I am going to remodel my basement and planned to frame out 2x4 walls and hang sheetrock. Currently, the basement has wood paneling glued and nailed to furring strips, which are glued and nailed to the concrete wall(for which I could choke the previous owner.) Also, they glued what appears to be normal styrofoam between the strips to the concrete. This raises several questions regarding my transformation...

1. Is it worth my time to remove the furring strips and risk possible holes or cracking? I know that they can be sealed, it just seems like a lot of work for nothing.

2. Is this styrofoam 'insulation' common or was this guy just a dolt?

3. Would it be recommended or feasible to simply remove the paneling and leave the strips/styrofoam up? I could then complete Ed's famous walkthrough for installing a vapor barrier/insulation right over what's already there. Again, seems like a lot work to to remove it with no forseeable advantage.

Additional info: no known water issues, basement is underground

Any help would be most appreciated.

 

I am not a carpenter but I just finished framing my basement. I would just remove the paneling. The 2x4's are going to stick out past the furring strips anyway. It might be a good idea if you have moisture problems to attach a vapor barrier to the furring strips. But again the 2x4s should stick out past the furring strips and probably won't cause a probably for drywall installation.

 

It sure seems like the path of least resistance. Logic says frame the wall overtop everything else as if the wall were blank and continue as planned.

I do have a little water leak on the other side of the basement. It's near the washer/dryer and will not be a part of the remodel. However, I've already used hydraulic cement to patch it and have applied Drylok to it. Seems to have done the trick. *crosses fingers*

Thanks for the reply.