Have you been contemplating adding another room to your home? Maybe a new bedroom, a living room, or an office? If you have, you’ve probably heard that these things can sometimes cost an arm and a leg. Often, the cost of the new foundation is enough to send potential home expanders packing. Many people move when they start to feel like their home isn’t the right size, but many people also haven’t tried expanding upon what they already have.
As someone who grew up in the Northeast, I had a finished basement and so did almost anyone I knew. Most of the time they were playrooms for kids or offices for their parents, but it was clear that the extra space in the home helped everyone to feel a lot less cramped. I can personally attest to having spent countless hours in my family’s finished basement, just to get away from my parents and three sisters for a while. Unfortunately, I can also recount the horrors of having a finished basement.
When a house floods, the basement floods first, and a lot can go wrong. Sometimes the sump pump malfunctions, causing water to rise in the basement. When a finished basement floods, the drywall, flooring, and molding are usually the first things to go. If these aren’t completely dried out within 48 hours, you can expect to have to replace them. If a flood gets into your attic, it’s probably the least of your worries.
Basements can get moldy from even less rain than a flood would cause. Mold can be especially difficult to track in a finished basement, because there is likely space for insulation between the drywall and the cement/cinderblock foundation. So the water seeps in and has nowhere to go. Mold loves these dark, damp spaces without any ventilation. The untrained nose might spend years in a moldy basement without knowing anything. This may sound harmless, however exposure to mold can cause nasal, sinus, eye, and skin irritation that could develop into a long-term infection.
But you probably already know why flooding and mold aren’t good for your home, so that’s enough negativity for one blog post. But do you know why a finished attic is good for your home?
First, it’ll increase the value of your home. The same goes for a finished basement, but we already know why that’s not a great idea. A finished attic is a great place for another living room, a play room for kids, or another unique bedroom with a great view. Attics are typically used for storage, but a finished attic can almost always fit more in it than an unfinished one.
Second, a finished attic is better insulated than an unfinished one. Typically unfinished attics will have insulation hung between supports, but there usually isn’t any drywall to help keep heat in the attic. However, sometimes rooms that are higher in buildings can get a bit stuffy. Fortunately, a finished attic with a venting VELUX Skylight or Roof Window can control the amount of heat and moisture in the room.
Third, an attic is just another room in your home! Many families with finished attics have boasted the beauty of their elevated points of view. And what better way to take advantage of that great view than with a VELUX Cabrio Balcony Window. The GDL Cabrio Balcony has two transparent hatches, making your view fully visible if the window is closed. When opened, it provides an amazing viewpoint that you can safely step out onto and enjoy the view from your own home!
So don't waste time and money adding a sun room onto your home, and definitely don't waste any time finishing your basement. Your attic will provide a much higher value investment than either could for a fraction of the upkeep costs. And when it's time to think about lighting the space, look no further than Skylights for Less for your VELUX Skylights and Roof Windows!