Finishing a rowhome basement: carpet, drop ceiling and closets, South Philadelphia

Why the basement came last

In the whole-house plan for this rowhome, the basement was scheduled after everything upstairs. Two reasons. First, the basement is where the new plumbing and wiring for the floors above had to run, so the ceiling had to stay open until the trades were done and inspected. Second, carpet is the one finish that cannot survive a construction site. It went down in the final week, after the painters.

What a rowhome basement can and cannot be

A century-old city basement has low ceilings, a slab that was never meant to be lived on, and block or stone walls that breathe moisture. It can be a very good family room, office or guest space. It cannot be a bedroom without a legal egress window or door, and we tell every owner that before they plan one.

For this house the owner wanted a comfortable second living room with storage. That decided the finishes.

The finishes and why

• Drop ceiling. A drop ceiling is not glamorous, but in a basement it is the right answer. Every shut-off valve, cleanout and junction box stays reachable by lifting a tile. We used flush LED panels in the grid instead of hanging fixtures, which keeps the headroom.
• Carpet over the slab. For a room where people sit on the floor and kids play, carpet with a good pad is warmer and quieter than anything else. It only works in a dry basement, which is why the moisture check came first.
• Drywall on the walls. Framed off the block with a gap behind, so the wall can breathe and the drywall never touches masonry.
• Louvered closet doors. Louvers let air move through a closet, which stops the musty smell basement closets get behind solid doors.
• Carpeted stairs. The basement stair was carpeted to match the floor. It is quieter, warmer and safer than bare treads on a steep run.

Details that matter

• The slab was checked with a plastic-sheet test before carpet was ordered. Tape a square of plastic to the floor for two days; if the underside is damp, carpet is the wrong floor.
• Outlets were placed on every wall at code spacing, which old basements never have.
• The furnace and water heater area was framed with a full-size door, not a hatch.

Timeline

Framing and drywall happened with the rest of the house in May and June. The ceiling grid, carpet, doors and paint were done in August, in about a week.

A basement like this adds a whole room to a sixteen-foot-wide house for a fraction of what the same space costs upstairs. If yours is dry and the ceiling height works, it is usually the best value in the house.