Basement concrete wall painting/interior design-esque question

First post here...so be gentle.

We bought a house with an unfinished basement in the summer of 2008. We're getting around to putting some finishing touches on it. Everything but the bathroom has drywall up, all of the outlets are wired and whatever has drywall up has been primed and most of it has been painted (ceiling and carpet yet to come when everything else is done).

To my question...

Some of the areas in the basement have concrete walls (some floor-to-ceiling while others are "half" walls). I've uploaded some images for illustration purposes.

The hallways are primarily drywall and we put bead board on the bottom half and chair rail to "edge" the top of it. We primed it with "new drywall" primer and painted the primed drywall "Wickerware" (a Behr shade of yellow). There is a concrete corner where the concrete runs from the floor to the ceiling as seen here.



How would you paint it? All the same color (in this case, Wickerware)? As an accent wall (i.e. a complimenting color such as grey -- we found one we liked called "Lion")? And when you paint it, would you use any kind of texture first (i.e. a Behr textured paint) to try to hide any of the concrete pores (to eliminate the "basement feel")? Would you bead board it at all? If so, to the same height as the rest of the hallway? Or would you put bead board from floor to ceiling (even though supposedly you can only get it in 8-foot tall sheets)? My wife wants it so it doesn't "feel" like a basement...but part of me thinks that the more you try to "hide" it, the more you have people wondering what we're trying to hide. Then again, I personally think if you have painted the drywall a flat (non-textured) yellow and the concrete a textured yellow, it will feel "weird" since they are the same color but a different texture.

Also, there is a "bedroom" that has a similar situation -- but instead of being floor-to-ceiling concrete, it's only about halfway up the wall and is shaped like an "L" on its side (i.e. the concrete runs higher up the wall at one point along the wall than at another). It sticks out about two inches from where the drywall is (we didn't build the wall out, nor do we want to if we can help it). Same question applies here...would you do the drywall one color and accent color and/or with texture for the concrete? Or just bead board over it and then put a chair rail/edging on the top that would cover the two inch ledge? Thanks for any and all feedback.

Image here, here and here. (NOTE: The vertical area behind the ladder is a drywalled "boxed out" area covering some pipes and not concrete. In the last image, you'll see how it really "falls off" in the corner and only goes a few feet along the windowed wall).

 

Welcome to the forums!! Since you didn't frame out and fir out the concrete wall and apply sheetrock to it, face it...it is concrete. If you want wainscoting, you can always glue it to the concrete with a product like PL400, but I am afraid the roughness and irregularities in the concrete will not make for a flat finish. I would paint the concrete a and ledge a different color than the upper wall, just to give it an accent. The short "L" excepted. Leave it the same color as the walls as it tends to blend in with the window sill height.

 

I'm surprised you don't want to finish the rooms to make them habitable. They would not pass the minimum code requirements right now, or after just painting the concrete. Insulation is required on the basement walls, how much is on the exterior side? Are you getting a permit for the work? To do that much work and not cover the concrete or the mechanical overhead seems lacking..... It will always have that "basement" look because of this.

Gary

 

GBR - Are you sure there is a requirement for insulation of concrete when finishing a basement? Not knowing where the OP is located it's tough to make a "code violation" call. In my area insulation is not required below grade.

TheEdge - You could probably grind any high spots off the concrete and glue wainscotting directly, but furring it out might be easier.
Another option to consider is to surface finish the concrete. You can resurface the concrete to provide a stucco like textured finish. That will give the concrete a finished look.

 

I agree with Wayne. I've never heard of a code regulation for insulation on a geothermally correct below grade basement.

 

Good point, Wayne. Only Zones 1 and 2 (a few States) are exempt from basement insulation if under the 2009 IRC:
Basement wall R-value requirements:
Chapter 11 - Energy Efficiency
Footnote: Basement wall R-values: c. The first R-value applies to continuous insulation, the second to framing cavity insulation; either insulation meets the requirement.

Look for your zone on the map for required insulation or not, or in the Tables below the map: Chapter 11 - Energy Efficiency
Local Codes may apply.

ps. I was going to mention that I doubt they have basements in Fl, but it is similar: A Florida Basement is a Rare Thing

Gary

 

That's new to me. Just another example of the building materials industry driving the code bus. And driving the cost of houses up.

Stupid.

 

Lol. We should have taken stock in Simpson or foam board...... Who would have thought.....

Gary

 

Wow, thanks for all of the replies, folks. I wasn't sure I was getting any since I didn't get any "notifications".

Anyway, I'm in Georgia -- Cobb County -- which is Zone 3(a). Gary implies that I would need insulation, but others are making it seem as though I might not.

We insulated between the studs where we applied drywall, but...we know a lot of people that live in colder climates than us (i.e. Iowa) and none of them have put insulation over the basement concrete.

By its nature, doesn't concrete have an "R" value? The "code" spec sheet says "basement walls" -- does that refer to just normal "walls" in the basement or "concrete walls"? I highly doubt most people put insulation over concrete and then somehow affix drywall over it...especially those whose basements are entirely concrete.

Somebody else mentioned "mechanical overhead"...sorry for being dumb, but is that "piping", etc. that is being referred to? If so, that will be drywall "boxed in" eventually before we hang the ceiling.

Thanks again for all of the replies.

 

If I were in Georgia I wouldn't worry too much about below grade insulation. Call your building dept and see what they have to say.

My daughter in Rhode Island has a fully finished basement. The exposed concrete below grade is not insulated. It's drywalled over 1X furring strips. The basement is warm and cozy.

BTW - I think poured concrete is a poor insulator. It's all that dirt outside that's responsible. You have to consider that the insulation requirement is something driven by the insulation manufacturers.

 

Thanks for the thoughts, Mitchell. There is some exterior insulation on the exterior of the house where the ground meets the foundation. We might try to add to that and help insulate the above ground foundation. Below the ground, naturally, there's not a whole lot we can do outside.

I think we're going to drywall over the concrete areas and essentially "box" the concrete walls in and the cover the edge/"ledge" with some kind of chair rail. Trying to figure out what kind, if any, of thin insulation we can squeeze in between that would stick to the concrete with adhesive while still allowing us to hang drywall. Perhaps we'd need to run concrete screws through the drywall into the concrete to "seal it all" together?

 

UPDATE for anybody who cares....

The father-in-law was in town this past week and we used a hammer drill to hang 1x2s on the floor-to-ceiling concrete wall and 2x2s on the bedroom concrete wall. Once those were up, we used packed fiberglass insulation sheets against the wall and hung drywall over it. On the bedroom walls, we put a chair rail, a ledge and then baseboards. On the floor-to-ceiling wall, we put chair rail, baseboards and will eventually put bead board in between the two. It turned out pretty nicely.

Now, we just need to figure out what colors to paint them.

 

Oh, we care. We read 'em all. Here in Georgia, below grade insulation is not necessary since the walls are geothermally correct. The walls will stay the same temperature year round. Not because of the concrete, but because of the dirt on the other side. "Packed" insulation is no insulation. It must loft to provide insulation properties.
Glad it turned out well.

 

Ha. Thanks for the reply, Chandler.

Technically, not all of our basement is "below grade" as the yard slopes downward towards the back of the house. Figured might as well insulate it all before we put up the drywall...because once you put it up, it'd be a pain in the butt if you wanted to go back and put some up later.

The concrete walls do feel slightly cooler in the winter than they do in the summer and we try to keep the rooms an even temperature. The bedroom walls now have ~R8 fiberglass insulation (from "mini rolls"). It was originally about 3" thick, but it got squeezed down to about 2" since that is all the 2x2" furring strips would allow. We didn't think as high of an "R" was required for the floor-to-ceiling wall since it is completely below-grade. It was an R4 pink foam sheet that we got from Home Depot. Those were only about an inch think since that was all the 1x2" furring strips would allow (we would have gone with 2x2s but then the drywall would have extended past the door jamb for the "under-the-stairwell" closet door.

All in all, the project cost about $500 ($100 of which was for the hammer drill). Even if we don't stand to gain a ton from energy efficiency, hopefully, it will increase the resale value with the "true finished" look. If nothing else, it looks better to us and the wife is happy.