River RIVER OAKS GROUP ment will add value and increase your enjoyment of your home. A poor layout or poorly finished basement may reduce the value of your home. PLANNING FOR INTENDED USES Keep in mind the planned uses when considering the layout. Basements are used most often for the following; a bathroom, study, exercise room, sauna, hot tub, workâ€" shop, bedrooms, pool room, table tennis room or a recreational area including a well laid out basement design with Aghrgctical divisions, proper lighting using the right colors, costs the same as bad layout with poor lighting and tasteless colors. The end results are entirely different. One is subtle yet stunning while the other maybe mediocre at best. The costs are the same. The difference is a matter of layout design and know how. Whether finishing a small area or the whole basement, time spent carefully planâ€" ning will be well worth the effort and will avoid corrections or regrets. Wellâ€"planned basement will add to home‘s value A well designed and well finished baseâ€" Make a scale drawing of the existing layâ€" out on square paper, use a quarter of an inch squares so that one square represents one foot. Show the location of the utilities and shutoff valves. Draw the proposed layout showing walls, door openings and door swings. Show lights, switches, cable t.v. and and brighter. Layout obstacles such as heatâ€" ing runs, cold air returns or plumbing plpw can often be rerouted easily, this maximizes headroom and minimizes unsightly boxed THE LAYOUT Carefully consider the basic layout. The room width should always be maximized. Wider rooms always look better than long narrow rooms. Steel support posts can sometimes be moved to add width say to accommodate a pool table, this requires a simple engineering evaluation of the existâ€" ing support system and loading. Room height should always be maxiâ€" mized. Higher ceilings are more pleasing bar... or other uses. If only finishing part of the basement, consider ‘future‘ needs. Builder to proceed with West Morrison Creek The River Oaks Group is pleased to announce that it has received full approval from Oakville council to proceed with the development of its Sixth Line or West Morrison Creek project in the River Oaks Community in Oakville. West Morrison Creek promises to be a vibrant and architecturally diverse community with a wide variety of housing types to suit a range of households. Many community building pracâ€" tices have been examined closely during the development and planâ€" ning of West Morrison Creek. The natural environment, for example, is being treated in a unique way that is sustainable, beautiful, and interestâ€" ing, and can serve as a model for other developments in the way it handles existing vegetation and trees, landscaping, and the manageâ€" ment of storm water. Consider including curved wall partiâ€" tions or rounded corners. Curves create very satisfying effects. Curved walls take a little more effort to install and cost a little extra but are in fact a very cost effective way of creating a spectacular room. CONSTRUCTION Exterior walls and internal partitions should be framed by studding from floor to ceiling leaving a small gap between the studding and the existing exterior wall. This will provide room to square the comers and straighten the finished walls. This also proâ€" ~Basic utility basement staircases can be easily replaced. Open sided staircases can be installed in place of closed staircases creâ€" ating a lower hallway open to the upper other outlet locations. Make the most of the existing windows. Add or enlarge windows if possible, Do not add unnecessary room divisions and partitions, the fewer walls the better. Larger rooms are brighter and less confining. If a division is necessary considâ€" er a half height or a stepped wall. The plan features public laneways at the rear of all the houses to proâ€" vide access to private parking areas. This has the effect of removing the garage from the front of the house and in this way allows the architecâ€" ture of the house and the design of the landscaping and street to create a high quality pedestrian and cyclist friendly environment. Residential lighting may be provided with recessed ceiling pot lighting, track lighting or color enhancing fluorescent lighting. Task lighting should be provided for specific tasks such as lighting a games table, many selections are available for this. Accent lighting may be installed to create a central focus or a dramatic effect. Halogen lighting produces a narrow light beam of white light which enriches color and adds sparkle. Reflector bulbs or narrow beam spot bulbs can create a dramatic shadowing vides for better insulating. After framing, the electrical wires should be roughed in along with plumbing, heating, central vacuâ€" um, cable televisions and audio wiring. Bell Telephone will usually install rough in wiring at no cost to the customer as long as the walls are open and the electrics have been roughed in. Drywall is preferred for walls and ceilings by most builders (it can be curved). Drywall is inexpensive and easy to work with. Seven architects and a landscape architect have been engaged by River Oaks Developments, Merrick Homes and River Oaks Homes to create a wonderful range of house styles and landscape treatments to assure the success of the project. A corner store is permitted in one of the houses in the West Morrison Creek project. The store will proâ€" vide residents with basic goods in close proximity to their houses withâ€" out the need to drive. This is an attempt to address the "litre of gas per litre of milk synâ€" drome" and provide a place where residents can meet, pickup their mail, and get supplies. In this issue of the Oakville Beaver, the "Housing with a Future" article will feature the West Morrison Creek project. Many of the subjects discussed in "Housing with a Future" articles are relevant to West Morrison Creek. Residents, environmentalists, home buyers, politicians, and many others will be interested in the project which we expect will be a great sucâ€" cess. Please see the "Housing with a Future" article and watch for future articles and information about the project.