The first step in building or remodeling your basement in Northern Virginia is doing some space planning. Your family needs to understand what they want out of the new usable space in your home. You may want to add a bedroom, bathroom, family or home theater room to your project. Other people want a in home gym, library, home office, work shop, or just a recreation room with a wet bar. Once your ideas have come together a Phoenix home services designer can take measurement of your existing basement and design your living space with CAD drawings of the new plan. When the plan is approved by or clients we then help select lighting fixtures, closet systems, door types, paint color, bathroom fixture types, and flooring options for your new basement re-do. All material choices will need to be selected to price the job. Sometimes allowances are given to the client or the client may just want to purchase various items or materials them self’s for many basement remodeling projects. When your basement plans, pricing, and scope of work is laid out in a contract for you to approve the contracting project and you sign the contract. The contractor not the home owner will get the building permit for your basement remodeling project. The reason you the home owner must have the contractor get the permit is to make sure that the building codes are followed . If your contractor fail any of the county inspections and you pull the building permit for your basement, you the home owner are legally responsible for any code violations. Phoenix Always pulls the permit for our basement projects. Pulling a permit for a basement is very important because it assures the home owner the company is properly licensed in your County, the codes of the state of Virginia are followed, and when the project is finished it is a legal basement. There are often 4 building permits needed for a basement a building permit, an electrical permit, a plumbing permit, and a HVAC permit. Once all the building permits have been pulled in your County, be it Arlington County, Prince William County, Fairfax County, or Loudoun County the work can start.
The first step in remodeling your basement is to make sure there are no water problems that can and should be corrected before the project starts. Phoenix’s first duty is to have all the wall framed out with studs. Most basement projects are framed with 2x4 pine studs and pressure treated base plates. All lumber (sleepers, sills, plates, studs, joists, beams) that rest on a masonry slab must be pressure preservative treated. Often times bulkheads are framed with steel studs to assure that they are square. When your basement is fully framed Phoenix Home Services will call the county for a framing inspection. The most common reasons a basement framing inspection fails is because there is not the proper headroom height for bulkheads, fire blocking was not installed, stud spacing was not to code, drywall blocking is missing, support columns have been removed. Phoenix will get the framing spot on before any inspections called in to the County. The next step in remodeling your basement is to have the electrical and plumbing ruffed in. At this time you may want to install speaker wire, phone wire, and cat 5 wiring for your basement. All switches, high hat lights, exhaust fans and out lets must be wired. The plumber will install all copper piping, and install any mud pans for the showers, and install the diverter for your bathroom. Phoenix home Services sub contracts our all HVAC, electrical, and plumbing work. The ruff in inspection is the most important of the inspection to your basement. Many electrical problems such as receptacles are spaced more than 12’ apart, cables are not supported within 8” of boxes without clamps, cables inside boxes are not stripped out, smoke detector are not provided in bedrooms and in areas outside bedrooms, GFCI receptacles are not provided in unfinished areas of the basement. In the building codes in all counties of Northern Virginia smoke detectors must be AC powered with battery backup an interconnected. After your basement has been successfully ruffed in the county will come out for the ruff in inspection. After the ruff in inspection has passed all outside wallwill need to be insulated with a minimum R-9 insulation. Wood frame walls shall be insulated with a minimum R-16 insulation. After all insulation has been installed in your basement it then needs to be inspected by the County. Apo nana successful insulation inspection Phoenix Home Services will start installing the dry wall. We install Durrock and green board in all bathroom and ½ drywall in all other sections of the basement. We always screw down are drywall and screw and glue the drywall on your basement ceiling. The next step in your drywall instation is to install all corner beads, tape, block, and skim the joints. After all your drywall has been jointed we sand all areas of your basement. Then we place a special light on the walls and ceilings of your basement and check all joints and screw points. Where flaws are found we mix red dye into our drywall compound and re point and sand these areas. Then we make on more check of the drywall with the light to assure the finish is spot on. The next step is to prime all drywall with a good quality primer paint coat. After the primer is dry we install all wood crown, base, sill, and other trim work, including the closet and other door in the basement. After all the rim is installed the basement will be painted with 2 coats of good quality paint. After the painting is finished your basement flooring will be installed be it carpet, hardwood, or tile. The shower or bath tub areas will be tiled and grouted, sealed and caulked. The last step is for the HVAC, plumber, and electrician will return to do the final hook ups of the electrical and plumbing systems. The next step is to install any cabinet, book cases, wet bars and bathroom hardware .The final step is a full job site cleanup and the final inspection from the county. Phoenix Home Services can build out your basement in Arlington, Fairfax, Loudoun, and Prince William County Virginia. WE custom build as a company basements in Ashburn, Annandale, Adie, Burke, Broadlands, Bristow, Clifton, Dale City, Fairfax City, Fairfax Station, Falls Church, Great Falls, Herndon, Mclean, Oakton, ,Leesburg, Sterling, Reston, Vienna, Springfield, and South Riding Virginia. Phoenix Home Services can build out your basement in Arlington, Fairfaix, Loudoun, and Prince William County Virginia. WE custom build as a company basements in Ashburn, Annandale, Aldie, Burke, Broadlands, Bristow, Clifton, Dale City,Fairfax City, Fairfax Station, Falls Church, Great Falls, Herndon, Mclean, Oakton, ,Leesburg, Sterling, Reston, Vienna, Springfield, and Southriding Virgina. |
