Basement Renovations Go Green

Building an environmentally friendly basement is a great way to reduce your carbon footprint, while enjoying the additional space your basement offers. Not only does using greener solutions help reduce waste; it also saves you money by making your home more energy-efficient.

Unlike the expensive, hard-to-find and not-always-attractive products of the past, eco-friendly building materials now come in a variety of styles and colors. This makes choosing the products that are right for you much easier, and gives you many more options that help make your basement space beautiful, comfortable and relaxing.

Taking a Hard Look

Because your choices in reclaimed and recycled flooring, countertops and lighting are so vast these days, basement renovations using sustainable materials are more popular than ever. So if you’re considering going green in your basement but you’re not sure what types of products you should use, talk to your contractor about the possibility of installing green products.

By using higher quality, earth-friendly materials like these, basement remodels last longer and retain their beauty and function over time—while you save money and avoid contributing to our planet’s waste.

Flooring

Some of the most widely used, sustainable options in basement flooring include:

• Recycled or reclaimed hardwood, such as you’d find on an old barn or house
• Bamboo, which re-grows quickly, maturing in about four years and becoming rapidly renewable
• Recycled glass, which makes a beautiful, light-enticing floor that can be installed in most any color
• Cork, which provides a soft, spongy, waterproof and soundproof surface for comfort—and also regenerates quickly
• Eco-friendly veneer, which often comes from managed forests and requires about 50 percent less wood than traditional hardwood

Countertops

Some of your choices in eco-friendly countertop materials for basement bathrooms, kitchens and bars include:
 

• Poured concrete, made from limestone or other naturally occurring rock, which is abundant and easy to use
• Granite, popular for its beauty and durability, which is long-lasting and keeps materials out of landfills
• Recycled paper, water-resistant and beautiful
• Recycled glass, which adds beauty, texture and color to basement countertops
• Aluminum, which is made from recycled materials and provides a sleek, modern look

Lighting

Energy efficiency is the most important factor in basement lighting today, whether you enjoy a spa-like bathroom, a cozy theater room or a bright, beautiful kitchen. And the key to saving energy on lighting is using fluorescent, rather than incandescent, lights. While the latter wastes 90 percent of its light in the form of escaped heat, fluorescent lights consume 75 to 80 percent less energy, last 10 times longer, and can drastically reduce the cost of electricity.
Some basement lighting options include:

• Track lights, which provide direct light that creates focal points, yet can illuminate an entire room
• Canned or recessed lights, the perfect solution for either bright or dimmed lighting, no matter what size the room
• Pendants, for focused lighting in specific areas; often used over bars or in game areas
• Table lamps, for localized lighting; often used in entryways or more relaxed environments

Doing Your Part

Although a total green build in your basement could cost 20 percent to 30 percent more, you can still get results by spending less, often as little as 2 percent to 4 percent over standard construction. So before you start your basement renovations, look into using eco-friendly materials in your basement build-out. You’ll help save energy, reduce waste—and make life better at home.

Penny M. Hagerman is a communications expert and marketing professional living in Denver, Colorado. Penny lends her talents to businesses nationwide and enjoys helping them grow and prosper.