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Should I finish my basement

Moved in to a new house....one of the main selling points was a concrete basement; walls and floor slab.
The dimensions are perfect for my setup and I will finish the ceiling and do sound treatment as necessary but really wonder if I should also put up sheet-rock ?
As of now wall are painted with water-seal paint, and I have a large carpet on the floor.
I can just hang few drapes on the walls, do some sound treatment and leave it as is...
The looks are OK either way for me - no bearing on my decision.

Just want to hear if some of you have experience with such a "dilemma" (finished vs cement walls) and what would be recommended?

PS: I would NOT want to do any sound treatment under the sheet-rock...as a matter of fact I would only mount aluminium rails to the walls and then attach 1/2inch sheet-rock
ether
yogiboy's avatar
yogiboy
5,755 posts
 
Once you finish it your town will consider it as another room
and raise your taxes when the tax assessor comes a knocking at
your door. Leave it the way it is!
brf
1,715 posts
 
I would finish the basement, BUT would do a lot of research on dimensions, construction etc.

Good sound IMHO always sounds better when played in a nice looking room. You want your enviroment to be comfortable and inviting.
markpao
523 posts
 
Yogiboy brings up a valid point. Most towns have codes in place for turning a basement into habitable space. There might be more work involved than you care to do in order to make it conform.
timrhu
2,779 posts
 
Brf brings up another valid point. Years ago I had my system in a semi-finished basement. The sound was never my issue. But the ugly walls and ceiling drove me nuts.

If you're sure that won't bother you, then just get the sound right and enjoy.
kgturner's avatar
kgturner
664 posts
 
I don't know about where everybody else lives, but the
county assessor has never toured my home to see what
improvements I've made. If you're not planning on moving
ever again I say finish it as you see fit.
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