Thinking About Finishing Your Basement

1. Experts in Heating and Air Conditioning What to Consider for Your Heating and Air Conditioning Systems Do you have an unfinished basement? Don’t let all of that unfinished space overwhelm you and keep you and your family from gaining the space you need to enjoy your home to the fullest. Finishing a basement is a large home improvement project, but it will offer a great return on investment, about 70% actually. And finishing the space you already have will cost less than adding on to your home. Whether you’re going to hire a general contractor or you’ll be tackling the renovation on your own, you’ll need to consider if your current heating and air conditioning systems can accommodate the extra space and how to keep their components accessible when you develop a floor plan. Keeping HVAC Components Clear Most unfinished basements house HVAC components. When you design your floor plan, you will probably want to enclose your appliances for aesthetic purposes, but you shouldn’t close them off completely. Anytime a gas furnace or other gas appliance is kept in a confined space, that space must be properly ventilated per gas code requirements. You can find that information in the National Fuel Gas Code.

2. Protecting your family and yourself in the event of future problems by planning a mechanical room, which offers enough space for technicians to work around the equipment, is a very smart idea and could be a possible requirement in regards to your local building codes.