Q. My girlfriend and I have a partially finished basement. She wants me to divide part of the basement off for an office. What is the best wall/divider/partition I can use so she will have privacy from the rest of the basement? Is Drywall the only answer? What can I use for a nice ceiling as well with lighting? Thanks for your help, it really means a lot to us.

A. There are many ideas for dividing rooms. A wall is the best, but if you do not want that, you can use purchased office dividers (can be expensive), or bookshelves, or changing screen, or even a ceiling to floor curtain on a cable system. I like drywalled ceilings, but you can use a drop ceiling, or tiles. As for lighting..most basements have little natural light, so great lighting is necessary. Recessed lighting, track lighting both work well. If you do not like these then traditional lighting is suffice when portable lighting is added...table lamps, floor lights..even rope lighting in niches or shelving all add to the ambiance if that is the look you are going for. Brighter lighting is a must in the office section.

Q. I have an old basement we are remodeling and i want it to be a really cool hangout spot me and other people can stay at. i need some ideas of what to do with it because i am clueless. it is a pretty big space maybe like 12 by 40 (it's a total guess) but i really need an idea fast!

A. You could put a bar in it or a pool table. or both ummm maybe a games room kinda thing?

Q. I recently bought a house built in the mid 1800s, in the basement it is all limestone: the walls, ceiling and stairs. I really want to keep the old look in the basement but I also live in Kansas and we have a lot of tornados so it needs to be safe. I just need to know how to seal it up and make it as strong as possible. Also the floors are dirt I was wondering if anyone had any ideas for the floors to go with the old look.

A. If the limestone is smooth and doesn't need any refinishing (or if you like it the way it is) you can just apply stone sealer (they have various tints, so you can choose). Old, sun-bleached barn wood always looks great on basement walls, if you want to cover the limestone. If the ceiling is high enough, you could add some character to that by putting in rafters (with the necessary support frame placed in the corners. As for the flooring, anything you put down would have to have some type of sub-flooring underneath to keep out moisture and dampness. Although it would be quite a job to accomplish, concrete would be best. Once you have that done, you could use concrete stain (there are beautiful choices for refinishing concrete these days) and then just use area rugs to accent the floor. http://www.concretenetwork.com/stained-concrete/ http://www.finishabasement.org/how-to-finish-a-basement-on-a-budget.html#more-56

Q. I'm considering remodeling my basement and I have a few questions.I want to put in a movietheatre and just a general family area with maybe a bar and a couple of games. Any idea how much this would put me down for?(New Jersey) Everything....building materials electonics the whole deal

A. I would make sure your basement will not get water before refinishing it. If you already have a sump pump or drain tiles, great, but if not, I would seriously consider adding one or both. Otherwise you could ruin carpeting, drywall, etc. with the first minor seepage. I've seem basements done for $15,000 to $25,000, but it really depends on the extent. I would ask a few contractors for ideas so you get a general ballpark of how much of it you want to remodel and what you'll put in there. Try to draw it on paper, too. Will you leave some as storage? Will you have to move pipes to make headroom, etc.? Here are a few links that can help: http://www.oldhouseweb.com/stories/Detailed/14277.shtml http://www.oldhouseweb.com/stories/Detailed/268.shtml

Q. I am doing remodeling on my basement. I put Marble on it, but still isn't dry after 1 week?? is it normal?

A. No this is not normal, I'm not sure what kind of flooring you have there need more info. but it sounds like something went wrong and you will probably have a messy clean up.

Q. I have an idea of putting a toilet and sink in my basement. in my laundry room I have this big corner where I could put a toilet/sink, but there is not a drain, so how much do you think to install drain in floor, running water pipes and etc.? everything is all in the basement pipes, drain, etc, just not where i wanna put it.

A. Its about $767.94 per hour.

Q. My sister owns a new 2100 sq ft townhome in UT and she was asking me how much it would cost to finish her 700 sq ft basement. I said I had no idea since I live in CA. I told her to contact her local contractors, but she says she doesn't trust any of them since they probably over charge anyways. She's contacted about 3 and they all have their prices around $20k - 22K. She believes she can get it for less. Anyone can help out with this, I am not a handy man, and her husband is on his 5th deployment overseas? Thanks,

A. I just checked with the data that ServiceMagic keeps on the projects they help homeowners with. This data is not specific to Provo, but only the Salt Lake/Ogden area. For this project, it looks like the average basement remodel in that area costs $18,500. Their nationwide average shows this to be $20,680. A little caveat is that this data doesn't show how big the basements were or the scope of the remodel. But I think these figures should help get your sister in the ballpark, which it looks like the contractors she's talked to are in that range. Her basement seems smaller than average, and as along as she isn't looking for top of the line on all of the materials and such, I think it could likely be done for cheaper, maybe in the $13-15k range. I also found some articles that might be useful. This first one helps you understand what exactly will happen during the actual basement remodeling process so that you can prepare your home and family properly. The other two articles just provide some cool ideas for basement remodels: http://www.servicemagic.com/article.show.What-to-Expect-with-Your-Basement-Remodel.13305.html http://www.servicemagic.com/article.show.8-Basement-Remodeling-Essentials.10576.html http://www.servicemagic.com/article.show.5-Genius-Basement-Remodels.12073.html Hope this helps. Thanks to your brother-in-law for serving our country.

Q. I have a 1500 sq foot basement which I do not plan to use as living space. We just occasionally use it for recreation and when we have a lot of people over. The wall are poured concrete and look pretty disgusting . I was wondering how much finishing can be done without legally needing a permit. Does it vary from state to state ?? I live in NJ . Thanks

A. You can paint, , do any thing as long as it doesn't,t require building or removing