Walkout Basement Design Ideas

Place Door Near Garage

• Try to place a walkout door near the drive-under garage door. By having a door with glass panels to view the yard space, you can look outside for unwelcome visitors. For example, you can view the exterior of the home before raising the garage door with a remote control device and backing the car out. Do invest in a steel walkout door for safety reasons, and install a deadbolt.

Install Added Security

• Install safety alarms and lighting. Have a security company install a safety alarm device that monitors all of the basement space. This way, you'll feel better about utilizing the basement for a family room or laundry room day or night. Place a motion detector light outside the walkout door, too.

Install a Patio

• Build a patio space to use for grilling or entertaining at the basement. Add a set of stairs from the patio space that leads to a kitchen porch or deck, so food can be brought down to the patio. Consider building a family room or den just inside the basement to utilize with the patio space for entertaining.

Create a Handy Driveway

• A driveway area should work with the basement exterior doors. Certain items brought home that need storing in the basement, such as tools or lumber, can be transported more easily from a car or truck when the driveway gives easy access to the roll-up garage door or basement walkout door. Build the driveway wide enough to have a turn space or wide enough to hold several cars, if you will do a lot of entertaining in the patio area.

Add a Porch for Rainy Days

• Design a porch covering just outside the walkout door. By installing a small A-frame porch or slanted-roof porch, you'll have an easier time finding your keys during rain, for example. Add the porch covering to a covering for a nearby patio by combining the roof spaces or joining them. Make sure, however, that the porch roof is not too close to the garage entry space; it could get scraped while pulling the car into the basement. Build the porch roof to skirt rain away from the driveway space, and add guttering and downspouts.