I am planning on refinishing my basement and have a few quick questions-

- The insulation that is currently on the outside walls has the kraft faced towards the outside, shouldn't it be towards the inside. Should I flip flop it all or can I put up another vapor barrier (6 mil plastic) on the inside?

- The basement is stubbed for a bath (3 pvc pipes out of the floor and a sub pump in the corner). Roughly how much would it cost for a plumber to install a toilet, shower, sink and hook up the sub pump?

Also, I would also like to add a wet bar near by. It would be about 6 ft away. Is that possible without raising the floor to run the pipes under? This would just be an extra, so I wouldn't want to spend too much. Not worth digging into the foundation.


- Drywall finishing- About how much would it cost to have someone finish the drywall (tape, mud, sand) for approx 1200sq ft including the ceiling?

- Lastly, I have 10ft ceilings with pipes, duct work, etc. I would like drywall ceilings but I would need to frame out the ceiling with 2x4s down about 1 1/2ft. Does anyone have any links on how to frame out a celing? Pictures would be great. I plan on placing R19 insulation in the ceiling and using 5/8 drywall. Any other suggestions besides doing ceiling tiles?

Thanks for all of your help.

Eric

BTW- I am in Duluth GA if any contractors are interested.

 

You could frame in the ceiling with 2X4s and then pay someone to drywall it.
I wonder however if you have looked into the option of a drop ceiling. I am not sure but I would think that that option would be cheaper then drywall and 2X4s.
As well there is the added benefit that if you ever need to change something in your ceiling such as fixing a leaky pipe or adding wiring etc it is very easy to access it. With drywall in the event of a leaky pipe you would have to tear out the whole area effected and have it redone, plastered and painted again, very expensive repair.

I just realized that you said options except ceiling tiles, anyways I cant remove ths post, only edit it, so just ignore it.

 

I am also curious about your question about the drain for the wet bar. You might want to add some detail about the wet bar situation. is it 6 feet away not connected at all to the bathroom, you also said without raising the floor, is there already a subfloor installed and how thick is it. Just a few questions I think the experts might also have.

I am also currently in the process of remodeling my basement and I want to install a wet bar adjoinging to my furnace room.
There is a drain to my bathroom sink about 5 feet from where the wet bar will be but unfortunetly to run the pipe on an angle to it would block off the door to the furnace room.
I have come up with a couple options for my situation that dont involve breaking up my concrete floor.

The first I am not sure if it is allowed or if it will even work, if anyone knows let me know if this is legal or not. I was thinking of running the drain down to the floor level and running it flat along the concrete and then raise up a step for the door to go over it. At the other side of the door I would then have the pipe come back up and over into the existing pipe from my sink. With this option their will always be water sitting in the lowest part of the pipe however I question how is this different then the trap under the sink, the pipe where the drain will atach is at least 2-3 feet under the height of sink so the water will flow out the other side no problem. Has anyone seen it done this way before, any insite please??

The other option I have is to run the pipe all the way around my furnace and hot water tank and then back to the drain, This will mean a total length from bar to existing sink drain of 20-30 feet, I would like to avoid having to do that if possible.

Any ideas would be appreciated, thanks.

 

unique3- Actually you raised a point that makes me reconsider my choice. I know the drywall route will be harder, more time consuming, look alot better but I thought it would also be cheaper. But with the framing, drywall and finishing it might be more expensive.

I keep going back and forth between tiles vs. drywall. I have guesstimated the cost of the tiles at around $1500.

 

Just another thougth that might be considered crazy but if you really want the ablilty to paint the ceiling any colour (thats the canadian spelling of colour) you want and you dont mind the grid of drop ceiling support you might be able to use drywall pieces instead of ceiling tiles in the drop ceiling framework. Has anyone ever tried that before.

Obviously the drywall is heavier and the T-bar would need to have more supports installed. How expensive is 4 2X4 ceiling tile verses a sheet of drywall, it might be a cheaper cross of the 2 options you have been considering.

Or maybe I have been spending to much time in my basement and am starting to loose it.

 

unique3 and ericschirm,

Why not look at page 19 of this PDF - flat ceiling Drywall suspension tracks?

This get's it up close and you can drywall, paint. It's fast and easy! It takes less room than 2x framing.

http://www.usg.com/expert_advice/pdf/Chapter_01.pdf

Just a thought

 

Doug Aleshire- Wow that's awesome. Thanks for the link. About how much money would it cost for around 1200 sq ft? Can a novice install it? Where can I buy it?

 

ericschirm,

You're very welcome! I'm always trying to help!

OK, here goes -
Main Track is approx $4.20 for a 12 ft pc.
4 ft tees are $1.45 each.
Wire hangers (don't know price)

Figure out your room based upon what you need and you'll find this a very inexpensive way to go. Don't forget about the wire to hang all this!

This can be done by a novice and if you rent a laser level, this will make installation easy and fast.

Glad you liked the link! I use these allot in basements with low headroom or even those with high ceilings to get around all the things that get in your way. Makes for a clean look - hang drywall and tape - Done! Faster than all the wood framing and costs are far cheaper in both labor and material. By the way, you make tray ceilings from these just by using self tapping metal screws. Works great!

Also, this is not a HD item, contact a local drywall supplier or a good lumber yard. This is USG Drywall Grid System when you ask if they carry it.



Let me know what you think!

 

Doug Aleshire- Again thanks for taking the time to expalin this to me. Have you had any problems with the drywall getting stress fractures or cracks?

Eric

 

Eric,

You're very welcome!

I guess I have to ask what are you referring to? With the projects that I have designed and completed, I have not seen any cracks nor have any clients called to say they have a problem.

Usually, what you describe has been evident when improper construction was done, i.e. poor soil conditions, poor foundations/footings, undersized headers, wet lumber at time of construction and the most troublesome is bad taping jobs. Stress cracks are caused by the slow "shifting" or "settling" of your house over time. Issues like this are caused by movement in the underlying structure. These cracks generally radiate out from door and window openings where it is more readily to move since there is a semi-break in a full framed wall. The same applies to bearing and non-load bearing wall corner locations. Sometimes it may be caused by lumber that is drying out and it starts to warp or shrink. This is more evident after a new home is built in which the wood is getting rained on and temps do not allow for good drying by the time the structure is enclosed and/or heat is applied. If moisture cannot be relieved properly, this creates potential problems.

Drywall improperly installed, or using 1/2" on a ceiling when there ceiling joists/trusses are 24" apart is one area where I have seen problems.

This has worked well if there are problems and a friend wo is a drywall gave me these tips that would work great for corners and also on walls/ceilings. FIrst thing is to get a good quality latex caulk. Use an acrylic or siliconized acrylic caulk - you want one that is "paintable". It is best that this caulk be clear as you can easily use any color of paint without having to go over it numerous times. After applying to a corner or area with a caulk gun, wet your finger and smooth out the area in one pass in corners. This can be done also with a putty knife on flat areas where you leave a slight layer, so don't press hard to remove all of the caulk. Don't sand any of these applications but do let them dry for at least 24 hours. Then apply a second coat, if necessary. At that point, then apply a primer and paint. If done well, this will allow for virtually "repair free" fixes and will resist cracking again a years. There are new products out there like one that is called "Crack No More" and it is in a spray can. It is paintable and does work very well. Others will widien the crack are, use fiberglass mesh tape and re-do. This does work well but only time will tell.

Hope this helps!