Finishing Basement Walls
In the past, many homes were built with unfinished basements and the owner used these dark clouds, usually damp spaces for storage, laundry, and large collection of cobwebs and dust bunnies. You bought one yourself and now with the high price of new housing, which seeks to expand its current home to meet the needs of your family (your commitments to really allow 10 story ranch?). That unfinished basement seems be the answer!
Do you? I suggest you begin by evicting the dust bunnies! Then we need to finish the walls of the basement. Easy, right? Just slap some plaster and tape! Incorrect. Here’s how to do things:
Look at the amount of moisture in your basement. Walls damp? Is there mushroom growing in the corner? Is there standing water in any part of the area? (If you make children wear lifejackets when they go down, you can have a water problem). You should call a professional for some ideas on how to get rid of water seepage. It will be money well spent and prevent future problems.
Estimated amount of drywall and lath (long, thin strips of wood that you can put drywall on the concrete face) you’ll need. For all four feet of wall will need a piece of drywall (we assume that your roof is less than 8 feet), and 4 slats.
Screw the brackets to the wall with a space of about an inch from the bottom of the tape on the floor in case water seeps in. Make sure the strips are plumb (use your level-dandy) and drill holes around 16 inches apart in the wall (use a drill concrete). Drive hardened concrete screws with your handy-dandy drill-more.
Shim fur to create a map of the drywall. (Was this the point where the author makes a bad pun by the shimmy?) Start with the band closest to the corner and use a long level to see if it is plumb. Use a corner, if necessary, raise the level. Repeat the process to ensure that all strips are plumb with the first.
Add insulation and vapor barrier. Both are available at your local home improvement. Placing insulation panels between the bands increases R-value of the basement. The R value measures the resistance of the heat loss from the basement. All you have to do is cut the insulation panel to size and squeeze between the bands. The plastic vapor barrier will help minimize moisture penetration. Staple the barrier strips, but try not too excited about the stapler and breaking the surface of the barrier. The holes are on the fence, more moisture to penetrate.
Cut the drywall. Drywall should also be placed in front of the stage where the soil is wet. Use a ruler or T square to mark the cutting line on the face of plaster. If you have not a rule or a T-square, with the edge of a strip of fur. Gypsum is easy to cut with a knife. Simply cut the paper liner. The workpiece is it jack in the back panel. You can then cut through the cutter. Easy, eh?
Screw the drywall to the furring strips. The best way to measure if you need to screw is to trace a chalk line along the drywall at each bar (you remember how you did?) Use wood screws 1 inch and careful not so deep that the screw breaks the surface of the face paper.
Finishing the wall. Ok, now for some art! You can make the wall looks really good – even very, very bad! Apply a layer of plaster in the cracks between the sheets of gypsum. The coat should be about 3 inches wide, more or less. Then apply a strip of tape plaster and apply a thin layer of compound on the tape. Then fill all screw holes with compound. Try to make the surface smooth as possible (easier said than done!). When the first layer dries (usually 24-36 hours), scrape ridges or irregular pieces, and apply a thin layer of compound with a wide spatula. Sand and paint is ready!
You now have a blank palette ready for a wide range of decorating options: bedroom, playroom, den, family room, bonus playroom, office, gym, workshop or bowling alley. The choice is yours! The style is yours! Enjoy!
