Basements : Your Guide to Planning and Remodeling

Rating:
Summary: Great planning book--but not a how-to
Review: This book covers the main points to consider in planning a basement renovation, and has lots of ideas, including good color pictures. If you need a book to tell you how to frame the walls and put up drywall, go buy one of those instead--there are a lot of those available. This book is a great guide to planning (just like the title says)!

Rating:
Summary: Great planning book--but not a how-to
Review: This book covers the main points to consider in planning a basement renovation, and has lots of ideas, including good color pictures. If you need a book to tell you how to frame the walls and put up drywall, go buy one of those instead--there are a lot of those available. This book is a great guide to planning (just like the title says)!

Rating:
Summary: What to, not How to
Review: This book has great pictures and good design themes, but if you're looking for a book on how to finish a basement, this is no help. I've gotten some ideas from this book, but I still don't know where to start with the actuall construction.

Rating:
Summary: Nice photos, not enough details
Review: This book has plenty of great photos of finished basements and is a great "idea book" for someone who is trying to figure out what to do with their basement. However, it seems to be geared toward people who want to come up with a design, and then hire a contractor to implement it. I am plannning to finish my basement myself, and I found this book lacked the detailed information I will need to undertake that task. So, if you just need some ideas, and you plan to hire someone else to get the job done once you've planned it -- this book is great. If you're planning to re-do your basement yourself and need detailed information about how to do it, look elsewhere.

Rating:
Summary: What to, not How to
Review: This book has plenty of great photos of finished basements and is a great "idea book" for someone who is trying to figure out what to do with their basement. However, it seems to be geared toward people who want to come up with a design, and then hire a contractor to implement it. I am plannning to finish my basement myself, and I found this book lacked the detailed information I will need to undertake that task. So, if you just need some ideas, and you plan to hire someone else to get the job done once you've planned it -- this book is great. If you're planning to re-do your basement yourself and need detailed information about how to do it, look elsewhere.

Rating:
Summary: Handsome and helpful new book
Review: When we first decided to have our basement finished off,we called two contractors who arrived with an array of ideas that were not very creative at all. Then we found this new book and took over the planning process ourselves. This book covers all the basics with good information as well as great color photos of handsome basements. Thanks to this book, my wife and I have nearly finished planning how we want our unfinished basement to look and function.We know where we want the walls and even how we will arrange the furniture. The book helped us come up with something that really fits our life-style and taste.

Rating:
Summary: Great
Review: You will save a lot of money on redoing Your basement with this
book.