basement

Hi all, I have been reading like a madman on Doug's posts about framing. However I am still curious about my situation and how I should go about it after going through the archives. I live in the Toronto Ontario area in a 3 year old house with a bone-dry basement. It is about 80% underground with block wall and currently has insulation covered in plastic down about halfway to the floor done by the builder. Can I leave this on and build the wall out an inch from there and insulate and put on a vapour barrier? Or should all of this come off and go from scratch an inch out from the wall? Not familiar with why the insulation is halfway down the wall and how I should go about doing a vapour barrier when it comes framing time. Thanks.

Long story, but my husband and I are moving back in with my mom after my father’s death. The house is about 15 years old. The basement is pretty much unfinished, so I need LOTS of advice. And if it helps, I live in South Carolina. I had started a bathroom and bedroom before I got married, so I have them studded out. The bathroom has the wall built 1” from the cement block wall, as everyone is saying in the other threads. The bedroom, however, has 2x4’s nailed straight into the block with foam insulation in between the studs. The studs are nailed with the 4” side flat against the wall. This side of the basement is not underground. Was it a bad idea to nail the studs into the concrete block? Should we hang a vapor barrier over the studs before we hang the paneling? Also, when the guy studded the bathroom, he didn’t put up a vapor barrier. Should I go back and try to put one behind that wall before finishing the bathroom? The basement floor is concrete with no cracks and no moisture. However, we want to put a sub-floor down. We want to use 2x4’s (4” side flat to the floor) and use plywood over it for the bathroom and bedroom. We plan to lay a vapor barrier on the floor first, then use treated studs and plywood for the floor. We’ll lay carpet in the bedroom. We’re thinking of peel and stick tile for the bathroom for a quick fix. We know we’ll probably have to put something else in after a while. I don’t particularly want drop ceiling, but it’s probably the best thing to use since all the wiring and plumbing will be overhead. I have no idea how to do this myself. We’ll probably have to hire someone for that. :( I guess that’s the brief version of the story. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!