We're planning to put in a mudroom in our next house. The only
logical place to have the mudroom is actually in the basement, since
the attached garage is in the basement. It's a bit awkward, but the
natural path would be
garage - mudroom in basement - staircase - 1st floor
kitchen/family room.

The basement is poured concrete and unfinished. Between the garage
door from/to the basement and the staircase to the main fllor, there
is a good size area (~12' x ~15' at least) at the corner of the
basement, containable if we put up the walls, just about perfect for
mudroom use. Two sides of the rectangle are existing foundation
walls, and the other two sides of the rectangle can be turned into
walls if needed.

I'd like to 'finish' this portion of the basement, to make it bright
and inviting within the budget (we're working on it). My belief is,
people do what's easy for them, and that's true for a room in the
house, too.

Floor - I'd like to put in some type of flooring, rather than leaving
it concrete. Since it'll see a lot of wear and tear, no
carpet/rug/hardwood floor, probably tiling of some sort. I probably
won't provide drainage, but have a mop and bucket nearby. I thought
about having a simple sink in the area, but not sure about the extent
of plumbing required. (We haven't closed on the house yet, so going a
lot by what I remember.)

Walls - I can probably get by with putting in cabinets and hooks, but
to hide the cold concrete walls, I'd like to put up some type of walls
there. I have no clue what kind of walls go up in basement or
otherwise. I'd like to contain the rea with walls, and have a good
size door in one wall for accessing other parts of the basement.

Cabinets - I'm thinking of having open cabinets for all family members
(2 adults/2kids), plus 1 or 2 extra for frequent visitors
(grandparents). Within each open cabinet, there would have a 3
sections : bottom for shoes/boots, middle/tall section for hooks/small
bags, , and top section would be for hats/small items. The divider
between bottom and middle sections would extend out to serve as a seat
for changing shoes. The top section might have a door to make it look
neat. 4-6 of these cabinets would be next to each other, perhaps all
connected, and will probably have to be custom-made, unless someone
knows a similar product sold somewhere.

First off - aything else that you suggest putting in the mudroom?
This would be the 'foyer' for the family members, since we won't be
using the front door for exit/entrance on a regular basis, and won't
use the actual foyer very much. (Fyi - this house is a colonial in
New England, less than 10 years old.)
Our daily items (jackets/hats/bags/shoes/keys) will remain in the
mudroom, instead of going upstairs to the main (1st) floor, leaving
the coat closet in the 1st floor foyer/hallway available for items
less frequently used.

I'm trying to figure out which of the above I can do myself, to save
money and to eliminate headache of dealing with... (you know...). I'd
done painting, light plumbing, and some other minor work around the
house, including sanding deck railing, etc., but nothing heavy duty
yet. I can be fairly handy if given the right tools and time, but
being an engineer (computer hardware design), I tend to be methodical,
and like make sure I understand/learn as much about it before jumping
in. However, I find that I learn more things as I do (mistakes, that
is).

Should I just go ahead and hire someone to do it?

I knew this is how we'd use the house the minute we looked at it, but
I do envy folks that do not have this basement exit/entrance issue...

Thanks for reading and, in advance, for your suggestion/inputs.

If you plan on doing this project right away you might want to consider
hiring a contractor to do the bulk of the work, I'm sure you understand how
busy you will be unpacking and organizing. Your ideas are great, make sure
you seal the concrete walls and floor with a sealer to prevent moisture
behind your new walls which can be built the same as any 2" x 4" or even
2" x 3" constructed wall and insulate them if you want, the floor only has
to be a couple of inches thick but you should raise the floor joists with
spacers to allow air flow, just make sure you have enough head room to do
this. A sink is a great idea but unless you have a floor drain you will have
to install a pump to get rid of the water. Tile works well and cleans up
nicely, consider using a colored grout so the dirt won't show. As far as the
cabinets, to get what you want they will have to be custom made unless you
are willing to sacrifice certain aspects of the cabinets and even then I
don't know if you will find something that close to meet your needs.
Depending on how cool your basement is and how tolerant your family are you
might want to consider heat in the mudroom. I don't know what part of New
England your from but if your looking for an awesome contractor (located in
Plymouth, MA.) that you can trust and goes the extra mile for you send me an
E-mail through the link ( ) and I will get
you in contact with him.

--
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Babbling Brook Photography
Quality Framed Photography of
the Great Outdoors.
30 Day Money Back Guarantee!
http://www.babblingbrookphotography.com
Email

"FGreen" wrote in message
om...
We're planning to put in a mudroom in our next house. The only
logical place to have the mudroom is actually in the basement, since
the attached garage is in the basement. It's a bit awkward, but the
natural path would be
garage - mudroom in basement - staircase - 1st floor
kitchen/family room.

The basement is poured concrete and unfinished. Between the garage
door from/to the basement and the staircase to the main fllor, there
is a good size area (~12' x ~15' at least) at the corner of the
basement, containable if we put up the walls, just about perfect for
mudroom use. Two sides of the rectangle are existing foundation
walls, and the other two sides of the rectangle can be turned into
walls if needed.

I'd like to 'finish' this portion of the basement, to make it bright
and inviting within the budget (we're working on it). My belief is,
people do what's easy for them, and that's true for a room in the
house, too.

Floor - I'd like to put in some type of flooring, rather than leaving
it concrete. Since it'll see a lot of wear and tear, no
carpet/rug/hardwood floor, probably tiling of some sort. I probably
won't provide drainage, but have a mop and bucket nearby. I thought
about having a simple sink in the area, but not sure about the extent
of plumbing required. (We haven't closed on the house yet, so going a
lot by what I remember.)

Walls - I can probably get by with putting in cabinets and hooks, but
to hide the cold concrete walls, I'd like to put up some type of walls
there. I have no clue what kind of walls go up in basement or
otherwise. I'd like to contain the rea with walls, and have a good
size door in one wall for accessing other parts of the basement.

Cabinets - I'm thinking of having open cabinets for all family members
(2 adults/2kids), plus 1 or 2 extra for frequent visitors
(grandparents). Within each open cabinet, there would have a 3
sections : bottom for shoes/boots, middle/tall section for hooks/small
bags, , and top section would be for hats/small items. The divider
between bottom and middle sections would extend out to serve as a seat
for changing shoes. The top section might have a door to make it look
neat. 4-6 of these cabinets would be next to each other, perhaps all
connected, and will probably have to be custom-made, unless someone
knows a similar product sold somewhere.

First off - aything else that you suggest putting in the mudroom?
This would be the 'foyer' for the family members, since we won't be
using the front door for exit/entrance on a regular basis, and won't
use the actual foyer very much. (Fyi - this house is a colonial in
New England, less than 10 years old.)
Our daily items (jackets/hats/bags/shoes/keys) will remain in the
mudroom, instead of going upstairs to the main (1st) floor, leaving
the coat closet in the 1st floor foyer/hallway available for items
less frequently used.

I'm trying to figure out which of the above I can do myself, to save
money and to eliminate headache of dealing with... (you know...). I'd
done painting, light plumbing, and some other minor work around the
house, including sanding deck railing, etc., but nothing heavy duty
yet. I can be fairly handy if given the right tools and time, but
being an engineer (computer hardware design), I tend to be methodical,
and like make sure I understand/learn as much about it before jumping
in. However, I find that I learn more things as I do (mistakes, that
is).

Should I just go ahead and hire someone to do it?

I knew this is how we'd use the house the minute we looked at it, but
I do envy folks that do not have this basement exit/entrance issue...

Thanks for reading and, in advance, for your suggestion/inputs.

Only personal opinions, but:
-- Didn't notice any men tion of places for coats, boots,
hats, mittens, etc.
-- Sink definitly recommended - to wash off mud, grease,
dirt, etc. Do you work on that cars, in garden, lawn
maintenance, sawdust, etc.? Handy to wash/clean up before
entering the house. Maybe even an area for changing
clothes - in/out of coveralls, really dirty clothes, stuff
needing to be washed, etc.?
-- I'd put tile flooring over the cement and definitely
provide for drainage. So at least the "mud" area can be
easily hosed/cleaned of sand, dirt, salt, snow, etc. etc.?
Not sure how to tile on cement, but the room was in before
we got here 17 years ago & it still looks like new (when
it's clean!). In our case we also have the laundry machines
there, and a freezer.

LIke I said, just my opinions.

Pop

"FGreen" wrote in message
om...
We're planning to put in a mudroom in our next house. The
only
logical place to have the mudroom is actually in the
basement, since
the attached garage is in the basement. It's a bit
awkward, but the
natural path would be
garage - mudroom in basement - staircase - 1st floor
kitchen/family room.

The basement is poured concrete and unfinished. Between
the garage
door from/to the basement and the staircase to the main
fllor, there
is a good size area (~12' x ~15' at least) at the corner
of the
basement, containable if we put up the walls, just about
perfect for
mudroom use. Two sides of the rectangle are existing
foundation
walls, and the other two sides of the rectangle can be
turned into
walls if needed.

I'd like to 'finish' this portion of the basement, to make
it bright
and inviting within the budget (we're working on it). My
belief is,
people do what's easy for them, and that's true for a room
in the
house, too.

Floor - I'd like to put in some type of flooring, rather
than leaving
it concrete. Since it'll see a lot of wear and tear, no
carpet/rug/hardwood floor, probably tiling of some sort.
I probably
won't provide drainage, but have a mop and bucket nearby.
I thought
about having a simple sink in the area, but not sure about
the extent
of plumbing required. (We haven't closed on the house
yet, so going a
lot by what I remember.)

Walls - I can probably get by with putting in cabinets and
hooks, but
to hide the cold concrete walls, I'd like to put up some
type of walls
there. I have no clue what kind of walls go up in
basement or
otherwise. I'd like to contain the rea with walls, and
have a good
size door in one wall for accessing other parts of the
basement.

Cabinets - I'm thinking of having open cabinets for all
family members
(2 adults/2kids), plus 1 or 2 extra for frequent visitors
(grandparents). Within each open cabinet, there would
have a 3
sections : bottom for shoes/boots, middle/tall section for
hooks/small
bags, , and top section would be for hats/small items.
The divider
between bottom and middle sections would extend out to
serve as a seat
for changing shoes. The top section might have a door to
make it look
neat. 4-6 of these cabinets would be next to each other,
perhaps all
connected, and will probably have to be custom-made,
unless someone
knows a similar product sold somewhere.

First off - aything else that you suggest putting in the
mudroom?
This would be the 'foyer' for the family members, since we
won't be
using the front door for exit/entrance on a regular basis,
and won't
use the actual foyer very much. (Fyi - this house is a
colonial in
New England, less than 10 years old.)
Our daily items (jackets/hats/bags/shoes/keys) will remain
in the
mudroom, instead of going upstairs to the main (1st)
floor, leaving
the coat closet in the 1st floor foyer/hallway available
for items
less frequently used.

I'm trying to figure out which of the above I can do
myself, to save
money and to eliminate headache of dealing with... (you
know...). I'd
done painting, light plumbing, and some other minor work
around the
house, including sanding deck railing, etc., but nothing
heavy duty
yet. I can be fairly handy if given the right tools and
time, but
being an engineer (computer hardware design), I tend to be
methodical,
and like make sure I understand/learn as much about it
before jumping
in. However, I find that I learn more things as I do
(mistakes, that
is).

Should I just go ahead and hire someone to do it?

I knew this is how we'd use the house the minute we looked
at it, but
I do envy folks that do not have this basement
exit/entrance issue...

Thanks for reading and, in advance, for your
suggestion/inputs.

(FGreen) wrote in message . com...
We're planning to put in a mudroom in our next house. The only
logical place to have the mudroom is actually in the basement, since
the attached garage is in the basement. It's a bit awkward, but the
natural path would be
garage - mudroom in basement - staircase - 1st floor
kitchen/family room.

The basement is poured concrete and unfinished. Between the garage
door from/to the basement and the staircase to the main fllor, there
is a good size area (~12' x ~15' at least) at the corner of the
basement, containable if we put up the walls, just about perfect for
mudroom use. Two sides of the rectangle are existing foundation
walls, and the other two sides of the rectangle can be turned into
walls if needed.

I'd like to 'finish' this portion of the basement, to make it bright
and inviting within the budget (we're working on it). My belief is,
people do what's easy for them, and that's true for a room in the
house, too.

Floor - I'd like to put in some type of flooring, rather than leaving
it concrete. Since it'll see a lot of wear and tear, no
carpet/rug/hardwood floor, probably tiling of some sort. I probably
won't provide drainage, but have a mop and bucket nearby. I thought
about having a simple sink in the area, but not sure about the extent
of plumbing required. (We haven't closed on the house yet, so going a
lot by what I remember.)

Walls - I can probably get by with putting in cabinets and hooks, but
to hide the cold concrete walls, I'd like to put up some type of walls
there. I have no clue what kind of walls go up in basement or
otherwise. I'd like to contain the rea with walls, and have a good
size door in one wall for accessing other parts of the basement.

Cabinets - I'm thinking of having open cabinets for all family members
(2 adults/2kids), plus 1 or 2 extra for frequent visitors
(grandparents). Within each open cabinet, there would have a 3
sections : bottom for shoes/boots, middle/tall section for hooks/small
bags, , and top section would be for hats/small items. The divider
between bottom and middle sections would extend out to serve as a seat
for changing shoes. The top section might have a door to make it look
neat. 4-6 of these cabinets would be next to each other, perhaps all
connected, and will probably have to be custom-made, unless someone
knows a similar product sold somewhere.

First off - aything else that you suggest putting in the mudroom?
This would be the 'foyer' for the family members, since we won't be
using the front door for exit/entrance on a regular basis, and won't
use the actual foyer very much. (Fyi - this house is a colonial in
New England, less than 10 years old.)
Our daily items (jackets/hats/bags/shoes/keys) will remain in the
mudroom, instead of going upstairs to the main (1st) floor, leaving
the coat closet in the 1st floor foyer/hallway available for items
less frequently used.

I'm trying to figure out which of the above I can do myself, to save
money and to eliminate headache of dealing with... (you know...). I'd
done painting, light plumbing, and some other minor work around the
house, including sanding deck railing, etc., but nothing heavy duty
yet. I can be fairly handy if given the right tools and time, but
being an engineer (computer hardware design), I tend to be methodical,
and like make sure I understand/learn as much about it before jumping
in. However, I find that I learn more things as I do (mistakes, that
is).

Should I just go ahead and hire someone to do it?

I knew this is how we'd use the house the minute we looked at it, but
I do envy folks that do not have this basement exit/entrance issue...

Thanks for reading and, in advance, for your suggestion/inputs.

I'm not sure why you think this is so difficult.
It seems like a great set up.
I'd suggest:
Arrange the mud room to force folks to go through it.
I've seen rooms like this ignored when not directly in the normal route.
Concrete stains can add a lot of color without adding layers of material.
Gypsum board on furring strips are possible.
I'd leave air circulation behind the gypsum board.
Open locker-like cubbys could be placed in front of one concrete wall.
I'd be concerned about making a base that contains mud and water.
Day light would be a great addition, but it sounds like it is out of budget.
Make sure there is plenty of ventilation to deal with moisture and odors.
I don't think the nominal style of the house is as important as function.

Tom Baker

FGreen wrote:

We're planning to put in a mudroom in our next house. The only
logical place to have the mudroom is actually in the basement, since
the attached garage is in the basement. It's a bit awkward, but the
natural path would be
garage - mudroom in basement - staircase - 1st floor
kitchen/family room.

This presumes that EVERY goes through the garage to come in.
Where *I* grew up, we'd walk in around the back of the house,
through a mudroom (seats, place to pull boots jackets, etc, off)
and in.

The 2 people who came in through the garage
1) were generally coming from a car so may not have been
as dressed up as we were.
2) 90% of the time were coming from work.

Course in *my* day, the kids walked everywhere. And there was snow and
mud ALL the time. And it was up hill both ways, etc, etc.

If it's a place that's comfortable to stop in, big enough to get
by when the kid is debooted and dealing with their crap, then it
can work. I've seen many that were just wide halls and stuff was
always in the way.

First of all, thanks everyone. I didn't think about the heat issue,
which I thinnk is important. Didn't think about the moisture behind
the new walls, either. Even though it's a relatively dry basement, I
need to be careful there.
I'm already over the budget that I don't have. For tiling, I'm
thinking... have an inlay. Ha... Everyone I talked to says tiling is
a hard work. I'm old enough to know that when someone says it's a lot
of work, they have toned it down already, most of the time anyhow.

This presumes that EVERY goes through the garage to come in.
Where *I* grew up, we'd walk in around the back of the house,
through a mudroom (seats, place to pull boots jackets, etc, off)
and in.

The 2 people who came in through the garage
1) were generally coming from a car so may not have been
as dressed up as we were.
2) 90% of the time were coming from work.

Course in *my* day, the kids walked everywhere. And there was snow and
mud ALL the time. And it was up hill both ways, etc, etc.


Sure, we have a driveway that's uphill both ways.

Of course people can walk in through any door - front, rear deck, or
the garage. There is no suitable place near the rear deck entrance to
be used as a mudroom, unless we enclose the deck itself. People would
walk right into the family room, and I don't want any more mess there
than a normal(?) family room would have. I assume, however, kids will
end up going in and out through the deck during the summer and nice
weather seasons, so the basement mudroom will mostly be used in foul
weather and winter. I guess I neglected to mention that in the
original posting. Even during warm weather, however, I want a central
place to find coats/boots/sandals/etc/etc. Unless there is such a
place, the chaos theory will prevail, and you know the rest of the
story.

I'm used to having mess in the house, but we recently went through the
process of selling our place, which meant having an open house. What
an eye opening event - we ended up making our place look like
something out of a magazine, and I'm not kidding. It meant living
neatly for a couple of weeks till open house/inspectin/contract was
over, and now I know it is possible to keep the place neat and
practical at the same time.

If it's a place that's comfortable to stop in, big enough to get
by when the kid is debooted and dealing with their crap, then it
can work. I've seen many that were just wide halls and stuff was
always in the way.

Exactly my point. I want the mudroom to be big enough, not just a
narrow hallway, where even with 2/3 kids are sitting on the bench and
boots tossed about, others can get by without being tripped
everywhere. Now I'm thinking maybe there should be a swing door that
can hide the messy coat/hook area when not used. It'll have to be
custom, the more I think of it. Only if I owned a table saw... may
I'll rent one.

I think the area is big enough for that, and with warm and bright
colors either on the concret walls (as someone suggested) or on new
walls, it'll be cozy enough to make it not just functional, but also
an attractive feature at resale. (Funny enough, I've seen enough
houses/renovations to now think of resale even before we move in.)
Now I'm sold on having a floor drain and a sink as well. I need a
second job, of course.

A side note - how many times do you see or hear of people, after
seeing a potential new house, say - I really liked *insert any minor
feature* about that house, be it an hobby bench that'll be removed,
kids swing set, cute decoration in a baby room, etc. It's amazing
that people look at decoration/arrangement much more than they should.
Even to *me*, a seller, the new arrangement made the place look worth
more than before.

So, in summary, I'm still planning to have a mudroom in the basement,
but have a few more features - heat, drain/sink, cabinet door to close
it up, a la closet doors. A lot of money and/or work, it sounds like,
but it can be fun.

I'll post another thread when I get down into details. Hope I can
post a crude version of the blueprint and solicit feedback.

Thanks again, everyone.