Basement Finishing
#1
08-25-04, 07:19 PM
Basement Finishing
1) What is the correct order for putting up basement walls? By the way, I live in upstate NY.
I have read some posts that say to put up a vapor barrier against the concrete wall, then put up the frame and insulate. Other posts say to put up the frame, insulate and then put on a vapor barrier.
2) Should I put the frame right up against the wall or leave it away from the wall? The house is fairly new and the walls are pretty straight and level.
3) Do the wall need to be attached to the wall/floor or is nailing them to the floor joinsts above sufficient? I thought I read a post that said if you get them in tight enough you don't need to nail to the wall/floor.
I have read some posts that say to put up a vapor barrier against the concrete wall, then put up the frame and insulate. Other posts say to put up the frame, insulate and then put on a vapor barrier.
2) Should I put the frame right up against the wall or leave it away from the wall? The house is fairly new and the walls are pretty straight and level.
3) Do the wall need to be attached to the wall/floor or is nailing them to the floor joinsts above sufficient? I thought I read a post that said if you get them in tight enough you don't need to nail to the wall/floor.
Last edited by DaveT; 08-25-04 at 08:10 PM.
#2
08-26-04, 05:11 AM
The vapor barrier against the wall is generally a good idea. You can do a simple test to see if the concrete is allowing much moisture in by duct taping a 2' x 2' (roughly) piece of tinfoil against the wall and another against the floor, let it sit a day and peel off - you'll see if there is any moisture on the tinfoil. If so, you need a moisture barrier for certain.
Then frame out the walls - ideally not against the cement, but framed in about 1" from the concrete. In NY you'll want to put in batted R-13 insulation in the basement, with the paper side facing in toward the room to keep moisture from the room away from the insulation. Do not put another moisture barrier or you may trap moisture between the layers and cause problems.
Yes, make sure to attach them to the floor, or the bottom of the wall could move over time - and that would be a pain to fix. Having them nailed into the concrete also adds support for drywall/pictures/etc. that will be on the wall. I would do the concrete nails regardless of how tight you get them in.
A suggestion - use a double layer of 2x4 at the top of the wall attached to the joist. When you hang drywall on the ceiling you'll cover part of the top 2x4, so you'll be very happy when drywalling to have the second 2x4 under it. Same with the corners, you need additional boards to support drywall. (Take a look at the how-to's on this site.)
Then frame out the walls - ideally not against the cement, but framed in about 1" from the concrete. In NY you'll want to put in batted R-13 insulation in the basement, with the paper side facing in toward the room to keep moisture from the room away from the insulation. Do not put another moisture barrier or you may trap moisture between the layers and cause problems.
Yes, make sure to attach them to the floor, or the bottom of the wall could move over time - and that would be a pain to fix. Having them nailed into the concrete also adds support for drywall/pictures/etc. that will be on the wall. I would do the concrete nails regardless of how tight you get them in.
A suggestion - use a double layer of 2x4 at the top of the wall attached to the joist. When you hang drywall on the ceiling you'll cover part of the top 2x4, so you'll be very happy when drywalling to have the second 2x4 under it. Same with the corners, you need additional boards to support drywall. (Take a look at the how-to's on this site.)
#3
08-26-04, 09:28 AM
Thanks for the info. The walls are wet this summer with all the rain we have had and I haven't been real good about running the dehumidifier. I removed the blanket insulation because it just seemed like it was trapping the moisture in there. I am now getting it dried out and plan on putting DryLok on the walls before continuing.
When you said I should put a moisture barrier against the wall, I assume you meant plastic? If so, how do attach the plastic to the wall?
When you said I should put a moisture barrier against the wall, I assume you meant plastic? If so, how do attach the plastic to the wall?
#4
08-26-04, 10:18 AM
We hang a clear 6 mil poly over the wall and hang it from the sill plate up there Let the 2X P/t bottom plate rest on it. R 13 in the studs paper to the room and another 4 mil poly over that ,then dry wall.
Ed
Ed
#6
08-26-04, 10:39 AM
The poly hangs down and on the floor some . Ifso just set the bottom P/T plate right on it
Just small staples to hold it up to the sill plate. Dont forget to cut blocks of R19 insulation and put them in the joist up there on the sill plate all around the home also.
ED
Just small staples to hold it up to the sill plate. Dont forget to cut blocks of R19 insulation and put them in the joist up there on the sill plate all around the home also.
ED
#7
08-26-04, 01:23 PM
Another way of saying what Ed means is that you take a big sheet of plastic, staple it to the top horizontal 2x4s used in your walls around the room(s), let it hang down between the wall and the 2x4s underneath the floor horizontal 2x4s, then staple the plastic on the interior side of those bottom horizontal 2x4s.
That will form a complete shield between the concrete wall and the 2x4s, as well as some protection between the bottom horizontal 2x4s and the concrete on the floor.
Reminder - use treated 2x4s on the bottom just in case they get wet so you don't get mold. This is especially important since you said you actually have wet walls now - EXPECT MOLD & WETNESS!
I'm fortunate, the house I just bought went through a ton of rain earlier this summer, and not a drip or hint of water or swet coming through the concrete.
That will form a complete shield between the concrete wall and the 2x4s, as well as some protection between the bottom horizontal 2x4s and the concrete on the floor.
Reminder - use treated 2x4s on the bottom just in case they get wet so you don't get mold. This is especially important since you said you actually have wet walls now - EXPECT MOLD & WETNESS!
I'm fortunate, the house I just bought went through a ton of rain earlier this summer, and not a drip or hint of water or swet coming through the concrete.
#8
08-31-04, 07:15 AM
Another Damp Basement Refinisher Jumps In
Read this thread with great interest - just closed on a house this morning - it had a bone dry basement (even after a very wet summer) when we did the first and 2nd looks, but we did a 48 hr walk through on Sunday, during a torrential down pour and found puddles on the floor. This basement is already finished with paneling, but I plan to remove it and install drywall. My gut instinct was to do it as posted here (poly, studs off the wall, insulate, more poly) - but I've heard it said not to trap the insulation in poly (I believe I even read that in this thread) 
- and this morning, I even thought it might be wise to do greenboard instead of drywall. Would that make sense?
- and this morning, I even thought it might be wise to do greenboard instead of drywall. Would that make sense?
#10
08-31-04, 11:05 AM
Puddles on floor
We're pretty sure that the torrential downpour caused the shallow window well to fill up, and the water came through the basement windows - we plan to replace those windows with glass block right away and add some drainage to the window wells - still have a question about poly/stud/paper insulation/poly/drywall (layers from the outside in) some posts say not to poly inside and outside layers, some say do....
