Yeah there are two large egress windows on either side of the bar. They look like doors on the drawing but they are windows.

https://imgur.com/a/Hx7Sf90

That except walls are just frames and doors are just doorways.

Shower is a no-brainer in terms of "good idea" but it's already plumbed. The most sensible spot for a shower is in the back corner, but to do that I would have to dig up the entire floor to move the toilet, then move the sink plumbing, then install the shower drain.

An alternative would be putting a shower in on the other side of the vanity and expanding the bathroom in that direction. That would be cheaper but then would probably need to move the bathroom door opposite the toilet which I think is kind of awkward. Thoughts?

I'm trying real hard to like this but here's what I see:

• Bedroom no longer feels as private since access is in big open area.
• Bathroom is open to the entire room and bar which feels far less private.
• Music room is an awkward shape, and the wall right next to the stairs is really claustrophobic.

I see what you were going for. There's less dead space...but I don't think dead space is the worst thing. It's room for kids to play and helps the space feel open instead of enclosed.

I think we could for sure look at extending the bar and bathroom a little bit, but the rest I'm not sold on.

I'm not sure my wife would go for either of those hah. Might pop over for some ideas for under the stairs. I could possibly make that one work.

Thank you for the suggestion! I haven't researched the insulation yet so I'll take a look at that. What other soundproofing do you have? This is new to me so all I can do is look up STC ratings online and cross my fingers that what I'm doing is correct.

I'm not sure how I could frame that to make it work...any thoughts?

Those are actually two large windows by the bar. Sorry the floor plan thing added the little door swinging icon for some reason.

Thanks! I learned about that and all kinds of other soundproofing techniques when I was doing research. That would be tough to justify to my wife unfortunately. She was cool with the drywall+glue which only adds $1,500 to the material cost.

I also looked up acoustic drywall which is a little pricier but may simplify some things since you don't necessarily have to add thickness.

Thanks! I didn't think about that. I was planning on insulating with 2" rigid foam between the studs then sealing with spray foam. It's not perfect but the city approved doing it that way and it saves a lot of money. Ideally I would have done 1" rigid foam against the wall > studs + fiberglass but here we are.

My thought is that the area is accessed at most once a month for air filters / softener salt / maintenance. Adding a door adds cost and increases the sound transmission out of that space.

I'm not opposed...I actually had a door there in a previous design but removed it. If the only downside is that I have to walk through the storage space for access then I don't think I care that much...am I overlooking anything?

Thanks for the suggestion! There's two big windows right where the bar is, so a TV probably wouldn't work great there. :/

I agree though the TV area is a bit isolated...for better or worse I guess. I'll give that some more thought. Maybe we could put the TV on the left wall instead of the top wall so it's viewable from a larger area.

I don't think I would want a full double door, but at least 36" for sure! Also thought of doing a barn door there but didn't want excess noise from the sump pump or furnace.

Mini-fridge under the countertops in place of one of the cabinets.

I had the same thought as you on the storage area. I don't want to have a bunch of stuff stacked back into inaccessible corners. I can't put massive bins in there, but there's plenty of space to line tubs or boxes up against the interior wall and still have space to walk through and pull things in and out.

Yes, 8' ceilings. I would say the bedroom and storage / utility areas are fixed as there's really nowhere else those can go. The bathroom has to go in that corner but could be resized, and the music room wall isn't there yet.

Edit: I agree I'm a little worried about the flooring transition by the bar. We want carpet in the basement, but not at the bar area. Here's a couple photos I found of similar concepts: https://imgur.com/a/gyW0qBD

The bathroom is already framed and plumbed from when the basement was finished in the past. The bar extends out far enough so that you're not having to sit on carpet. It's a little weird and I'm not 100% sure the best approach to take here.

Yeah, I hear you on all points. If I had unlimited money I would 100% put the shower in. I can count on one hand the number of times in the past 10 years a basement shower would have been used, so I'm cool without it and the house has enough other selling points if it came to that.

I'll give it another honest look, though. If I can get a reasonable quote for the work I'll reconsider.

Thanks for the carpet tip. We want it to feel cozy and feel like hard floors will really take away from that. I think we were looking at some berber style but I hadn't looked into moisture barriers.

Appreciate your comment!

Hah, agree, but the bedroom won't be used too often, and I plan to have some level of soundproofing (double layer 5/8" drywall + green glue) which should help.

I struggled to find a better location...and even now looking at it again nothing really sticks out as a better choice.

Yes. That part of the drawing is just "good enough" to get the idea. The furnace etc all have plenty of clearance and are up to code. Thanks for mentioning it!

It's pretty square! https://imgur.com/a/RmmcQsr

Looks like a lot but all the bits make sense.

Thanks! I didn't think about a different type of sheetrock for the utility room. The utility room is one big "L" in that corner. You can access the room from the one door that's already there...I've debated adding another one, but it's still accessible, still has adequate clearance, and still has enough room to get equipment in and out should any of that equipment need to be replaced. I guess I could go either way but it seemed like an extra cost for very minor added convenience, and then dealing with furnace noise by the TV. I'll give it more thought.

The walls I'm stuck with unfortunately. The original framing is still up which is 2x4 right up against the wall. It's not ideal, but I can still insulate with rigid foam and can save a decent amount of money and time not having to redo all that work.

SweetHome3D.

This is something I originally wanted but backed off on. We don't have overnight guests very often. A shower makes the most sense in the back corner, but the toilet is already plumbed to go there so we would have to dig up the concrete and move a bunch of stuff. I was content letting this one slide given that we have three other full bathrooms in the house.

It's not perfectly to scale...🤷‍♂️

Yes, thank you for mentioning! It's not in the render but there is an egress window in that room behind/above where the bed will be.

We were fortunate that was put in originally. Flooding from a previous owner (bank repossessed/no power) destroyed most of the basement so we are getting everything fixed back up.