Steve Barker wrote:
since when does a finished basement not add to the value of the house???


steve

There is finished, and there is typical DIY 'finished'. I looked at
probably 50-75 houses before I bought this place, and most of the
basement finishing was at best tolerable. For what I use a basement for,
I would have paid extra for bare wall-to-wall concrete- instead I have
this half-ass 1970-style mess. Walnut-stained cedar plank paneling on
two walls, faux wall beams and stucco on the others and the doors,
combined with a suspended ceiling and multi-color striped carpet with
God-knows-what living in it. Furnace room had carpet and drop ceiling
screwed to ductwork, and was finished out as a gun room/den. (I had to
take a sawzall and demolish one closet, and rip out all the ceiling
stuff, to make a road for the crew that replaced the furnace. Still need
to scrape the carpet residue off floor.) Can't decide if it is worth
hiring someone to rip it all out (my allergies and that carpet make the
work a non-starter for me.), or just ignore it and let the next owner
deal with it.

But as to getting a permit or not- depends on the area. Around here, I
wouldn't bother, since there is essentially no governmental inspection.
However, I grew up in the construction business, so anything I put in
would be code or better. And I always have plausible deniability, being
a short-term owner. ('damned if I know- it was like that when I bought
it...') Now if I lived in a more anal area, like much of New England,
I'd probably jump through all the hoops for self-protection.

aem sends...