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Becoming A Battle Hardened Real Estate Veteran Without All The Scars
As part of a new web site that we just launched, www.GetPreconstructionDeals.com, I get repeated requests asking if a particular deal is good or not. While we can’t answer this for individual projects, we can certainly look at what HAS to get done...
Choosing The Right Mortgage For You
This article will help you understand the differences between a variety of mortgage options. There are many different mortgage products offered by the various lending institutions in Canada, so you may not know what features to look for.
As...
How Not To Lose A Million Dollars In Real Estate
I recently saw an article “How to lose a million dollars in real estate” what a great title! Then I saw the author Verna Jones-Cox (real estate short sale expert) no wonder it had a great title. I met Verna about two years ago and I would have...
Mobile Home Parks - The Bubble Proof Real Estate Investment
This country has experienced unprecedented gains in housing prices over the past five years. With some regional markets expanding at a phenomenal 25% annual average, the investors who got in early have created tremendous wealth. However, in my...
Much Ado About Mansionization?
Los Angeles allows a 7600 square foot home on a 5000 square foot lot. This isn't fuzzy math, and the city is not saying you should re-position your neighbor's fence in the middle of the night, gaining a 2600 foot advantage for your new breakfast...
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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 http://www.affordableconcretecutting.com.
About the author:
Copyright © 2005 Affordable Concrete Cutting, Inc., All Rights
Reserved
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: http://www.affordableconcretecutting.com
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