Cement floors, waterproofing, became standard, so that the space could be finished to resemble any type of indoor space.

If looking to buy or sell a home, with or without a finished basement, contact me.