Concrete Cutting: Shedding Light On Your Basement Remodel

 Basements or cellars (depending on which part of the country you are from) are primarily seen as dark and dingy parts of a home. In most cases they are considered a useless area or are used as a “catch all” for family discards that haven’t quite made it to the curbside for trash pick up yet. Well, with the skyrocketing prices of real estate these days and the lack of any substantial property to use for an addition to our homes, the basement, after years of being ignored and neglected, is finally being recognized as a useful, cost effective resource for adding more living space to our beloved homes.

Several factors that have to be considered before any serious basement renovations take place include ceiling height, stair pitch or steepness and emergency egress. All three of these requirements can differ considerably depending on where you live. You can call your local building department and they can tell you these requirements. As for what emergency egress is, it is basically an emergency escape. A door of at least 30” wide in most areas is considered a very safe egress but a window has to be a certain size and a minimum distance from the floor in order to be considered safe. Believe it or not, the way the safe size and height of a basement window is calculated is by determining how easily an overweight elderly person (considered worst case scenario) can open and climb out of in case of a fire or another emergency. In reality, these building codes were put in place because no one is going to get out of one of those old metal framed 18” X 30” pull in basement windows very easily (especially an overweight elderly person) and they would probably die trying in the unfortunate event of a fire.

Most local building codes require both a door and a window egress in order for the basement to be considered safe enough for a living area. In many cases building codes require an emergency egress be placed in every bedroom in a basement as well. If you are in the habit of doing home remodeling or repairs without the proper building permits, it is very important for you and your family’s safety that you find out what the code is in your area and adhere to it.

By adding all of the necessary emergency egress you are essentially killing two birds with one stone. As I already stated, you are adding safety to an otherwise unsafe area but you are also adding the benefits of natural sunlight. Adding natural sunlight to your basement really gives the area a desirable look and a warm feeling you generally can’t get without it. Now, you may be wondering how people get a perfectly smooth, plumb and square openings in their foundations. You may have never heard of such a thing or don’t realize the process even exists. Fortunately, there are companies in almost every part of the country that actually specialize in the process of cutting doorways and windows in concrete walls. These companies are called concrete cutting services and / or sawcutting outfits. Either way, they are listed in your local or online yellow pages under the heading of “concrete breaking, cutting, sawing, core drilling etc.”. A professional concrete cutter will make the process look exceptionally easy and help make short work of your basement-remodeling project.

If you are going to take the time to renovate your basement you might as well do it right. By following or exceeding your local building codes you will ensure your family’s safety. Also, be sure that you cut as many window openings in your basement walls as your budget and the structural integrity of your home can handle. This in itself will make your basement the most cherished area of your home. You’ll be glad you did it. Good luck.

To find some ideas and to familiarize yourself with the concrete cutting industry just do a search online for “concrete cutting” and check out some of the sites and, of course, be sure to check out our website at www.affordableconcretecutting.com.

© Copyright 2005 Affordable Concrete Cutting, Inc. All Rights Reserved

About the Author

Affordable Concrete Cutting Massachusetts services the contractor and homeowner in and around Boston and Eastern Massachusetts. We specialize in cutting doorways in concrete foundations. Visit our website at www.affordableconcretecutting.com

 Robert Short

More Articles 

Repair A Frozen Pipe - Mark Donovan
In just a matter of a months winter will be upon us. Besides bundling up from the cold and shoveling snow, homeowners sometimes have to deal with the additional task of fixing frozen pipes. Prevention is the Best Medicine The best way to...

Negotiating The Real Estate Contract - Roselind Hejl
Negotiation is the process of communication back and forth in order to reach a joint agreement. There is no "one size fits all" strategy of negotiating a real estate contract. Many of our clients have been very experienced negotiators, and we have...

Do-it-self Kits to Home Improvement - Tony Robinson
Do-it-self kits generally have all the equipment needed to repair or improve a home. Costs of repairs and home improvement handled by subcontractors or contractors are regularly far above the ground, merely for the reason that a lot of people do...

One Way To Create Extra Space In Your Home Is With Closet Organizers - Adam Peters
Closet organizers can be a valuable space saving technique in your home. Closets are a much used part of the home, but they are, typically, poorly organized. That can cost space that could be used to store other belongings. This lack of space can...

Guide To Water Leak Detection In Our Homes - Mark Jansen
Rapid world population growth and lifestyle change contribute to the increased demand for water by mankind. Additionally, low level rainfall in some parts of the world, slowed the replenishment of water supply. Therefore, each one...

What Are The Different Types And Qualities Of Stained Glass? - David Gomm
Many times we meet people who are interested in stained glass, but they haven't learned enough about it to really be able to tell whether a piece of glass is a true work of art or just a good piece. I once overheard a woman gushing over a piece...

Spring Is Here . . . Give Your Interiors a Lift (and Lend a Helping Hand) - Melissa Galt
So you’ve got Spring Break coming up and the Easter Holidays are around the corner too. This is a great time to give your interiors a lift. Certainly you’ve probably already planned some Spring cleaning, but really make it count and clean out....

Real Estate For Beginners: Residential Property Taxes - Nicole Soltau
Whenever you own a piece of land, you will be taxed for it. Whether it is commercial property or residential property, there is still a tax to pay, whether it is for a village, town, city, county, or state. Most residential private property taxes...

Tylers Lock - Wedding venue extraordinaire reborn from the ruins of a canal pumphouse - malcolm pugh
tylers lock-history reborn !!  The new site everyone is talking about, and featuring the now massive cult status Stiffsteiff Teddy Bear family, also contains details of this famous Worcestershire landmark. Nestling on the Worcester and...

How To Analyze Any Property In Less Than One Minute Flat! - Larry Goins
How many times have you seen a run down vacant property and thought to yourself...that would be a good investment? You see it for several weeks or months and do nothing about it and all of the sudden you see someone is now rehabbing it and you see a...

Selling Your Home on Your Own – Examples of Problems and Solutions - Raynor James
What can go wrong? About a gazillion things, but this is true if you’re working with a broker, too. A broker is probably more experienced than you, and may well have confronted and solved your problem on a previous home sale. If you can stay calm...

How to take care of your cuckoo clock - Mike Barus
A cuckoo clock is a humorous and charming addition to any home. In addition to notifying you of the time with its classic "cuckoo," these conversations pieces are historically made in the beautiful Black Forest region of Germany, so they...