1 New Lighting

New lighting is an important part of this project and the time to run the wiring for that is before the ceiling itself goes up.

Because the overhead is a maze of pipes, electrical boxes, ductwork and more, this will be a suspended ceiling. That is, it will hang from the joists.

2 The Suspended Ceiling

The first step is to install crown molding around the walls at ceiling height. The molding will provide a ledge that will support the perimeter of the ceiling.

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Next, hangers are screwed in at three-foot to four-foot intervals using a drill equipped with an inexpensive hanger driver.

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Short sections of wire are threaded through the hanger eyes...

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...and then the wire is wrapped around itself several times.

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Now the main beams are hun or suspended from the wires.

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Shorter sections called cross Ts are snapped into place...

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...forming a gridwork of two-foot by two-foot openings across the entire ceiling.

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Then two-foot square acoustic tiles are set into the gridwork. Unlike typical cellulose tiles, these are made using a non-organic mineral fiber and have an anti-microbial coating to resist mold and mildew growth.

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They're also more rigid than conventional ceiling tiles -- guaranteed not to sag.

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Some ceiling tiles will house recessed lighting fixtures. The light fixture openings are first drawn with a homemade compass...

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...then cut out using a standard drywall saw.

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The tile is then set into the framework.

14 Installing Light Fixtures

Electrical wires installed earlier are connected to the fixture.

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Then the light canister is dropped through the opening...

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...and the housing is secured to the gridwork.

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Finally the bulb is installed...

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...and the canister is pushed back up through the opening and ssnapped on to the housing.

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In addition to dimmable, recessed mood lighting...

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...the room will also have energy-efficient fluorescent task lighting. These fixtures replace an entire ceiling tile and fit exactly into the two-foot openings in the grid.

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The fluorescent tubes themselves are U-shaped and concealed behind a diffuser panel.

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The wires for all the lights are run to a box into which several switches will be installed.

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As soon as the lighting is finished, the electricians pull the wires for the receptacles...

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...and install the outlets.

25 Trimming the Room

Now it's time for some trim and finish work. First, baseboard...

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...then door casings...

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...and, finally, a decorative column wrap, all of which look convincingly like wood, but are actually made from thermal plastic resin.

28 Finishing the Floor

The room is truly taking shape. We're entering the last phase of the basement room makeover -- the floor.

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You may remember that the old flooring was carpet, laid directly on concrete and more than once, it got a real soaking down there.

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The ground water problem has been eliminated with the drainage system we put in earlier, however...

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...there is always the prospect of a basement flood from a plumbing leak or the possibility of water vapor migrating through the concrete floor.

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With that in mind, the flooring we'll be putting down looks and feels like wood, but is actually solid PVC -- 100 percent waterproof.

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It has a honeycomb design that makes it very strong, and at the same time, creates an air space that insulates the floor.

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This type of flooring is also available as tile...

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...or carpet, both waterproof.

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This is a floating floor system. That means it floats on a polyethylene pad which cushions the floor, and acts as a moisture barrier.

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The flooring itself requires no nails or glue. Each plank interlocks with the next...

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...and is tapped into final position, using a block to protect the edges.

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End pieces are cut to length, using a power miter saw equipped with a carbide blade.

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Cutouts like this...

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...can be made with a jigsaw.

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The pad is laid down, one strip at a time as the work progresses around the room.

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Quarter round or shoe molding is used to trim out the edges. Like the baseboard, this is not wood, but thermal plastic resin.

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This split collar base adds a nice finishing touch to the column wrap we put up earlier.

45 The Result

That's it. This finished basement is -- finished.

46 Before...

This story began with a basement that looked like this.

47 After...

The transformation has been a bit, well, magical!