HOW TO FINISH YOUR BASEMENT: A Detailed Hands-On Course

One-on-one coaching, 65 videos, dozens of photos and lots of technical tips to help you build a comfortable, mold-free basement

If you’re planning to spend thousand of dollars to finish your basement, doesn’t it make sense to spend a tiny bit more to ensure the results will be comfortable and mold-free? If you want a comfortable, mold-free finished basement (and who doesn’t?), this online course is for you. You won’t find any other source of information and coaching that’s as detailed as FINISH YOUR BASEMENT THE RIGHT WAY. Whether you do the work yourself or plan to hire a contractor intelligently, this course will help you avoid all the mistakes that are common when finishing a basement – including the all-time biggest basement hazard of all, mold and poor indoor air quality.

Creating a comfortable and beautiful finished basement is a powerful and economical way to expand the potential of your home, but there’s a big danger that most people miss. This detailed, professional-grade video course and coaching package explains everything you need to know to finish your own basement properly, or make sure a contractor does a great job for you. Most basements these days are finished improperly because above-ground building techniques are applied to below-ground basement situations. Sure, these newly finished basements look good on the surface when new, but many of them grow hidden mold, mildew, and spread poor indoor air quality throughout the house. It can be different for you.

 

Improve Any Basement

The information in this course will improve any kind of basement regardless of the floor plan you have in mind. Properly finished basements hardly ever happen, even expensive ones can sometimes be near-disasters. As a student of this course you can get your basement finished with confidence . . .

• Are you thinking of a separate space for your growing brood of kids and the extra peace and quiet more living area could bring to your upstairs living room?
• Do you dream of avoiding rush-hour traffic twice a day by setting up an efficient, comfortable, self-contained home office down in your basement?
• Have you considered “sharing” your mortgage with someone who’s renting your basement as a self-contained second suite?

These are just some of the reasons people start thinking about finishing their basements, but like I said there’s a hidden danger . . .

Underneath all the worthy reasons to finish a basement, most completed finished basements have fundamental flaws that often affect the quality of air in them and the houses above.  And these problems appear in ways that are usually impossible to fix properly afterwards. Short of ripping everything out and starting from scratch, there’s nothing you can do to fix the common major design problems that are so frequent with modern finished basements after the fact. All you can do is avoid making mistakes in the first place. Saving you from making mistakes (or having a professional make mistakes and charge you for it) is a big part of what this course is about.

Avoid Hidden Basement Dangers

So, what are these hidden dangers that so many finished basements run into? It could be musty basement air or mold growth. It could also be inadequate floor insulation that keeps feet perennially cold during winter. Perhaps, after spending tens of thousands of dollars finishing your basement, the place still feels clammy, dark and uninviting. If you live in a region that gets hot and humid in the summer, there’s also the danger of condensation and the mold growth it triggers. You might even be hit by regular, catastrophic flooding if the basement wasn’t prepared properly before finishing. The risks are real, but so are the potential rewards. That’s why it’s worth finishing your basement, but only if you’re committed to doing things right. Doing things right is what this course is all about.

HOW TO FINISH A BASEMENT THE RIGHT WAY is for two kinds of people: hands-on do-it-yourself homeowners, and homeowners who want to hire a contractor intelligently.

Hire-a-Contractor Homeowners: If you simply want to hire and manage a professional builder to give you the best possible finished basement, this course ensures that you know exactly what goes into a great job. Most contractors still use outdated, mold-prone methods for finishing basements, and homeowners everywhere are paying the price with mold-contaminated air throughout their house. It’s surprisingly common and heartbreaking.

Do-It-Yourself Homeowners: Do you want to do all the basement finishing work yourself? This course covers every detail needed by any handy homeowner who wants to succeed finishing their entire basement.

I created this course because so many people with badly finished basements ask me what they can do to fix it. “Nothing much” is my usual answer because a properly finished basement needs key details at the earliest stages of construction. Besides teaching you how to create a comfortable, attractive and useful basement space, my main aim is to help you avoid the common troubles that happen because basements are often finished in ways that look good on the surface, but are definitely NOT good underneath.

By the time you finish this technically detailed online course, you will:

** See why finishing a basement is a unique challenge that’s often done poorly

** Understand why many finished basements trigger indoor air quality problems

** Realize the four different sources of moisture that can ruin your finished basement & how to stop this moisture

** Understand why fiberglass batts are a very poor (yet common) choice for insulating basement walls

** Discover best practice methods for finishing basement walls, floors, & partitions

** Learn how to build a basement root cellar for storing fruits & vegetables

** Understand optimal basement waterproofing, power, lighting, drainage and layout.

** Get real-world tips for building a basement kitchen, bathroom & rental suite

** Lots more

I’m Steve Maxwell, course creator and instructor, and since 1988, my award-winning how-to content has appeared in publications such as Harrowsmith, Canadian Contractor, Mother Earth News, Cottage Life, Homes & Cottages magazine and many others. I’ve lived on a rural island in Canada since 1986, and have first-hand experience with everything I teach in my collection of video courses. There’s no big publishing company behind my work, just a little guy (me), my videographer (Robert), my plans artist (Len) and my layout designer (Amy). Together we create some of the most detailed and well-loved information products about hands-on living in the world. If there are better hands-on, how-to courses out there, I’ve never seen them.

MONEY-BACK GUARANTEE

Download your copy of the HOW TO FINISH YOUR BASEMENT course right now and get started understanding how to get the job done right.  Examine the material for 90 days and if you’re not completely delighted, just ask for a refund. You’ll get it. I promise. There’s nothing to lose and a great finished basement to gain. Whatever you do, whether you sign up to be part of the course or not, don’t finish your basement in the usual ways, hoping it will turn out alright. Based on what I hear from homeowners, the “usual way” works well no more than 50% of the time. Better to leave your basement unfinished than to spend a lot of money finishing it badly.

YOU GET THREE THINGS WITH THIS COURSE:

1. One-on-one coaching from me by email: Every basement is unique, and I’m here as course instructor to answer your questions and give you the understanding you need as you deal with your basement. I work with learners all the time, reviewing their photos and videos to come up with an effective basement finishing plan.

2. Basement course download in PDF form: These files can be viewed and read off-line as you please. There are 6 PDF course files – one for each section – available to download immediately after enrolling.

3. Perpetual access to the basement course online: It takes a while to finish a basement, but don’t worry. The course material will always remain available to you online. This online version is the same as the PDF version, but handier for viewing on a phone. You get both the PDF and online access to all course materials.

Got questions? Email me at [email protected]. I created the course, I instruct the people who take it, and I’m here to serve you.

Steve Maxwell – founder BaileyLineRoad.com