Advice on finishing my basement
- Thread starter j-bird
- Start date
Bowsnbucks
5 year old buck +
I agree with Mo Buck Chaser. Put the plastic vapor barrier against the concrete to keep out moisture. Nothing sucks like mold & mildew in your new finished basement.
Also agree on permits & inspections - especially electrical & plumbing. I'd also want a second way out in case of fire. I am an electrician of 34 yrs. If your electrical panel is in the basement, I'd find a route from the panel and pull a couple spare runs of 12/2 up to your attic and let enough slack to put them in a junction box for future use. Once you close the ceiling with drywall ( if that's what you choose ),you'll have a helluva time if THE BOSS wants to add something on the upper floors in the future. I do that for people building new homes and 90% of the time, they get used down the road. If your house is fairly new, you may have hardwired smoke detectors in your home. You'll want to run a loop of wire for a zone of detectors down there. ( check local codes for number of detectors required ). Receptacles for the wet bar and half-bath MUST be ground-fault protected. Consider ALL possible furniture layouts and T.V. locations and plan on recepts. & cable jacks for those layouts. If you insulate the ceiling and you put in recessed can lights, make sure the lights are insulation-rated ( for direct contact with insulation ) or they can overheat & cause a possible fire.
These are some basics. Can't comment intelligently without lots more specifics or blueprints. Contact a licensed, experienced electrician. Good luck with the job.
Also agree on permits & inspections - especially electrical & plumbing. I'd also want a second way out in case of fire. I am an electrician of 34 yrs. If your electrical panel is in the basement, I'd find a route from the panel and pull a couple spare runs of 12/2 up to your attic and let enough slack to put them in a junction box for future use. Once you close the ceiling with drywall ( if that's what you choose ),you'll have a helluva time if THE BOSS wants to add something on the upper floors in the future. I do that for people building new homes and 90% of the time, they get used down the road. If your house is fairly new, you may have hardwired smoke detectors in your home. You'll want to run a loop of wire for a zone of detectors down there. ( check local codes for number of detectors required ). Receptacles for the wet bar and half-bath MUST be ground-fault protected. Consider ALL possible furniture layouts and T.V. locations and plan on recepts. & cable jacks for those layouts. If you insulate the ceiling and you put in recessed can lights, make sure the lights are insulation-rated ( for direct contact with insulation ) or they can overheat & cause a possible fire.
These are some basics. Can't comment intelligently without lots more specifics or blueprints. Contact a licensed, experienced electrician. Good luck with the job.
fuldraw
5 year old buck +
Put in a battery back up pump too
McLovin
5 year old buck +
Make sure you have the plumber rough in anything you may want in the future before you finish anything. Waste, vents, water pipes. You can leave them inside the wall and just write down where they are so you can find them down the road if you don't want to build a bar or bath right away. With your high ceilings I would sacrifice a few inches for in floor heat. A system like this will also get your finish floor off of the original concrete and possibly save it from moisture/leak damage. Depending on footage you could heat most basements with a residential water heater and a pump. If you want to get fancy you can lay out your piping by room and have different zones/thermostats.
Bowsnbucks
5 year old buck +
J-bird, What stage are you in w/ your basement? Got it started? Fill us in!
j-bird
Moderator
right now it's just bare concrete walls with some old carpet on the floor. I essentially have a blank slate, but budget will be very tight and more than likely will be a slow and drawn out process. I was simply looking for some ideas - I will more than likely start with the main area being essentially a TV area and my pool table. I am looking at some sort of rustic look in general with something like corrugated tin or rough sawn wood. The walls are 10 high so I got lots of over-head space as well. My biggest expense is going to be the heating/cooling. It's nice in the summer time, but it's just too cool in the winter. I figure at some point I will have a small kitchen area, an office, and some sort of "facilities" to save a trip up the steps. With a kid in college and more to follow and my habitat projects funding is going to be the determining factor in how quickly this takes. I figure I will rough in everything, but have a pro do the plumbing and electrical work. Come on powerball!
2ndHand
5 year old buck +
Hey J-bird, I finished my basement about nine years ago. Took about three years with kid in tow. For the electrical part, I bought a couple of good books from Amazon - the electrical part is not bad at all...I enjoyed the planning. I hired an electrician to do the breaker box (added a subpanel). Good luck with your project!
I can tell you that the coolest system I have seen and the one I used was IN SO FAST. http://www.insofast.com/
I saw it on a home improvement show and it worked flawlessly. It is cheaper in the long run and stronger than 2x4's. I was skeptical about gluing the panels to the wall. My skeptisms turned quickly when I did some of my test. It is super fast to install and if there is water that gets on the walls. no worries... It's literally a dream come true to install and use. All the electrical channels are built it and the vapor barrier is the panel. I would do it again in heart beat.
I saw it on a home improvement show and it worked flawlessly. It is cheaper in the long run and stronger than 2x4's. I was skeptical about gluing the panels to the wall. My skeptisms turned quickly when I did some of my test. It is super fast to install and if there is water that gets on the walls. no worries... It's literally a dream come true to install and use. All the electrical channels are built it and the vapor barrier is the panel. I would do it again in heart beat.
Catscratch
5 year old buck +
Just curious as to why you would insulate your basement. Geothermal heat pumps work off the constant temp of the ground (under the surface 8ft or so): feels cool in the summer and warm in the winter. Wouldn't you want that happening in your basement instead of insulating it out? I've never lived in a house with a basement so I don't know, but it seems to me insulation would counteract free heat exchange... Help me understand why you would insulate.
I hate being cold and damp. I will take some pics when I have some time. I travel all the time. I put in a full bath, workout room, kitchenette, rec room, and a media room. The nice part about the insofast, it is insulation too!! I really think it is one of the greatest things I have ever seen for basements. It's almost like cheating!! No studs, no insulation, no vapor barrier... ehhhhh
j-bird
Moderator
Catscratch, I will simply speak of my basemnt. It is nice in the summer time, but it gets a "sticky" feel in the air due to the amount of moisture (my basement doesn't leak water), in the winter it gets cold enough to see your breath. Most basements are not entirelyintheground to the point where they experiance that constant ground temperature - yes they are exposed to it, but often times the upper section of the walls are exposed to th outside air temps and as such can cause temperature fluctuatoins as well as causin moisture issues. The height is used to keep the home above grade on the exterior. Insulating the walls allows you to better regulate and control that temperature and moisture level than without.
Catscratch
5 year old buck +
Got it, that is easy enough. I'm a little embarrassed that I didn't think of that on my own. Probably should have thought about it for a minute or two before posting.
Thanks.
Thanks.
j-bird
Moderator
UP - were you able to just use adhesive or did you have to use screws as well? I will intend on hanging deer mounts and the like on the wall - I am concerned about it supporting weight like that. Did you use it just on the walls? I am considering using it on the floor as well. This is a really interesting product. Any insights you can pass along?
No issues what so ever. I have custom cabinets hanging on them. Look into the product and do your research. It's literally insane if anyone didn't use this to finish your basement. I am confident to say that it's stronger than studs. Plus, it lasts longer. I would never do studs again. It is fast, strong and literally idiot proof. Plus, you can cut it with a circular saw. Don't over think it. Hey.. if you want to lay out studs, run channels for wire, vapor barrier, insulate, more power too you. With that stuff, you hand will be sore from the adhesive, cause you will be putting up so fast you will need to take a break. You think I am kidding??? NOT.
HELL NO .. Adhesive and you will not be able to pull it off. don't experiment!! I didn't believe it. I had to chisel the SOB off!!! Not kidding. The local building inspector looked at it in rough in. He took one look and said.. "you would have to be an idiot not to do this." It is really that slick. I have ZERO vested interest, I am just telling you first hand it's slick as 50 barrels of owl snot. You will not regret it.
down falls.. hmmm maybe the electrical boxes?? have to be a certain size. if you cut a channel, you will need to use spray foam to back fill. That stuff sucks sometimes. Man.. I am stretching the bad. hmmm oh.. I will say the mount for the 60 inch TV that is on the wall. I drilled all the way to concrete with my hammer drill. I used Tapcon's to mount the bracket. That was for a piece of mind rather than anything else. I am sure the studs would have held it, but it was just piece of mind. Big deal really.. Longer Tapcon's.. drill into the block. zip them in. money. The stuff isn't that thick. Think about drilling through the studs, drywall, insulation, vapor barrier to the block. You need 5 inch Tapcon's for one of inch bite?? stud 3 1/2 dry wall 1/2 inch, as opposed to 2 inches. Not kidding.. it's really that sweet.
down falls.. hmmm maybe the electrical boxes?? have to be a certain size. if you cut a channel, you will need to use spray foam to back fill. That stuff sucks sometimes. Man.. I am stretching the bad. hmmm oh.. I will say the mount for the 60 inch TV that is on the wall. I drilled all the way to concrete with my hammer drill. I used Tapcon's to mount the bracket. That was for a piece of mind rather than anything else. I am sure the studs would have held it, but it was just piece of mind. Big deal really.. Longer Tapcon's.. drill into the block. zip them in. money. The stuff isn't that thick. Think about drilling through the studs, drywall, insulation, vapor barrier to the block. You need 5 inch Tapcon's for one of inch bite?? stud 3 1/2 dry wall 1/2 inch, as opposed to 2 inches. Not kidding.. it's really that sweet.
j-bird
Moderator
Thanks UP - I think you have sold me on the idea. I may have me my winter project. Once I get started I'll post some pics as things progress. I have to expand the electrical distribution system first so I got to bite that bullet andreallygetm a plan together, but it sounds like I got the wall contruction part figured out!
Catscratch
5 year old buck +
j-bird, have you started your basement? Did you use the insofast stuff?
