Finishing Your Home’s Basement Walls
In the past, many homes built with unfinished basements and the homeowner that dark, bare, usually damp spaces used for storage, laundry, or large collections of cobwebs and dust bunnies. You may have bought yourself now and with the high price of new homes, you are looking to expand your current home to your family’s needs (do you really connected 10 story ranch houses to allow?). That unfinished basement seems to be the answer!
basement walls, basement, unfinished basement, finish, new housing, renovate, remodel, Pamela Cole Harris, plasterboard, moistureWant to do it yourself? I suggest you start by clearing the dust bunnies! Next we need to finish the basement walls. Easy, right? Just slap on some drywall and tape! Wrong. Here’s how to do it properly:
1. Look at the amount of moisture in your basement. Are the walls damp? Are there mushrooms growing in the corner? There is standing water in one part of the area? (If your kids wear lifejackets when they go down, you have a water problem). You should call a professional for ideas on how to get rid of water seepage. It will be money well spent and will prevent many problems later on be.
2. Estimate the amount of drywall and furring strips (long, thin wooden strips that allow you to attach the drywall to the concrete face) you need. For every 4 meters from the wall, place a sheet of drywall (we are assuming that your ceiling is less than 8 meters!) And 4 furring strips.
3. Screw the furring strips to the wall leaving a space of about cm from the bottom of the strip on the floor in case water seeps inside Make sure the strips of lead (use your handy dandy level) and drill holes about 16 inches apart in the wall (use a masonry bit). Drive in hardened concrete screws with your even-easier-dandy drill.
4. Install drywall Shim the furring strips to a flat surface for the dry wall to create. (Is this the point where the author makes a bad pun about doing the shimmy?) Start with the strip nearest the corner and use a long level to see if the plumb line. Use a shim, if needed, to level. Repeat the process to make sure all the strips are stained with the first.
5. Add insulation and a vapor barrier. Both are available from your local home improvement store. Placing insulation panels between the strips increases the R-value of the cellar. The R-value measures the resistance to heat loss from the basement. All you have to do is cut the insulation panel to size and press it between the strips. The plastic vapor barrier will help minimize moisture penetration. Staple the barrier strips, but try not to be overly enthusiastic with the stapler and breaking the surface of the barrier. The more holes in the barrier, the more moisture intrusion.
6. Cut the drywall. Plasterboard should be placed in the floor in case the floor gets wet. Use a ruler or a T-square to mark the cutting line on the drywall face. If you do not have a straightedge or a T-square, use the edge of a furring strip. Drywall is easy to cut with a sharp knife. Just cut through the paper directed. The piece is cut off is then snapped toward the back of the panel. You can then right through the paper backing with the knife. Easy, huh?
7. finish the look of the room Screw the drywall to the furring strips. The best way to measure where you need to screw is to snap a chalk line along the drywall at each furring strip (do you remember how far you put them?) Use 1 inch drywall screws and be careful not to screw so deep that you break the surface of the face paper.
8. Finishing the wall. Ok, now for a bit of artistry! You can use the wall looks really good – or very, very bad! Apply one coat of drywall compound in the cracks between the dry wall sheets. The layer should be about three inches wide, more or less. Then apply a strip of drywall tape and apply a thin layer of compound over the tape. Fill all screw holes with compound. Try to make the surface slippery and, if possible (easier said than done!). After the first layer dries (usually 24-36 hours,) scrape off an uneven ridges or lumps and apply a thin layer of compound with a wide putty knife. Sand smooth and you’re ready to paint!
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