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Home Below
A basement can be transformed
into any space you desire.
Steve Raphael
Special to the Jewish News
/NEW PATIENT\
SPECIAL
B
rian Halprin knew that any
house he built from scratch
would have to include a base-
ment. "It's what the buyers want:' he
says.
Basements can start off as dank
and dull. But with a little bit of plan-
ning, and some money, it can be
turned into a home's showcase.
About five years ago Halprin,
owner of Halprin Construction in
Southfield, began buying occupied
homes in Bloomfield Township, tore
them down and in their place built
frame houses. He has built 30 such
houses over the years and each has a
basement. Six of those 30 were built
in the Wing Lake area of Bloomfield
Township.
Homes in the area are primarily
one-story ranches on slabs. Most
were built 60 years ago by affluent
Detroiters who used them as summer
cottages.
There was no real need for a base-
ment and besides, with Wing Lake
right down the street, homeowners
were aware of the horror stories,
urban legends and old wives tales
warning against the inevitable flood-
ed basements.
One of Halprin's two-story, frame
homes in the Wing Lake neighbor-
hood was purchased by a West
Bloomfield family, who asked not to
be identified in this story.
The new owners had moved from a
home with an unfinished basement.
Because of the basement, they had "a
terrible time" selling their house, the
woman said. "That's one reason why
we have a finished basement here."
The couple and Halprin created a
custom-made basement with 1,200-
1,500 square feet. The basement has
a large living room, dining room,
spacious bedroom, and bathroom
with a bath.
The family uses the basement
for children's events, exercising
and watching TV, amenities that
were never available in their Wet
Bloomfield home. Flooding? What
flooding? The basement is carpeted.
Building a basement from spec can
be fun. But what about people with
"work of art."
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-
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r visit the website: www.*kazddszont
Brian Halprin attaches a door hinge.
half-finished basements who feel
its time to turn their under-utilized
space into a showpiece?
A lot of detail and a lot of expense
can go into remodeling a basement,
Halprin says. A basement is expen-
sive.
"The first thing you have to ask
yourself is, Can I afford it?"' he says.
"A nice finished basement with
bathroom can be expensive. It is a
five-figure job for sure, from $25,000
to $35,000. The egress window alone
costs $3,000."
Of course when finished, a remod-
eled basement can increase the value
of the home by easily as much as
$25,000.
Before you plow ahead, Halprin
encourages people to ask the big
question: "What are you going to use
the basement for?"
A media center, storage, recre-
ation, home theater, bedroom and
bathroom, or even a man cave?
"Everybody puts a bedroom in:' he
says.
Thanks to strict building codes, a
lot of basic planning followed by a lot
of detail has to come first.
Most communities require base-
ments to have a safety exit window,
or egress. Heating, cooling and elec-
trical systems must be up to date.
Where are you going to put your fur-
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(248) 855-1730
Farmington Hills. Michigan
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31519 W. 13 Mile Rd.,Farmington Hills
13 Mile + Orchard Lake in Westbrooke Shopping Center
13 MI e R
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1560250
Home Below on page 34
December 16 • 2010
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