Basement Realities

There are many ways of enhancing basement ceilings depending on what purpose will the space be used. While basements do not function as the main area of a house, being underneath, it should have special water resistant ceiling.

Basements are basically below the ground floor line. It is typically with lower ceiling headroom, under lit and most of the time, ill ventilated if not given attention. It serves as storage for most households, though some made wise use of the space as another functional area. Of course not all basements are wet as assumed.

It's just that when the house ages or when calamities strike, it will have the worst hit. It could get flooded, it could get damp and moist due to contact with the ground, and defective window outlets could drip it wet with water leaks, and most of all, piping lines pass through its entirety.

Talking about piping lines, the ground floor (slab or planks) carry with it the main soil pipe and other piping utilities of the whole structure. It means all the water and sewer lines converge at the ground level, just above the basement, to make its connection with the main leading to the public sewer lines outside the house. Because drainages are just a few feet below the curb line, you can't expect piping of any residences to be located deeper than any basements.

It means looking up a naked basement ceiling is the roughing-in of pipes. If the basement is small, it's no big deal. You could assume potential leakages in large establishment or buildings where parking spaces are located at the basements, where there are noticeably no suspended ceilings. The ducts, sprinklers and all pipes are all visible. The bare ceiling is easier to maintain in case of possible chemical leakages in the pipes.

In case of residential basements, pipes that cross the basement are still assumed to leak in time. It is certain that the basement would always get subjected to accidents of water oozing from pipe joints. If the owner will be asked, which aspect would he consider about basement ceiling: leaving it bare for easy pipe maintenance, or provide a gypsum ceiling board to cover the pipe lines but ready to dismantle the ceiling in case of leak? It will be answered according to the basement's purpose.

Securing the pipelines with proper sleeves and hangers will keep it intact for years because all parts of house will get depreciated in time anyway. If the basement will be used as a habitable space, it would be better to keep a sketch of the pipe joint location to avoid the spots in case important appliances are put in place. There should be thorough checking of the window seals to rule out seepages. Insulation will keep the place balance to avoid condensation during harsh seasons.

In case of severe flooding of the whole vicinity, the basement is surely the first part of the house affected. It is self-explanatory that basements are only practical in localities with high elevation. If the flooding is rare, then there is nothing to worry about the basement aside from massive cleaning and disinfecting.

Solutions for cave-like ambience of basements could be improved by color scheme treatment. Painting the ceiling with lighter hue and putting sconce lighting directed to the ceiling will give an illusion of height.

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