Your home isn’t going green, it’s staying green! Although being more energy efficient and conscious of your energy emissions is the new trend for most homeowners and business moguls, it’s time for every homeowner who wants a green basement to have a green basement. Maybe you have believed that going green is more expensive, the way the organic vegetables are nearly double the price of the “had-beens” that are other vegetables.

But, if you want a more energy efficient basement, and lower energy costs, you have got to invest in some green basement finishing products.

What’s the Benefit?

So, why are you finishing your basement anyway? If you want to have more living space or update your home with a customized room, or maybe you’ve heard that you can upgrade your basement with new and/or green products that you will save money — you’re right! If you want any of these for your home, then you can see the great benefit in remodeling your basement, especially to save a dollar, or a couple hundred.

Some basement finishing companies actually offer green products, from ceiling tiles to flooring.

Green Products

Ceiling Tiles: How could a ceiling tile be green? Well, it would have to be able to withstand a lot of damage and last a long time, therefore saving you money from all those replacements. It would also have to be made at such a high quality that it tightly seals and helps maintain the appropriate temperature. And, of course a recyclable product is always a bonus. Did you know that some metal framings, where the ceilings are installed, are actually recyclable and are known to last for decades? It’s true.

Wall Panels: You know that insulation helps maintain temperatures, and that’s why it’s important to have the best quality insulation in your basement.
In particular, some insulation is actually 94 percent less ozone-depleting than all the other insulation on the market.

Not only is the wall’s insulation green, but so is the wall board. A wall board can be found that is made with 95 percent certified recycled materials.
So, it might be wise to reconsider using that drywall and fiberglass on your basement walls. Oh, and by the way, by avoiding these two products and choosing the right ceiling tiles you could save up to $400 a year! Is that green enough for you?!

Basement Windows: We’ve now reached the belt of your head-to-toe green basement transformation; the windows. Some windows are just grisly to the eyes. You know the ones. They resemble the wood that a clan of termites just had for dinner. Wood can rot, corrode, and need updates such as new coats of paint. And, because wood can get moist when it’s hot, or obviously if it gets wet, then it can become a habitation for mold.

So, what’s your alternative? When you choose the vinyl window design you will own windows that will not corrode, rot, need paint, or welcome mold growth. Considering this vinyl design will also lessen the drafts that are all too common to most windows. Thus, your new windows will be conserving energy.
On average, your vinyl window, when compared to the single-paned, steel-framed window, could save you 30 percent or more!
What’s the other part of a window besides the frame? The glass. With something called Low-E glass you can lessen the pounding heat in the summer and the squalls of wind in the winter.

Laminate Flooring: This can become the most essential aspect of your green basement. Think about this: after some research you will find that some floors are made of laminate. According to floor facts, laminate flooring has many more benefits when compared to pre-finished engineered hardwood flooring.
Laminate flooring ranks as having very good or excellent performance in resisting scratches, stains, fades, impacts, and easy maintenance.
Additionally, yes there’s more, some laminate flooring is made from post-consumer products, and is recyclable. As for the o-zone, that’s coming in at a big, fat ZERO.

Flooring can also have a huge influence on your health, as many other household items or appliances. Chemicals are used more prevalently than you think, and can be polluting your home. But with some laminate flooring, you can sleep better knowing they do not contain lead, cadmium, mercury, or formaldehyde.
Remember, mold loves to grow in moist climates, so it’s best to have mold resistant products, like the vinyl windows we just discussed. But, your laminate flooring can come waterproof, and you know that, no water means no mold!

As laminate flooring lasts for what seems forever, your investment in laminate flooring will outlast any other flooring. Therefore, by purchasing laminate, you’re saving money while going green.

Tiled Flooring: It has some similar benefits that we saw in laminate flooring. The tiles are made with post-consumer products and are fully recyclable. They are also very long lasting.

Isn’t it always a shock to your poor little Viagra Jelly feet when you scurry across your chilly concrete basement floor? It’s almost as if you’re playing a game — the floor’s made of ice, get to a carpet for safety! But seriously, cold floors are uncomfortable. With special tiles in your basement, you can expect the floors to be about 8-10 degrees warmer.

Basement Dehumidifier: So, we have learned how to make your basement green from ceiling to flooring, but there’s one more thing you must consider; the air.
No one wants a musty, muggy basement, so by choosing not only green materials, but waterproof materials as well, you are almost to the point of completely removing moisture from the basement environment. With an Energy Star rated basement dehumidifier you can remove so much moisture and allergens, too! With particular dehumidifiers you can eliminate up to 110 pints of water each day without even having to empty a bucket!

Author Bio: Contact Total Basement Finishing of Johnson County — a green Kansas City basement contractor. You can find these green basement finishing products on our site. Contact us today for a free estimate. Do you want a moisture resistant Kansas basement? Check out our wall paneling and flooring!

Category: Home/Home Improvement
Keywords: green basement, basement finishing Kansas City, Kansas green basement