“When our kids were small, this house was a lot bigger,” Marie said with a laugh. The Duxbury mother of two is one of the busiest people you’ll ever meet: in addition to caring for her family, she’s a school teacher and actively involved with youth sports. “Even when we had everybody’s friends over here – which was more often than not – it seemed like we had enough space. But then the teenage years hit and things started to get a little crowded.”
“We thought about building an addition,” Marie explained. “A big family room that would give everyone space to hang out comfortably. But that meant losing most of our back yard, and I really enjoy that space.” As an alternative plan, Marie looked into having her Duxbury basement finished.
“Right away, it was clear that we could save a lot of money. The addition idea was all new construction. Finishing the basement, on the other hand, was simply renovating what we already had in place.” With one eye on the need to save money for her childrens’ college expenses, Marie decided to move forward with the idea.
“The basement finishing system makes having all the work done a real snap,” she said. “We met with the contractors and picked walls, flooring and lighting. There were a few issues in the basement that had to be addressed – we wanted to be sure we always had easy access to the boiler and electrical panel box – but that was easily taken care of.” Marie chose basement finishing materials that would stand up to the rigors of a group of teenagers hanging out. “It’s so nice to have my house back,” she said with a laugh. “I love having the home where all the neighborhood kids feel welcome. But I also enjoy being able to sit on the couch myself every now and then. Having the basement converted into a rec room was one of the smartest things we ever did!”
