Is it expensive? Yes. Can you do it? Probably. Can you do it in an appropriate amount of time and do it well? That is for you to decide.
Here are some things to think about with drywall
Match the texture in the rest of your home. What kind of texture/finish will be on your walls? Is it orange peel? Knockdown? Hand troweled? If you do the mudding (texture), can you do it well and do you have time to sand imperfections?
Wallpaper. If you are going to do wallpaper anywhere, be sure to know that ahead of time and avoid adding texture to those areas so that you have a smooth surface for the wallpaper.
Lay the paper down before the texture and paint go on. Texture spray is really a pain to remove from your unfinished concrete. Invest in some $30 rolls of brown painter’s paper and lay it all over the entire basement floor before any texture goes on. When it is finished, you just roll it all up and throw it away and your floors and sanity are protected! Especially if laying an LVP floor on top. The fewer imperfections in your floor the better.
How do I hang doors in my basement?
Doors. Find the name and style of your doors throughout the rest of your home and then look for them online. You may be able to find them at your local Home Depot or Lowe’s. You can take a photo to the pro desk in the door department and they can help you.
But if not, call your local builder’s supply house to see if you can get the same doors. They offer more options than you will find at a big box store.
You will want pre-hung doors. I hung all of our doors myself. I used an easy door-hanging system and the clips help you easily line up the door frame and screw in place.
Pre-hung Doors will come primed. When you get ready to paint your doors you can easily pop them off the hinges and spray them with this or roll them with a small roller made for smooth surfaces. If rolling, add a leveler to your paint like Floetrol for a nice finish, or use a really nice paint like Sherwin Williams Emerald.
Door Hardware. Find the same hardware that you have throughout the rest of your home or take it as an opportunity to change all of your door hardware to what you really want in your home. You can install these yourself.
How do I install trim in my basement?
Door and window trim, as well as baseboards, are really easy to install. I recommend matching what is in the rest of your home so it looks like it is all the same house as you transition from one floor of your home to the next. You can totally install these yourself with ease! Paint your trim before you cut and install – it will save so much time.
Window Sills. You can cut these yourself. Easy Peasy.
Get a board that is a little larger than the depth and width of your opening and cut to size, leaving couple of inches for overhang in the front and a couple of inches on each side of the opening. Match the sills in the rest of your home. You can use a router with an ogee edge on the sills if you have a more decorative sill.
What kind of flooring can I put in my basement?
You can do carpet, tile, linoleum, or LVP (luxury vinyl plank) in the basement. You can’t do regular hardwood or engineered flooring due to moisture. Hardwood will warp or bow with moisture.
Concrete. When you go to install your flooring you will notice small dips in the foundation floor. Be sure to level out your floor where it has any dips and fill in any cracks appropriately. The dips may take a toll on your floors over time.
You can see my BEST tips for installing LVP here.
How do I install stair railing?
If you are adding an open railing with balusters, you have to know your local building codes. You have to have a specific distance between balusters and the handrail needs to be a specific height off of each step. In my most popular post, I show you how I installed my stair railing for under $500 and you can get my free stair railing project planner!!!
How do I plan a bar in my basement?
You can visit ikea.com and use their free kitchen planner to design your bar (even if you are not installing ikea cabinets). Doing this before you have your contractors in will help you know exactly where to put the plumbing for a sink and where you will need electrical outlets need to go for appliances and where to add electrical for any decorative lighting. I did this and the end result was PERFECT!
There are a lot of great options out there for a bar that you can install yourself and if you have the skills you can even make your own cabinets!
If you do IKEA cabinets as I did, try my genius microwave cabinet hack. Super easy!
Check out my IKEA microwave hack for our bar here!!
Is it easy to paint a whole basement?
This you absolutely can do yourself. Be sure to prime all of your drywall well, including the ceiling. They make a special drywall primer. If you don’t prime, the drywall will just absorb the paint and you will have to do MANY coats of paint.
The primer will create a barrier to the drywall and a non-porous surface to paint on. You will want to paint your ceiling in flat and the walls in eggshell. Consider matching or go one shade lighter than what you have throughout the rest of the home as basements tend to be darker. You can roll or get a sprayer depending on your budget and time. I have this sprayer and I LOVE IT!
How do I finish a bathroom in a basement?
This sounds daunting, but YOU CAN DO IT! Be sure to check the building code in your area. You need to know that the toilet needs to be a specific distance from your shower and also from your vanity, etc. This will help you plan the space well and to code.
You just might want to check out my basement bathroom series.
Install a recessed light/fan combo over the shower. You have to have an exhaust fan in the bathroom and will need to be sure it runs outside the house. Your HVAC installer can do this. I like to avoid as much ugly as possible so I searched for a fan/vent combo that was functional but wasn’t ugly. I have bought this one for both bathrooms I finished and it is really good!!!
Water-proof your shower. For me, Schluter was the way to go when installing my shower. They offer a kit with all the pieces in it that you need that are customizable to the size of your shower and their online tutorials are easy to follow. But you can also paint on a water-proofing barrier. I used this exact one! I also used this shower niche for my daughter’s shampoos. Do your research and make the best choice for you!
Tiling the bathroom. If you have never tiled before, read my top essential tools you will want to have before you begin. For showers, large format tiles are harder to install than smaller tiles (like subway tiles). If you are fairly new to tiling you may consider sticking to the smaller tiles. I just installed 750 subway tiles, one by one, ha!
Choose the right mortar. Be sure to use the correct mortar for the size of your tile and the waterproofing system you installed. Also, choose a tiling leveling system based on the size of your tiles as well. The instructions/dimensions will be on the packaging.
Add a tile edging trim like a Schluter trim. The white trim in this photo lies on the edge of the shower. You mortar it in and then butt your tiles right into it! This gives a really nice edge finish to the shower.
Installing a bathroom floor is REALLY EASY. You can tile this yourself or continue your LVP flooring right into the bathroom since it is waterproof!
Add a handheld sprayer to your showerhead. This will make cleaning the shower a breeze! You don’t have to have an additional plumbing line run for this. You can get a shower head with a sprayer combined in one unit.
Shower door. You can choose to just add a simple shower curtain to your new shower or add a sliding or swing glass door. If you choose to add glass you can go with a glass company to make your doors and install for you. Lowe’s and Home Depot also offer DIY options that you can easily install on your own.
I installed a chrome bypass shower door in just an afternoon with a little help from my son! I didn’t want to go too crazy because it is a basement bathroom so I was able to pick it up for about $360. It was really easy to install and I don’t know why I waited so long!
Whether you do all the work, act as the general contractor and piece it out for contract or have it done entirely by a professional team, I hope these tips prepare you in the best way. Decide what you are able and willing to do and what your budget and time allow for.
If you are trying something new, do your research! I would love to see your projects when you complete them so shoot me an email or tag me on IG @aprilcolleen.
Thank you April!
You took the time and share all your ideas. That is supper noble.
You’re so welcome, Cristina! I hope you found it helpful!