How to Finish a Basement
An oldie but a goodie. Learn how to finish a basement with legendary Ron Hazelton in this video:
"Our basement was partially finished when we moved into the house several years ago and quite honestly well there's nothing wrong with it except that several times a year it gets wet. The carpet gets soaked and I've been concerned that there could be some mold behind this wall panel. So the time has come to do something about it.
Last year Larry Janesky, the founder of Basement Systems helped me solve a similar problem on the unfinished side of my basement. I've called Larry back because in addition to being an expert in keeping basements dry, he's also an authority on what it takes to build living spaces below ground.
The basement space is different than upstairs space. We have moisture from water vapor coming through the walls, water vapor coming through the floors and you know even if we fix a ground water problem 100%, a basement is like a pit underneath the house, and the house has a plumbing system and if there's ever a leak in any of the piping systems in this house second floor, first floor, that water is going to wind up on this basement floor mold grows on wet organic material people see mold these days and you know it's a big deal. So what we need to do is use no organic materials.
Okay, rule number one, avoid organic materials.
Next our discussion turns to the ceiling. I mean it's typical with what probably was done again 20 years ago but what's really bothered be about this ceiling is that these tiles seem to sag in the center, the whole thing looks like it's kind of falling apart.
Larry's got a plan and I like the sound of it. he also has an idea for upgrading our basement windows. You won't have the mud and the weeds and the leaves and it'll bounce a lot more light into the basement because it has a white colored bottom so as the sunlight comes down it bounces off the bottom and bounces into the basement to ceiling.
And finally that floor that's always getting soggy. I don't recommend carpet in a basement because it's a sponge when it gets wet from a plumbing leak. You know mold can grow underneath it, a floor is a very important surface in the basement because it's the one you're in contact with most so you feel the cold and if you do have any kind of leak of course the water settles on the floor, doesn't settle on the ceiling or the walls. It settles on the floors.
Now if somebody else in my position who's thinking about finishing or refinishing their basement you know what kind of bottom line advice would you give. You need to use all inorganic materials so that if your basement floods nothing gets ruined you never have to do it again. This basement was finished about Oh 20 years ago and here we are doing it over because we're not happy with it. Walls windows floor and ceiling well they've all got to go if. I want a finished room down here that will be every bit as comfortable and nice-looking as the rest of the house.
The bottom edge of this panel reveals the telltale signs of my often damp, occasionally flooded basement. Well this is it, my basement stripped back to bare concrete, a blank canvas of sorts, full of possibilities. Rather than studs and drywall the new walls will be assembled from these three and a half-inch thick, prefabricated panels. The room side surface is a tough scrub able vinyl, laminated to a ceramic concrete board which is in turn bonded to high-density foam insulation. All of these materials are non-organic and completely waterproof. I was curious just how strong these panels might be so I devised this impromptu strength test using my pick up.
The results were pretty impressive. The panels are mounted in place using a metal track system. Because most basement walls are neither flat or vertical a chalk line and laser level are used to layout what amounts to a perfectly square in plumb room within a room. Once the position lines have been established the upper metal track is installed on a strip of fire blocking. Then the bottom track is positioned directly below it and attached with concrete screws. Each panel is installed by setting it on the u-shaped bottom track. Sliding it into position, tilting it up until it contacts the upper l-shaped track then screwing it into place using drywall fasteners design for metal studs. Next a sheet metal brace or biscuit is driven into the edge of the panel and attached to the concrete wall, then the edge of the next panel is forced onto the protruding flange anchoring the panels to each other. This process is repeated at each joint at eliminating any flex and making the wall quite rigid.
While the wall work continues a second team moves outside to tackle those problem windows. First the soil is removed, the corrugated window well liner is lifted out and finally the hole is enlarged and reshaped. From inside the old window was removed but the outer frame is left in place.
The new vinyl frame is slipped into position, levelled, shimmed and insulated.
Back outside a new well liner is set into place and concrete fasteners driven in. Then the flange is caulked and the liner is back filled. Inside, the windows are installed. A trim frame is set into position, leveled, shimmed and attached with screws. Finally the shims are trimmed flush.
Because the overhead is a maze of pipes, electrical boxes ductwork and more this will be a suspended ceiling that is it will hang from the joists. We begin by installing crown molding around the walls at ceiling height. Next hangers are installed at three to four foot intervals by screwing them in using a drill. Now the main beams can be hung or suspended from the support wires. Shorter sections called cross tees are now snapped into place forming a gridwork of two by two foot openings across the entire ceiling.
Now two foot square acoustic tiles are set into the grid work. Unlike typical cellulose tiles these are made using a non organic mineral fiber and have an antimicrobial coating to resist mold and mildew growth. They're also more rigid than conventional ceiling tiles guaranteed not to sag. Some ceiling tiles will house recessed lighting fixtures the openings are first drawn with a compass then cut out using a standard drywall saw.
Then the light canister is dropped through the opening and the housing is secured to the grid work. Finally the bulbs installed and the canister is pushed back up through the opening and snapped onto the housing. In addition to dimmable recessed mood lighting the room will also have energy efficient fluorescent task lighting. The fluorescent tubes themselves are u shaped and concealed behind a diffuser panel.
As soon as the lighting is finished the electrician's pull the wires for the receptacles and install the outlets. Now it's time for some trim and finish work, baseboards, door casings and a decorative column wrap. All of which look convincingly like wood but are actually made of thermal plastic resins. Our room is truly taking shape now for the finishing touch. The floor.
You may remember the old flooring was carpet laid directly on concrete and more than once had got a real soaking down here. There's always the prospect of a basement flood from a plumbing leak or the possibility of water vapor migrating through the concrete floor with this in mind the flooring we'll be putting down looks and feels like wood but is actually solid PVC, 100% waterproof. It has a honeycomb design it makes it very strong and at the same time creates an air space that insulates the floor. This type of flooring is also available as tile or carpet, both waterproof. Now this is a floating floor system that means it floats on this polyethylene pad which cushions the floor and acts as a moisture barrier. The flooring itself requires no nails or glue, each plank interlocks with the next and can be tapped into final position using a block to protect the edges.
End pieces are cut to length using a power miter saw and carbide blade. Cutouts like this can be made with a jigsaw, the pad is laid down one strip at a time, as the work progresses around the room. Quarter-round or shoe molding is used to trim out the edges like the baseboard this is not wood but thermoplastic resin. As for that column wrap we put in earlier well this split collar base adds a nice finishing touch.
That's it my finished basement is finished.
Larry Janesky drops by to take a look and make a final point. I mean I knew this was going to turn out nicely but I didn't know it's going to turn out this nicely. I knew. Basements are different than other environments and that they're going to be damp they're going to be wet at times, and you know the question that we asked have to ask ourselves, is when we do a project like this how long do we want it to last. And if the answer is we want it to last forever, or as long as the house stands without having to remodel it because it's ruined well then we need to use different materials like we've done here. And you can use different materials, not wood and not drywall, and still have it look fantastic.
This story began with a basement that looked like this. The transformation has been a bit well, magical."
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