Advice on finishing my basement

[j-bird]

I am running out of wall space so I am strongly considering finishing the basement. It is roughly 2500 sq ft with poured 10 ft walls. I pretty much have a blank slate. One thing I know I will need to do is expand the electrical capacity (I have room in my current box - I already checked). We have forced air/gas heat currently but it was not sized to heat that much additional space. I am not worried about AC as it is always cool anyway (I may need to run a de-humidifier though). The basement has been 100% dry since we built over a decade ago with a foundation drain as well. I want to finish it off in sections - I hate not having things finished. What sort of basic things do I need to consider? Eventually I see a 1/2 bath being added and maybe a wet-bar. Plans would be for a large general area, an office, future 1/2 bath, and let the rest remain storage. I am going to keep some way to shoot my bow in the basement as well. I think I want to add insulation between the floor joists to deaden sound and put in a drop ceiling. I am not sure what I want to do with the floor. Walls will either be drywall or some sort of rustic wood finish. I would put up plywood but the wife would shit a kitten! It will be my man cave, but SHE does have standards. What have you all done and what works and what doesn't. I am not the most refined carpenter either.

 

[THunter]

Add another heat/air unit. Go with electric heat pump. I off-set my stud walls from the poured walls by one inch and then insulated between the 2x4 studs. Overkill, yep, but that's how I roll. Don't use one of those drop ceilings either---makes it LOOK like a finished basement. Use sheetrock ceiling just like on main floor.

 

[kabic]

I've always wondered if I were to finish my basement what do with the air ducts. How do you sheet rock around your air ducts? Do you just let the ducts hang below the finished ceiling for an industrial look?

 

[Turkey Creek]

Depending on layout of the basement you can run the main trunk down the middle, and finish it out by framing and sheetrocking. The laterals can be run between the floor joists. Can lights are nice for a basement. Layout the basement so that the bathroom and bar utilities are exposed in the utility/storage room, much easier to work on things when they are not behind sheetrock.

 

[bryant]

I am thinking astroplay turf for the floor, rough saw lumber for the walls, a 60" TV, a mounted floor to ceiling climable tree trunk with a millennium stand for watching the big tv and shooting your bow. Maybe rig up some old Coleman lanterns with led's for lighting and hang them from the ceiling. Mounts, must have dead animals. Last but not least you need a "No Wimmens" sign for the door.

 

[Jordan Selsor]

I've always wondered if I were to finish my basement what do with the air ducts. How do you sheet rock around your air ducts? Do you just let the ducts hang below the finished ceiling for an industrial look?[/QUOTE

Kabic this is how you do your duct work. You box frame it in with 2x2 or 2x4.

J-Bird 10 ft concrete poor! You lucky dog! They make some descent looking drop ceilings but I agree with THunter drywall looks better. If you have utilities to deal with you can put furring strips on your joist. I would definalty insulate the ceiling. I didnt and wish I did (my 1 an 2 yr old sound like a hear of elephants running around on the main floor). Can lights are nice for sure. I would put a ceiling fan or two in as well. A couple of my buddies have used corrigated tin on the walls 4 ft up then transition to drywall. I think that looks sharp. 2500 square ft is allot of space you may consider saving some of that for utility rm or area to shoot your bow! I went with mostly carpet and glad I did. Gives it a much warmer feeling in the winter. Tile the entry ways. I would find a FT carpenter and tell them you will pay them cash to come work with you in the evenings and on weekends. Just

 

[j-bird]

I don't have to worry about my duct work -that was why I went with 10' walls. The lowest point in my basement is 8' off the floor. I am 6'1" to 6'5" depending on which convience store I am leaving and I HATE ducking around in a basement. Permits are not an issue since there is no external change to the house. I will investigate codes and have everything inspected as well. I am not an electrician or plumber so that work I will have done my the pro's. My concern about drywalling the ceiling is having access to my current pipes and drains for the main floor. Having the plumbing exposed to an un-finished area is a good idea as well. I also considered an "air gap" of the studs from the walls. Do I need to use treated studs? What about flooring? I am not puting in a tree stand, but I am considering getting some de-barked logs cut to cover the metal support poles - or using old barn timbers that are hollowed out. As for decorating I have similar ideas to Bryant with some rough sawn wood and maybe some tin. I am a huge cubs fan (don't judge) and one of the things I am going to do is re-create a section of the outfield wall of Wrigley with the bricks and ivy along with a set of 4 old school stadium seats. As for the deer heads - well that is why I am starting to look into this. I will have 3 shortly and my son has one as well. So finding wall space on the main floor is becoming difficult (she won't let me put one in the bedroom - well she will let me - it just comes at a teribble price......). She tells me to stop shooting these bucks. I tell her it is for a better balanced deer herd and better for the deer that way - she may not know much about deer hunting but she knows when I'm blowing smoke up her ass. Decorating will be a mix of old outdoor gear,old car and tractor stuff and my cubs stuff. It may not all match but neither does all my camo! As for keeping the ladies out well, I can make all the rules I want, and you can imagine how far that gets me - considering the wife and 3 daughters still living at home! Speaking of which I may need to double up on the insulaton in the floor!!!!!

 

[mikmaze]

low hanging ducts? jack the house up and put two more rows of block under it and get yourself a nice full ceiling height to walk around in. my 2c

 

[THunter]

My concern about drywalling the ceiling is having access to my current pipes and drains for the main floor. Having the plumbing exposed to an un-finished area is a good idea as well.

Heard that a MILLION times. I have a two-story house on top of my basement. All my utility lines for the upstairs bathrooms are in the floor between the first and second floor. My first floor ceiling is sheetrock, so what's the difference?

I used treated 2x4's for the floor plate along the concrete slab. Everything else is untreated. For flooring I used carpet with a vapor barrier, just like in my last house--a ranch on a slab.

 

[chummer]

I planing on tile for the floor when I do my basement. My sump pump is always running so I need a waterproof floor in case it stops working. Right now I used a concrete stain on it and it looks good. I know it is not a cozy feel but looks good. I would just stay away from carpet, even a dry basement is still damp and that will get into the carpet.

 

[sandbur]

I don't have to worry about my duct work -that was why I went with 10' walls. The lowest point in my basement is 8' off the floor. I am 6'1" to 6'5" depending on which convience store I am leaving and I HATE ducking around in a basement. Permits are not an issue since there is no external change to the house. I will investigate codes and have everything inspected as well. I am not an electrician or plumber so that work I will have done my the pro's. My concern about drywalling the ceiling is having access to my current pipes and drains for the main floor. Having the plumbing exposed to an un-finished area is a good idea as well. I also considered an "air gap" of the studs from the walls. Do I need to use treated studs? What about flooring? I am not puting in a tree stand, but I am considering getting some de-barked logs cut to cover the metal support poles - or using old barn timbers that are hollowed out. As for decorating I have similar ideas to Bryant with some rough sawn wood and maybe some tin. I am a huge cubs fan (don't judge) and one of the things I am going to do is re-create a section of the outfield wall of Wrigley with the bricks and ivy along with a set of 4 old school stadium seats. As for the deer heads - well that is why I am starting to look into this. I will have 3 shortly and my son has one as well. So finding wall space on the main floor is becoming difficult (she won't let me put one in the bedroom - well she will let me - it just comes at a teribble price......). She tells me to stop shooting these bucks. I tell her it is for a better balanced deer herd and better for the deer that way - she may not know much about deer hunting but she knows when I'm blowing smoke up her ass. Decorating will be a mix of old outdoor gear,old car and tractor stuff and my cubs stuff. It may not all match but neither does all my camo! As for keeping the ladies out well, I can make all the rules I want, and you can imagine how far that gets me - considering the wife and 3 daughters still living at home! Speaking of which I may need to double up on the insulaton in the floor!!!!!

We have two deer heads in the living room and that is the limit.

My youngest daughter shot the second head. If I shot the deer, the head would never have made the living room.

My dad's biggest buck is hanging in the utility room in the basement.

 

[Native Hunter]

There is certainly nothing fancy about mine, but I will show you some pics and you might get some ideas. I screwed treated farrowing strips into the concrete wall and used T1-11 exterior siding and left it unfinished. I put in a tile floor and used narrow bead wood paneling for the ceiling. I really like it and it gives the feeling of being away in a cabin when you are at home. Now that I have a good place to deer hunt, I hope to be adding some better mounts and can't wait to get last years back.:D Sorry for the blurry pics - I snapped them with an I-phone

 

[bryant]

NH, you did good. Like that a lot.

Jbird, my wife has a saying I hear frequently...what's ours is hers, what's hers is hers and what's mine is hers so I understand where you are coming from.

 

[kskid]

Jbird,
If there's any chance you'll fall asleep down there you ought to have two ways out. If it's a new house, it probably does. Older homes often don't & would require cutting an egress window through one of the walls to a stairwell up & out. If you get permits they'll know all the details. Sleeping in a basement with only one way out is bad news if there's a fire (double that if there'll be drinking & smoking down there). The silver lining is it simplifies slipping out for a late night "beer run". ;) Good luck with the project!

Native,
Thanks for the pics - Nice room!

 

[j-bird]

If you guys have something that is unique or different post pic if you don't mind other stealing the idea. I have learned that rednecks tend to see the world differently (I recently hung a pedestal style fan from a rafter with duct tape to solve a problem). Any idea is welcome. Some display you have or a particular way you arranged something or somethng you have repurposed and incorporated into your "man cave".

 

[j-bird]

Here is my current issue. Deer heads in the basement, sheds not displayed, I have another head still at the taxi, and my boys deer head is on the wall where the stairs are! You can see what happens when they are in the basement without much supervision - my girls get to them -I have them to thank for the disco ball. I have right at 2100 square feet to work with.

 

[Ben.MN/WI]

I really like tongue and groove pine for a basement. We finished our prior house with that and it was perfect - you could move mounts wherever you want without worrying about finding a stud. I would also recommend adding lots of outlets, cable lines, etc. While we were finishing our basement, I also added a surround sound system in the ceiling as well as the walls near where the TV hangs. I also added separate controls for the different recessed ceiling light fixtures so you can turn off the ceiling lights in the back of the room when you're watching a movie to cut down on the glare. I also recommend adding motion detecting light fixtures inside the walls walls of the highway around kneecap level, pointing downwards. Then if you happen to have your hands full hauling stuff in from outside you will have a lighted path when you walk in. I also added outlets in different locations on the wall so I could hang my neon beer signs without having to see any cords.

I used 2x4's to frame around ductwork.

Remember to get all permits, both building and electrical or you may have problems when you sell your house.

 

[Booner21]

We just finished our basement about 2 years ago, my pic is actually showing a wall. Drywall ceiling is cheaper than a drop looks better, and will still be cheaper if you have to replace a section and get after a leaking pipe. I screwed up this past year and left my house quick disconnect on it froze and busted had to cut a whole in the drywall. Took about 2 hours to replace I would agree that a regular ceiling improves the looks. I used treated plates for the bottom bit that was all. I did insulate the walls and it is about 5 deg cooler in the summer and comfortable in the winter. I actually shut all the vents off in the summer or it is almost to cold our upstairs is kept at 78.

We didn't do anything fancy but we left a portion unfinished for storage.

 

[gstrom99]

Don't forget to add a BB gun range.

 

[j-bird]

gstrom99, I miss my archery target enough as it is and planting a carbon arow into a solid concrete wall isn't really good for them - does a bang up job in shortening them for you though! BB gun surrounded by conctere..... I don't think so.