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2018 National Home Improvement Estimator, All Rights Reserved Page 347

Other options may be converting the basement or garage into living space, or building on an exterior
addition to the home. Each comes with its own challenges.

Basements -- An unfinished basement offers good potential for expansion. It could include the bathroom
you’re adding, or be converted into a bedroom to replace the one you converted into the new bathroom.
Building codes allow basements to be converted into habitable rooms if certain conditions are met. A
habitable room is any space used for living, sleeping, eating, or cooking. To qualify as a habitable room,
most codes require that the ground level outside the basement be no more than 48" above the
basement floor, and the average ceiling height inside has to be at least 7'6". But bathrooms aren’t
considered habitable rooms under the code. So the ground level outside presents no obstacle, and the
minimum ceiling height for a bathroom or other non-habitable room can usually be as low as 6'9". Your
local building department will have the exact requirements for your location.

Although basements offer good space for conversions, they come with potential problems. The
basement can be a difficult area in which to work. Many modifications will involve either tearing up the
basement floor, or cutting through the concrete basement wall.

One obvious problem when adding a bathroom in the basement is handling sewage waste lines. If a
basement floor is below the sewer main, install a sewage sump with a pump controlled by a float
switch.

Another big disadvantage for living space is the lack of natural light and a view to the outside. You can
add natural light with area walls or an areaway sloped so sunlight can reach basement windows. See
Figure 13-3. If the slope of the lot offers an opportunity for drainage, consider creating a small sunken
garden adjacent to one basement wall, as shown in Figure 13-4.

Your building code may require a fire exit in a converted basement. A basement window large enough to
serve as a fire exit may meet the code requirements. Otherwise, add an areaway basement door like
the one in Figure 13-5. An exterior entrance makes the basement a convenient place for storing lawn
furniture and garden equipment. If possible, locate the basement door under the cover of a breezeway or
porch roof to protect it from rain or snow.