# Transforming a finished basement into a bedroom suite



## drlsubaru (Mar 13, 2009)

Hey all!

New guy here! New soon-to-be homeowner as well!

Have a question...

My wife and I are currently looking at a 1920 tudor. It has 1000 sq ft of ground level rooms, and a completely finished basement.

Being that the house is nearly 90 years old, the bedrooms are a bit small to fit our king-size bed so we are contemplating how realistic it would be to transform the basement into a master bedroom suite.

I am not thrilled about living in a basement. Concerns include spiders, mice, moisture, not to mention a complete lack of egress.

I guess what I would like to know is; how realistic is it to transform a basement into a master bedroom without it feeling like a ... well... basement, not to mention the other aforementioned issues?

Thanks for your opinions in advance!


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## Just Bill (Dec 21, 2008)

Codes require an emergency egress window/opening in any basement area for sleeping. It is foolish not to have one, but not easy to install in existing old construction.

Proper HVAC is often overlooked and that can make a big difference in comfort. Often, outlets are added without considerations for air return, you need both. And dehumidification is usually needed below grade level.


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## drlsubaru (Mar 13, 2009)

Yeah, you know the more I think about it, the worse it sounds. Unfortunately, given the age of the house, our only other bedroom options are two disjoined 10x10 upstairs bedrooms.

Hmm. I will have to ponder this quandary further.

Thanks for your thoughts Bill.


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## Bob Mariani (Dec 1, 2008)

10 X 10 rooms are too small for today's living, why not just combine this into a nice big room and bath?


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## drtbk4ever (Dec 29, 2008)

drlsubaru said:


> our only other bedroom options are two disjoined 10x10 upstairs bedrooms.
> 
> Hmm. I will have to ponder this quandary further.
> 
> Thanks for your thoughts Bill.


Hey Bill,

What do you mean disjoined bedrooms? Is there a way to make the two rooms into one, with a large closet and bath like Bob suggested?

Can you post a quick sketch of the floor plan.


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## drlsubaru (Mar 13, 2009)

Sorry,

By "disjoined" I meant to say that there are two 10x10 bedrooms separated by a standard bathroom. We've considered combining the three rooms and re-routing the plumbing to one end to make a master bedroom with an attached master bath. Obviously this would be a very pricey endeavor. However, we find that the biggest hurdle to going forward with this isn't so much the price but its more that we think it might hurt the re-sale price to go from 2 bedrooms to 1 since, as of now, those are the only two "legal" bedrooms in the house.


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## Ron6519 (Mar 28, 2007)

Buy a different house, this one does not and will not adapt to your needs.
Ron


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## drlsubaru (Mar 13, 2009)

Ron6519 said:


> this one does not and will not adapt to your needs.
> Ron


Well I don't know if that's necessarily true. I'm just trying to find the feasability of transforming the basement into a master bed. Of course, if that is impossible then yes we will have to move on to a new house but I want to gauge my options on this house first.


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## drtbk4ever (Dec 29, 2008)

OK drlsubaru,

I get the feeling that you are somewhat enamoured with this house and are trying to make it fit your lifestyle. So how about giving us some more information about your family. Is it just you and the wife? Do you have, or are you going to have kids, or are they already grown up?

Personally I wouldn't hesitate to have a bedroom in the basement as long as egress and moisture are not problems. But I would make the basement bedroom the "2nd bedroom". I wouldn't want my Master Bedroom downstairs, I would turn the room/bath/room configuration into a nice Master Suite. And if you are starting a family or have young kids already, I wouldn't want my kiddies in the basement while I am upstairs, or vice versa.

Now the cost of improvements start to get significant and if you add that to the purchase price, you may be able to look at more expensive homes that suit your needs without huge renovations.


Or maybe get a smaller bed?


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## drlsubaru (Mar 13, 2009)

Haha actually I was the one who pressed my wife to look at other places. I was trying to remain skeptical yet fair about the house, which is why I was honestly exploring ideas about a master bed suite in the basement.

That being said, we looked at about 7-8 other houses that were comparable in price and more or less in the same location and after looking at those this place looks like a STEAL!

As far as we can tell, the reason why this house is so much less than the others in the area is that it is located on a major road - a yard that probably most parents wouldn't want their kids playing in. Also it should be known that my wife and I are childless and plan on staying that way forever. Absolutely ZERO interest in kids.

So anyway, we revisited the house today and I actually found most of my lingering concerns to not be as bad as I originally had thought. Of course I will have to get used to the basement thing but honestly, the overall quality of the house and yard, and the area in which it is located, is in retrospect, a steal.

I'll let you all make up your own minds though... here's the website for the listing.

http://966suniversity.com


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## Ron6519 (Mar 28, 2007)

That's a very nice house. I wouldn't pass on it due to a furniture issue. I would get smaller furniture to fit on the second floor bedroom. I think sleeping in the basement would get old pretty soon.
Ron


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## drlsubaru (Mar 13, 2009)

Ron6519 said:


> I think sleeping in the basement would get old pretty soon.
> Ron


 I keep thinking that as well, but everyone keeps telling me that it is pretty standard for a lot of houses in the neighborhood since it is mostly really old houses with small upstairs bedrooms.

Also, I did some research on the neighborhood last night and the median home value is $644, so I am currently thinking low 4's is a heck of a bargain.


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## drtbk4ever (Dec 29, 2008)

That link explains a lot.

I think that house looks very very nice. I wouldn't want to touch too much on the main floor as they have done a very nice job. Well except for that pepto bismal colour, although that may grow on me over time.


Are you sure you can't get your King size bed in that bedroom? It looks like it is connected to a nice closet/dressing space.

Let us know how this turns out.


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## drlsubaru (Mar 13, 2009)

drtbk4ever said:


> Let us know how this turns out.


Will do. We should hear back from the seller by Friday noonish. Keeping my fingers crossed til then!

... and the bedroom you are referencing is probably the one that is currently in the basement. The one upstairs is the photo with the bed in the tiny wood floor room. lol.


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## drtbk4ever (Dec 29, 2008)

drlsubaru said:


> Will do. We should hear back from the seller by Friday noonish. Keeping my fingers crossed til then!
> 
> ... and the bedroom you are referencing is probably the one that is currently in the basement. The one upstairs is the photo with the bed in the tiny wood floor room. lol.


Oh I see. Well that bedroom in the basement looks rather nice.


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## Ininkus (Dec 28, 2008)

Nice looking place. My wife and I had this same conversation with our house. We have 2 small bedrooms upstairs, 1 small downstairs, and I've always wanted to do a master suite in the basement. Your point about resale is spot on... my wife argued the same point. Our house is priced towards young families, and that would mean essentially the parents would be in the basement bedroom and the small kids upstairs and down the hall. A lot of moms might not really like that. I'm still not sure what route we'll go... maybe just a large bedroom downstairs but save the money and not make it a suite. We'll see.

In your case... that's a very nice basement room, I see no problem utilizing it as a master.


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## drlsubaru (Mar 13, 2009)

drtbk4ever said:


> Let us know how this turns out.


Went under contract today for a little less than list (not as much as I wanted).

Move-in late April, then the fun begins!


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## drtbk4ever (Dec 29, 2008)

Congrats.

It looks like a very beautiful home.


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## gma2rjc (Nov 21, 2008)

What!? No lawn to mow? How will you spend your weekends? LOL :thumbup:

Congratulations, enjoy your beautiful new home!


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## drlsubaru (Mar 13, 2009)

gma2rjc said:


> What!? No lawn to mow? How will you spend your weekends? LOL :thumbup:


Oh I have already made it quite clear to the wife that one of the first things I am doing after move-in is throwing a sodding party. The WILL be a lawn! :thumbup:


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## gma2rjc (Nov 21, 2008)

It looks great the way it is. It's beautiful. Over the years, I've landscaped about 1/3 of our yard, thinking it would be nice to have less grass (in my case, weeds) to mow. The landscaped areas take more of my time than just mowing. LOL


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## drlsubaru (Mar 13, 2009)

gma2rjc said:


> It looks great the way it is. It's beautiful. Over the years, I've landscaped about 1/3 of our yard, thinking it would be nice to have less grass (in my case, weeds) to mow. The landscaped areas take more of my time than just mowing. LOL


Yeahhhh, but there's nothing like the feeling of grass under bare feet on a hot summer day. I GOTTA gave some greeeen.


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## Scuba_Dave (Jan 16, 2009)

I actually slept in a basement for years in an older house
No noise, easy to make the bedroom dark -which I like
A dehumidifier did run during the day, I shut it off at night
Best part was that the basement was cool during the summer
Made for some very nice sleeping


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## drlsubaru (Mar 13, 2009)

Hey guys.

I know this is an old thread but if anyone is interested in seeing what we ended up doing with the basement I've attached some photos...

We still have a few things on the list (full basement bathroom remodel, exercise room, etc..) but not off to a bad start I think.

We put in that new carpet over the old concrete, repainted the walls and ceilings, and hung new closet doors so far.

Thanks for looking


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## drtbk4ever (Dec 29, 2008)

Looking good.

I subscribed to this thread with hopes you would post your progress.

Any other changes to the upstairs or outside?


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## gma2rjc (Nov 21, 2008)

It looks beautiful! You guys did a great job. Thanks for posting the pictures.


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## drlsubaru (Mar 13, 2009)

*Back yard*

Oh yeah, I have a ton of photos... I'll show a few and separate the rooms by posting.

To start, here's pics of the yard.

As you can see, I tossed the red woodchips and laid some sod. This is about a 5-6 week old pic. The sod has since filled in completely except for the spots the dog has chosen to annihilate.

Also, you can see our patio furniture. We went with Eucalyptus because teak was just too freaky expensive.

Other than the sod, the front yard remains unchanged for now.


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## drlsubaru (Mar 13, 2009)

*Interior*

Now for the interior.

We didnt change much in the living room. Just added my wife's expensive taste in furniture.

Same goes for the guest bed except I did install a fan/light in there to get some circulation going.


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## drlsubaru (Mar 13, 2009)

Finally, here is the man cave. Nothing incredibly cool in there yet but I have ideas brewing.....


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