Basement

Here is how the basement looked when I moved in. Insulation only. Time for a renovation.

The insulation was secured to the wall but I was told by the city that if I left it as is I could finish the basement without requiring a building permit. The only requirement was the the studs had to not compress the insulation at all and the bottom plate had to be protected from the slab with plastic or a plate seal. All that would be required was an electrical permit.

 

 

I noticed the sump pump runs alot in this neighborhood  and that the potential for a flood during a power outtage was pretty good so first step to a new basement was a new sump with battery backup

 

Let the framing begin.

 

and more framing

 

framing in the ductwork and I beams

 

and more framing – it never seems to end

 

Now the wiring begins after getting a permit from ESA

 

Roughed in cable, lan and pass throughs for mounting the tv on the wall while doing the electrical wiring.

 

Woohoo electrical inspection passed!

 

Now that we have framing and wiring we can start hanging drywall

 

drywall on the bulkheads also

 

now its time to tape and plaster the drywall

 

Here a rounded corner bead is installed. Just cut to size, then use spray adhesive on the drywall and the corner bead then put in place. For this type of corner bead the drywall needs a gap on the corner so the drywall ends at the edge of the framing instead of overlapping the drywall leaving the required gap.

 

Then just a little drywall compound on the corner bead to finish it up.

Now a little paint

 

Now trim and baseboards  – notice the round drywall corners

 

Now for the ceiling. You may have noticed it wasn’t drywalled. Due to the large number of items in the joists that I wanted to be able to access I decided on a drop ceiling. I went with a product called ceilinglink for the drop ceiling framework. It screws directly to the ceiling joists and only uses one inch of space so you don’t lose ceiling room. The ceilinglink components can be bought from www.ceilinglink.com and is very simple to install. It also allows you to use any standard ceiling tiles. Drywall would have been cheaper but I would have lost easy access to plumping, electrical and HVAC lines. Ceilinglink was a good compromise.

 

I went with MDF ceiling tiles and I am pretty happy with the look and the end result. I have installed the standard type of suspended ceiling with the hanging wires and this was substantially easier and faster to install.

 

The ceiling looks good with the pots lights and gives it a distinctive look. Not to mention I can access items in the ceiling for maintenance and repair and it only uses 1/2 inch more space then 1/2 inch drywall.

 

Here is a more open view with the carpet installed. The carpet is the only part I didn’t do myself but thanks to homedepot and an installation deal it looks good and the installation costs were minimal. Notice the ceiling comes in above the windows due to the Ceilinglink system so the windows can be trimmed normally instead of boxing them in to accomodate a standard drop ceiling. This I think makes it look less like a basement and more like the rest of the house.

 

And here is my favorite chair ready for me. Just needs a few pictures on the walls and we will be all done

 

Heres the entrance door to the next project – a basement bathroom. Stay tuned for pictures of that in the future.

 

 

 
Finally finished the bathroom also. People were complaining about going upstairs during hockey games

 

 

 

Feel free to contact me if you have any questions or comments