This family had two problems: their workout equipment was shoved into the toy room and they didn’t have another square foot in the house to make into a workout room.
We all want to work out but we don’t always have the time to go to a gym, so we end up buying an elliptical or treadmill and say we will work out at home. The majority of the time, we don’t have a dedicated space for our gym equipment so we put it in the master bedroom, the guest room or what was supposed to be our office. The homeowners for this project had already maxed out the land use of their lot so their current workout equipment was in a room is shared with the kid’s toys. They wanted a dedicated workout room and the only way to add it would be to dig out two existing crawl spaces. We removed a lot of dirt, concrete and existing foundations to transform part of their basement into a dedicated workout space.
Because we were working in existing crawl spaces, the existing footings were only four feet deep. We had to dig an additional four feet underneath the existing foundation walls to add more concrete to the footing so that it could match the existing flooring level. The HVAC was previously running through the middle of the space, so it had to be relocated to accommodate appropriate ceiling height.
We added a small storage closet at the back of the room to store workout related gear and equipment to keep things organized and clean in the main room. Pocket doors were used to make most of the space, as well as to keep noise to a minimum. For the flooring, we used rubber matting to help absorb the noise and provide shock-protection while working out. We also added a window to the room to allow natural light to stream into the room. LED recessed lighting was installed so that workouts in the early morning would have plenty of light.
The room was finished in the same trim and paint as the rest of the basement to make it all look the same and as if the workout room had been there when the house was built. Extra effort went into matching the workout room with the rest of the basement, but it was well worth it.
The room is now large enough for several pieces of equipment to fit comfortably. This beautiful space did not come to life without a great deal of hard work and problem-solving. The existing walls were solid concrete and were acting as load-bearing walls.
The owners loved their new space and now have additional motivation to work out in a distraction-free work out room and make the most of their investment!
