Your advice please..... it's about home improvement...?

Question

Here are the details.
I live in a house that I rent. I do NOT own. I stress this because there are certain things that I cannot do to the house. That being said..
What I want is some advice on how to fix my basement so that it is liveable. It is now a storage area. The floor is not done, nor is the ceiling. I want to consolidate all our junk and have more space. But I need some ideas of what I can do to the space. Espcially the ceiling and the floor. The gas and hot water are also down there. They are in a corner so I thought I could block them off. Any and all advice is appreciated (well within reason) Thank you so much for your help. Please ask any question if you need and I will try to get back to you soon as I can.

The floor does have tiling on it already. The ceiling is what need the most work. Just look real dirty, like animals (rats, roaches) might live there.

No wait I'm wrong it's not tiled it just concrete. Sorry

Answer 1

Well how creative are you and how much do you want to spend? If you want super cheap:
get posterboard or cardboard this thickness. Tack them up like ceiling tiles. You might even want to decorate them previously. If you cut them all the same size you can tack them up the same way you would regular tiles. Who knows what they are made of. This way if you need to replace them it won't cost much at all. And they are cheap.
The floor you could paint or get a carpet or you could go in the kiddie section. They have those 1 foot sponge squares that look like big puzzle pieces. They interlock. Put them down for your floor and if you want put whatever kind of rugs on it.
The water heater and stuff? You could get like shutters and hinge them together. This way you could bend it in whatever shape you need to to wrap around the furnace and stuff. It is moveable and vented. You could even hang pics off of it if you wanted to.
For furniture why not think about gettin storage benches or footlockers and put outdoor cushions on them. The storage will be under the seat.
good luck.

Answer 2

More often than not it is better NOT to fix up a rental as there are many horror stories out there attesting to the fact that many people that fix up rentals are soon after kicked out for various reasons. However, if you want to make the space in the basement liveable you might try these:

Consolidate all "junk" to storage tubs, found at wal-mart and stack easily.
Buy a large area rug to cover concrete floor and long one if steps to basement aren't carpeted already.
Put in a drop ceiling that will cover pipes and insulation.
As far as the rest goes it's up to what you want to do down there, but the drop ceiling is relatively inexpensive the carpets can go with you when you leave and so you won't be out much even if you decid to cover the heater and water cooler. Just make sure you can still get to them.

Answer 3

First talk to landlord. maybe they will be willing to spend a little money since you will be making their investment go up. Does the basement leak?
Floor is not done? Is it dirt or bare concrete, if dirt don't even try messing with it. If concrete, you could paint and use area rugs
Ceiling your some what limited unless the owner gives OK. Then I would sheet rock it. But do that before anything to floor.
Many landlord will give the OK if your willing to do the job and you have a good understanding how to do it yourself. Don't start something unless you can complete in a good matter. If the landlord must come back and fix your mistakes you might find yourself with a bill from a contractor.

Answer 4

Use carpet with foam padding - cut to size, dont glue down - maybe use tha doublw sided tape they have for carpet around the edges - or cheaper - get carpet samples that are discontinued from a carpet store and create a quilt type look - works good for a playroom - can sew squares together

Answer 5

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Answer 6

You could paint...the floor and somehow fix the ceiling...but, if your going to make any structual changes then you really should be talking to the owner of that property to make sure you have their blessing...to make any changes to their property...perhaps, they will give you some ideas ...and, take some money off your rent for fixing up their property..

good luck