Port Townsend, WA Basement Turned to Home Office

Sunday, February 1st, 2015 by Sarah Bender

Challenge

This customer wanted to convert an unfinished basement in their home to office space so that they could regain the living space that had been overtaken by the demands of their growing business. The home situated high above Discovery Bay in Northwest Washington enjoyed views of Discovery Bay, Protection Island and the Strait of Juan de Fuca. When the owners built the home they worked very hard to install drainage systems to handle copious amounts of ground water that are prevalent in that area. For the most part, those efforts were successful, but there were a couple of areas in the unfinished basement that seemed to be damp from water vapor transmission or wicking. They understood that conventional organic building materials and uncontrolled moisture were a recipe for future mold growth and would not provide them with a dry, healthy work environment.

Solution

Our system design specialist was able to design a space that fit all their needs for the new office space. This included a powder room with an up flush toilet so that we wouldn’t have to break into the existing concrete slab. All of the materials used were completely inorganic so that mold and mildew can never take hold. There was plenty of room for storage and work areas. We used TBF’s Basement to Beautiful panels as the finish surface. Our new Thermal Dry insulated floor decking was used under the Mill Creek oak grain finished flooring to insure a dry, warm floor. A dropped ceiling with crown molding provided a classic look as well as the option to change lighting configurations in the future if it became necessary. The owner’s had some clear vertical grain old growth fir trim left over from the original construction of their home and we were able to use that material for the door, window and base trim. A SaniDry dehumidification and air filtration system was installed in an adjacent crawlspace with ductwork to the new office space to insure a healthy, dry work environment.