Turn scary basement into happy laundry & storage

6 years ago

Its time to make this room more useful and pleasant! The house started off as a small farmhouse about 100 years ago and was added on to in the 30s, 50s and 90s, so has many quirks. This basement is short: mostly 6.5’ (from concrete floor to the joists), 7’1 » to the « ceiling », and only 6’ where the beam is. To keep the room from feeling too cave-like, we’ve decided to paint the joists and wood « ceiling » white rather than install an actual ceiling. We would sand the beam and leave it unpainted. We will use a paint sprayer and also paint the old brick coal clean out and walls. For convenience I’d like to use the same paint for both ceilings and walls. Is this a good idea? If so, what sheen do you suggest I use. The wood has never been painted, nor has the brick, so I guess primer is in order! The white parts were painted with floor paint 8 years ago. I have other questions about the space and the stairs, but let’s start with the paint. Thanks in advance for your input!

Featured Answer

linus2003

6 years ago

White would really brighten the space up. But the walls as they are under ground need a breathable paint because there is always some damp there depending hove dampproof the wall are from the outside. Talk to your lokal paintstore that has good now how about these things😀

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Comments (11)

Sherry8aNorthAL
6 years ago
last modified: 6 years ago
Paint is a great idea. I love my ceilings and walls the same color, it makes it seem larger to me.

The painters used Zinsser primer in my kitchen and it did a great job. BE SURE TO HAVE THE WINDOWS AND DOORS OPEN! Until it is dry, it has a strong smell. I used Behr eggshell texture in an off white in the kitchen and I really like it.

I would paint first, then go from there. We put one of the click floors down from Lowes that is waterproof. This one:

https://www.lowes.com/pd/SMARTCORE-Ultra-8-Piece-11-97-in-x-23-62-in-Lucca-Stone-Luxury-Vinyl-Plank-Flooring/1000789148
dlcarole thanked Sherry8aNorthAL
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dlcarole
Original Author
6 years ago
Thank you tigereye and linus2003 for your input. This basement area seems to stay very dry, fortunately. It will never look like a showcase, but it can at least be a pleasant as well as functional place rather than a pit!
cat_ky
6 years ago
Happy to hear that it is dry, but, it still needs a paint meant for basement walls. You can use drylock. It comes in other colors besides white, if you want another color.
dlcarole thanked cat_ky
Kathi Steele
6 years ago
I vote for drylok on the basement walls. It works very well. Then paint everything else white also. If you use a sprayer, be sure and wear a respirator. And cover everything.
dlcarole thanked Kathi Steele
dlcarole
Original Author
6 years ago
One week in and the change is amazing!! We have moved all of the extraneous wiring, piping and ductwork into less obtrusive spaces, having removed all of the weird stuff left there by the previous owner (and then by us over the years!). The ceiling is the exposed joists etc from the floor above, with the room bisected by an exposed beam we will leave raw. The ceiling and vertical surfaces will be painted white. My question today is about lighting options. The ceiling is low, so the lights can't be hot; the beam will potentially create a shadow area. Are pot lights or directional (track) lights my only options? The total area is about 13x13'.
Sammy
6 years ago
Those stairs are an accident waiting to happen, especially if you’re carrying a laundry basket! It looks like you have the room to create an l-shaped staircase with a 36” x 36” landing in the middle.
dlcarole thanked Sammy
dlcarole
Original Author
6 years ago
Sammy, I appreciate your concern. Unfortunately the space has multiple constraints, as it's a 1920's house limited by the depth of the basement, the overhead from above, and a concrete wall with just one opening into the 'back' basement. I guess we'll count ourselves lucky for no incidents in 8+ years of ownership.
Sherry8aNorthAL
6 years ago
last modified: 6 years ago
Whatever light fixture you go with, I recommend these light bulbs. They really made a difference in our bathrooms. They are LED.

https://www.lowes.com/search?searchTerm=ge+daylight+refresh
dlcarole thanked Sherry8aNorthAL
Cavimum
6 years ago
LED lights will not burn hot, AFAIK. Laundry room always needs better lighting for seeing laundry stains to pretreat.
dlcarole thanked Cavimum
User
6 years ago
Thank you tigereye and linus2003 for your input. This basement area seems to stay very dry, fortunately. It will never look like a showcase, but it can at least be a pleasant as well as functional place rather than a pit!