Basement Finishing

Almost every house on the Front Range has a full basement, and the reason is structural rather than generous. The frost line here is deep enough that a foundation has to reach well below grade anyway, so the excavation for a basement is largely already paid for when the house is built. That is why finishing one is the cheapest square footage a Colorado homeowner will ever add, and why it is the most requested project in this market.

Two things have to be settled before any framing goes up. The first is radon. Colorado has some of the highest indoor radon readings in the country, and a basement is exactly where it collects. Testing before you finish is straightforward. Discovering it after the drywall is up is not.

The second is water and the soil. The Front Range sits on expansive bentonite clay that swells when it takes on moisture and can lift a basement slab. That is why a finished basement here wants floating wall construction where appropriate, flooring chosen for below grade rather than for looks alone, and a clear understanding of where water goes before anything gets covered up.