Are there any experienced ideas that can be shared with me? I am lucky enough to have a dry basement that I currently utilize in the summer. But because of the lack of insulation and 50 year old windows (there are six) the basement feels like a cave from November to April. The previous owner installed 2x3 studs around the perimeter and against the foundation on three walls, 16 inches apart and nailed on paneling. There is also a drop ceiling, with no insulation which I intend on raising about 9 inches- with a little rerouting of electric and copper plumbing. Since the six windows are odd shape (I cannot use stock). I found a dealer that will custom make all six for about seven hundred dollars (ouch)!. Here are my thoughts on the rest of the project. 1)Remove ceiling and paneling. (since walls are dry - I was hoping to skip painting the concrete walls) What do you think? 2) Leave the existing studs in place and insulate with fiberglass bats between studs and in crevice where ceiling meets foundation walls. (do I need vapor barrier) Should I use insulation that radiates heat back into the basement with the "shiny material " on the inside? 3) Put paneling back up and paint it. 4) insulate ceiling in same manner with "shiny side" facing down into basement? 5) Re-install drop ceiling, re-using tracks( Save money) but replacing wiith new 2x2 ceiling tiles. Any recomendations on ceiling tiles that help insulate? I don't plan on adding heat to the basement- I currently have an oil fired system that throws off a lot of heat, and the supply and return lines run the entire length and partial width of basement. I was wondering if I could put some fins on these lines, possibly replacing the return or supply line with a length of baseboard on the ceiling? Any thoughts? Thanks,

I've been working on finishing my basement and decided to go the route of "doing it right", so I went and got myself a building permit. I'm pretty much done with framing the walls, and so it's getting to be time for that first inspection. Having not gone this route before, I'm wondering what to expect in terms of the framing inspection. I followed what I thought were the norms, ie, studs 16" on center, 16d sinkers for end nailing the studs, fireblock in each stud pocket, etc. The village I live didn't have any real guidelines on what rules to follow for framing (like you'd have, say, the NEC for electrical work), so, like I said, I was wondering what sort of things I can expect an inspector to, um, inspect. I know everyplace is probably pretty different, but if anyone had any general thoughts on what to look out for, I'd sure appreciate it! Have a great holiday, folks! Ron