Finishing my basement.

[Stefan Antwarg]

A friend of mine has me convinced that finishing my basement myself is something I am capable of doing. Doing it is one thing but doing it right is another. I am open to any tips you may have. Also, I have a specific question. The floor joists are nearly 9 feet from the concrete floor. As I make the stud walls and put them up, I know that I am going to be nailing it to the floor. But, standard 8 foot studs will not reach the floor joists. Should I nail them directly into the block foundation? Or should I just build stud walls that are high enough to reach the joists? And then just use standard 8 foot drywall - thus wasting a lot of wood? I plan on installing a suspended ceiling which will hang below the major support beems, so I won't need to hang drywall higher then 8 feet.

Thanks
Stefan

[Jason Roehl]

Stefan, do some shopping. More and more houses are being built these days with 9 or 10 foot ceilings throughout. You may find studs that are cut to the proper length, or you may just have to cut down some 10 footers. As for drywall, there are now other sizes of that available as well. In addition to the standard 48" (in 8-16' lengths, varying thicknesses) drywall, you can also get 54" and 60" (multiply those by two and you get....9' and 10'!) So you can see with the available widths, you can stack two pieces of drywall on a wall, and get 8-10' in 6" increments without cutting. You'll just have to shop your area, I'd probably start with a drywall supplier, not the borg, though they may have it too.

[Jason Thaxton]

Stephan,
Do you want to insulate your basement? If so I would frame up a standard stud wall that way you can insulate. You can still insulate if you nail directly to fondation but you will have to use a ridged foam type insulation and the money you save in lumber you will loose on much more expensive insulation. If you decide to go with nailing directly to the foundation I would use pressure treated lumber any where you contact concrete or any other moisture permiable surface. Personally I would go with the standard stud wall insulated with a pressure treated bottom plate. I would also try and keep the ceiling as high as possible you can frame out hvac and beams or leave beams exposed. The higher ceiling will make the basement less like a basement. Good luck I am sure you can do it if you have questions there are plenty of qualified people to help out on this board. good luck

[Jim Becker]

Personally, I like metal studs on a PT bottom plate for this application. Goes up quicker and is easy to do. I used this method in my previous home and it was a winner.

[Stefan Antwarg]

Jason

Yes, I will insulate. I don't plan on doing furring strips, so I will use regualr insulation. I was talking about nailing the top of the stud wall to the blocks because a standard 8 foot stud won't reach the joists.

I like the idea of having a slightly higher ceiling, but framing the soffit could be avoided if i just do the ceiling below that.

What about the Metal studs? How are they easier?

Stefan

[Jason Roehl]

Actually, anywhere wood studs come in contact with concrete, they must be PT. Non-PT wood will wick moisture out of the concrete and subsequently rot or create a prime mold/mildew situation. Often, the walls are built as regular stud walls set an inch or two away from the concrete walls of the basement (set on a PT bottom plate, of course). Insulation can be foamboard behind the stud wall, or kraft-faced stapled to the studs. The nice thing about the set-back from the concrete is that you can run all your wiring in the dead space, as long as you staple it.

[Wes Bischel]

Stephan,

I would agree with what others said about the walls - go full height and insulate the whole way up. A contractor friend I have would build the wall on the floor, put a vapor barrier on the back then lift into place with caulk on the sole plate - insulate with batt and drywall. Another tip is to use 1/2" plywood for the first 3" from the floor instead of drywall - just in case any water gets in. The plywood will be covered by the base molding and provides a break to prevent the drywall from wicking up the water. Oh, and the dimensions Jason was giving were to run the drywall horizontal -you get 9' from two widths. FWIW
When it comes to ceilings, give me a shout - I spent 17 years in new product development for one of the big ceiling manufacturers (I'm sure you can guess which one). I can give you hints on picking a good ceiling, installation and if necessary how to build bulkheads etc.

Wes

[Stefan Antwarg]

Wes,

You lost me on some of the terminology. I am a real beginner at this. If I could afford it, I would be hiring someone. Other then this black and decker book I bought and my friend who will help, I have no clue about ceilings. And, I don't know what company you are talking about.

Thanks

[Jim Becker]

Stefan, given Wes's geographic location (and yours, come to think of it)...Armstrong comes to mind!

BTW, regarding metal studs, I find them easier for this kind of project because you can install them so quickly. Once you have your top and bottom plates located and the end studs screwed in place, you can quickly "snap in" the remaining studs and go right down the line with your screw gun (or crimper). You should still use a PT 2x4 bottom plate on the concrete floor to both keep the metal out of the potential dampness as well as provide a nailer for baseboards. But even if you use wood for your walls, if you have any soffet work to do, metal is a joy to use becasue it's so light in weight. No hammering, short and sharp screws and quick cuts with tin snips make for quick work here, too. IMHO, of course.

[JayStPeter]

Just finishing my basement shop w/ 9' ceilings. 104 5/8" studs are pretty commonly available (even Lowes has them). With a top/bottom stud that's pretty much 9'. I actually had to cut a little off and make them exactly 104" as my joists were not quite 9' at 107" strong. The 104's are significantly cheaper than getting 10'ers and cutting them down. You can also buy 4.5'x12' drywall to cover the 9' walls. You can only get that at building supply places.

Jay St. Peter

[Wes Bischel]

Stefan,
Sorry about the terminology, sometimes I assume everyone already knows what I know. :rolleyes: What would you like me to clairify, assuming any of what I said is of interest?
Mr. Becker is, as usual, correct about my former place of employment - Armstrong - or as we old timers called it "the cork works" (started out as a bottle cork mfg).

Anyhow, what is the finished basement going to be used for? A new shop maybe?!

Wes

[Stefan Antwarg]

Wes,

Bulkhead, sole plate, and batt were the words I didn't know.

Since I have only been living in PA since last September, I don't know much about companys from this area.

The basement will be used for a family room. Home theater equipment, bar (there's another project). Actually, my current workshop is in the space where I will be finishing. The workshop will be placed in a smaller area now :( That sucks but the family room is needed.

Jim,

If I am making the walls first and then just putting them up, are the metal studs still easier? I can see the advantage if the top and bottom plates are up. But my friend told me he prefers to make the walls first. Also, is screwing stuff into the stud more difficult than with wood?

Stefan

[Wes Bischel]

Stephan,

Bulkhead - typically how dimensional forms are referred to in the ceiling. In your application if you boxed out an exposed beam or heating duct with studs and drywall - this would be a bulkhead. Also referred to by some generically as soffits, though I always made the distinction that soffits were at the perimeter - "L" shaped versus "U" shaped for bulkheads.

Batt - refers to fiberglass batt insulation - the big rolls

Sole plate - the 2x4 used horizontally at the bottom of the wall. This is the framing member others were suggesting be pressure treated.



Here are a few links to drawings in PDF form using light metal framing (T-bar grid) for soffits and bulkheads (for reference - don't let them get you frustrated, they are really simple things to design and build). If you feel more comfortable with wood, just imagine the bulkhead/soffit framed with wood instead, still tied to the acoustical ceiling grid for consistency and keeping the ceiling panels on full module (no perimeter cutting of the panels). I added the flush perimeter because it does a really nice job creating a finished aesthetic for the ceiling.

http://www.armstrong.com/commceilingsna/3555.html
http://www.armstrong.com/commceilingsna/3414.html
http://www.armstrong.com/commceilingsna/3538.html

Hope that helps, Wes

[Stefan Antwarg]

I see. Now I understand. All things that I know about, but just different words. The horizontal and the vertical support beams are both made out of wood. So, I guess I could always nail drywall directly to it. Or, maybe I could just cover it with thin sheets of cheery (or some other nice looking hardwood). Or I could just stain it. So, I am not too worried about those.

Stefan