Basement Remodeling Materials to Purchase

Ever since I started remodeling basements way back in 1992, I have always relied on just 2 primary suppliers for better than 90% of ALL of my contracting supplies. Those 2 suppliers are 2 of the biggest SUPER STORES for building supplies on the planet and they are the Home Depot and Lowes.

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And since I do not supply bathroom and wet bar fixtures and appliances for my clients jobs, my clients are asked to shop at these stores for their supplies as well. At these two stores my clients have a huge selection of bathroom fixtures, faucets, sinks, and even appliances. They also have a great selection of bar and vanity tops in solid surfaces (like granite and marble) and several brands of good old fashioned Formica tops!

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Just about the ONLY materials that I choose not to buy at these Super Stores are a few misc. special order plumbing and electric supplies. Occasionally I will purchase my drywall from a supplier who just sells drywall supplies, normally they can beat the "big box" stores prices because they buy in such volume.

If you did not watch the video I did about "How much will my basement remodeling project cost me to do?" In this video I give you a long list of materials EVERYTHING INCLUDED) that I use to finish a typical basement. I can get over 90% of everything on this huge list I talk about at either Home Depot or Lowes!

Most every town USA has at least one of these Super Stores close to home! Open up a contractor account and a lot of times they will give you a 10% discount on your 1st purchase! Get it all on one order and store it some place until it's needed on the job site and you could save hundreds of dollars if not a thousand or more!

As an additional service of my basement remodeling company I also offer basement designing and floor plans for my clients. This service is for clients that want to do the work themselves, but need a professional Designed Layout and a detailed Floor Plan from which to build from and use to order building permits.

When a client asks me for this service, I will also include a detailed materials list with an estimated material cost sheet for the home owners to shop from. This way no materials are missed and the client has an estimate for how much they need to spend on materials from the gate! I am getting ready to begin offering this service over the internet and will soon be adding this service (Basement Finishing 101) to my website

The plan also comes with 6 hours of video instruction and training that details a finished basement remodel from A-Z for the client to follow! It's like having a subcontractor from every trade standing beside you showing you exactly what to do next! The videos are extremely detailed and very technical. I will be offering this service over the internet for a limited time!

So there you have it! Home Depot and Lowes for almost all of your building materials shopping!

Basement Remodeling Materials to Purchase

For more information and ideas about basement finishing visit: [http://site.1basement.com/Free_Videos.html]

Here's to "Living Down Under"

Edward Case

Since 1992 Ed Case has remodeled 350+ basements in the Harrisburg, PA region. Ed is an expert in basement conversion projects and high-end basement interior design. Ed regularly holds training classes designed to teach local home owners in the Harrisburg PA region how to remodel their own basements successfully!

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DIY Concrete Basement Crack Repair

Concrete Cracks in Basements

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Many homes that have concrete basements have foundation cracks.  This is a normal situation because as the concrete cures it shrinks in volume.  This shrinkage creates stresses in the concrete wall.  To relieve the stress, the concrete cracks. The most common areas for a "shrinkage crack" to occur are in the middle of a long wall, below a corner of a basement window or where the foundation wall changes height.

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A large number of homes built since 1990 have their walls coated with a waterproof membrane.  This waterproofing protects many cracks from leaks, but it can be defeated.  Whether your home is protected by waterproofing or not, there are several ways for water to get into the basement;

Soil above the waterproofing allows water to enter above the protective waterproofing.  When rains occur, water enters the crack above the waterproofing and leaks into the crack from the top.  The water runs down inside the crack until it is seen on the interior surface of the basement wall  as a leak. The corners of basement window openings are a common area for concrete to crack.  During rains water runs off of the window and then enters the crack at the window opening corner.  Again the water runs down the inside of the crack until the crack narrows and forces the water to the interior face of the basement wall. Some cracks are sufficiently wide to exceed the maximum width the waterproofing is designed to protect.  In this case the waterproofing tears and leaves a gap in protection against the water.  Water can enter directly into the crack and enter the basement. Foundation walls without waterproofing run a high risk of having cracks leak.  Water can enter unhindered through any shrinkage cracks and appear on the interior side of the basement.
Whatever the source of the leak, homeowners wish to stop it.

DIY Concrete Basement Crack Repair Kits

Urethane foam injection used to be a process only professional repair technicians could perform.  Kits with urethane foam are available for homeowners to stop water leaks in concrete basement cracks.  Urethane foam liquid is injected into the crack using a common caulk gun.  Once inside the crack the urethane begins to expand.  This expansion forces the urethane foam all the wall through the crack.  Once finished the crack will be sealed from top to bottom.  Now water will remain on the outside of the basement and not leak into the basement.

Urethane Foam Injection Advantages

No chiseling the foundation wall Entirely fills the crack top to bottom Fast repair performed in about 2 hours Little mess
  Limitations

Concrete basements only.  This repair will not work on block foundations. Surface must be dry.  The interior face of the basement wall must be dry for application.

DIY Concrete Basement Crack Repair

This article is written by Aaron Kuertz with Applied Technologies Aaron has been in the waterproofing industry since 1998. Applied Technologies is a manufacturer and supplier to professional waterproofing contractors and homeowners in the United States. To learn more about concrete crack repair visit Applied Technologies on the web.

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