Main > Everything Else

The long awaited basement thread

(1/5) > >>

myntik1:
OK, I didn't plan ahead and take pictures of my basement before I started.  Right now I would have to say that 2/3rds of the project are completed.  I'm going to document the final portion and pass on any wisdom/mistakes I can to the next guy.  I just wanted to take my cave-like basement and remodel it to the point where it was usable space for less than 5K.

Things completed/observed/ so far:

(1) Drylok the walls.  I was going to skip this step since my basement is really dry, but I really went nuts on my walls.  Drylok ain't cheap so go with the 5 gallon bucket.  I wound up going the gallon route and regretted it later.  My basement in total is 500 sq ft, and except for 2 small areas I did all of the walls and used about 6 gallons ($25/each) or so.  I went heavy on the lok though.

(2) Polystyrene sheets.  I went this route instead of a vapor barrier.  I went with 1/2 4x8 sheets. Expect to pay anywhere between 10-15 bucks a sheet.  The R value is extremely low, but it's well worth it.  Anything that keeps moisture away from regular insulation is a necessity.

(3) Framing.  I googled it, read about it and then started my project.  About halfway through the framing a buddy came over and helped me for a couple of hours and showed me some time saving tips.  I've never built anything on this scale before, so my knack for improvising didn't always leave everything 16 OC.  Your continued sanity starts here.  If you do this right everything else falls into place.

**Even if you do this yourself you will drop money like a jewel thief with holes in his pockets, so if you don't already have a framing gun rent one for the weekend.  I griped about the coast initially, but the speed savings made the hundo for the rental worth it.

(4) Insulation.  Don't skimp.  For R13 - R15 you're probably talking about about 10 -15 bucks for a bag (bundle or whatever it's called). You need it for your walls and possibly for your ceiling.  It doubles as a sound barrier.

(5) Roughing in the electrical.  I ran all of my wires to my mounted electrical boxes.  When everything is all done I will compensate someone to come in to inspect the job and wire it into the box.  You may or may not want to go this route.  If you can claim the area as living space this might not be an option.  Since my duct work prevents this area from being classified as anything more than heated storage I'm taking the cheap way out.  My buddy's dad is a retired licensed electrcian so I'm confident in his work.  I don't know if I would call someone off of craigslist to do my job because there won't be a paper trail if something were to go wrong.  Use your best judgment on this.

(6) Sheetrock.  Bring a friend, make a friend at HD or make sure your old lady has a sturdy back because moving that stuff is an absolute pain.  Right now the new construction market is stagnant so drywall is dirt cheap.  I paid less than $6 bucks a sheet for the 1/2 inch sheets.  You should do the ceiling first.  In my case I'm leaving the ceiling open right now because some of my pipes started to sweat in the last two weeks.  I've wrapped all of the pipes in insulation but I want to wait a bit before I rock the ceiling.

I'll post pics later on tonight.   I have to hang about 12 more sheets, and then the fun of taping, mudding and sanding.

WaRpEd:
3 days and no pics?

Jdurg:
Heh.  I live in a small cape style house so I can't do anything with my basement but look at it.   :'(  Still, I'm happy to be younger than 30 and own my own house.   :applaud:  Right now, my basement has a bit of flooding due to a record rainfall in the past couple of weeks, but the layout itself just really prevents any type of finishing.  It's just good for cutting lumber and putting together a CP and eventually both parts of my cab.   ;D

myntik1:
pics are still forthcoming.  Real life got hectic between my multiple jobs and my "refuse to win basketball squad" actually making the palyoffs.

myntik1:
and finally here are some pics.  the job site was eerily quiet this weekend.









Navigation

[0] Message Index

[#] Next page

Go to full version