When I first bought this place, my intent was to convert the basement into a Rec Room.
The modern term for this kind of room is “man cave” but I always hated that.
When I was a kid my dad had a Rec Room, and that’s what I want to have! The basement was large enough that it could easily hold a ping-pong table, and have room for darts, video games, and more. I didn’t want another room dedicated to watching TV, this was to be a place for games and interaction. Before it would be usable, I would need to remedy the air conditioning situation. This was a tricky hurdle to overcome, because the old furnace sat in the corner of the room. When I say this was an old furnace, you have no idea what I actually mean. This furnace is older than I am! The HVAC contractor said the furnace was probably 50 years old, and might work for another 50, because he had never seen one quite like it. It is also made of iron and steel, weighs half a ton, and can’t possibly be moved. This house could burn to the ground, but the old furnace would survive it intact I guarantee it. This furnace also generates an insane amount of ambient heat, meaning that while it gently warms up the house it turns the basement into a sauna. I decided to try installing a custom ductwork system that would ventilate the basement and help push out all of the heated air. Wish me luck!