JB's Big-Ass Basement Finishing Thread

[Jeffreybomb]

Here we go again!

I actually get more responses and input from the Off-Topic forum than I do actual home improvement forums, so I thought I'd write up my adventures (or incidents) in finishing my basement of our home.

I'm pretty excited to get rolling on this project. I learned a lot from finishing the basement in my first house. The footprint was substantially smaller: a little over 1,000 square feet with probably around 900 square feet of actual finished basement and 100 square feet of utility and storage space.

This time around, I have about 1,000 square feet of finished space to work with (and yes, I know the wood I've got in the photo isn't nearly enough to finish that amount of space; I was at the mercy of my toddler's mood at the hardware store).

Some notes on what I'm looking to accomplish or just to reference:

Here's a very, very rough draft of my home theater layout and a bullet point list of ideas that I'm considering, though are likely to be revised in one way or another as I go:

• The home theater will be its own entity, not an open floor plan to the rest of the basement.
• AV closet: a space for all the gear. I considered using media tables or cabinets under the screen. Being that this is a basement set-up, though, I want to keep equipment away from the floor. I've had good luck with IR repeaters.
  • Check on Harmony Elite remotes and hubs.
  • Omit closet door in favor of exposed devices and better ventilation.
    • Double-walling closet in absence of door?
• Two rows of seating using risers. The floor-to-joist measurement is about 8' 6", so risers for the back row of seating would be nice. I also like the idea of risers mimicking theater seating. Seating type TBD, probably couches.
• "Room within a room" configuration as well as resilient channels in the ceiling.
• I've seen some folks wish that they'd added a wooden sub-floor rather than building directly from the concrete in order to get more out of the bass effects.
  • Check Dricore subfloor option.
• I have absolutely no idea what kind of projector to get or what screen size to consider.
  • The wall that will hold the screen currently has a measurement of 161 3/4" W x 191" D x 101" H.
• I've worked at a number of concert venues that use wide PVC pipes (one tech referred to them as "rabbit holes") to run cables. They're wide enough that multiple cables can be run through them and changed out if need-be without much effort. I'm considering doing the same thing.

Updates to follow!

 

[Cheesy]

Good luck. This is as far as I’ve gotten on my side of the basement.

 

[Jeffreybomb]

Good luck. This is as far as I’ve gotten on my side of the basement.
View attachment 139683

That kinda looks like a still frame from some German minimalist movie.

We’re going to test out the miter saw tonight and see if we can run it without waking the kiddo. If it works, I’ll be able to get so much more done.

 

[Cheesy]

That kinda looks like a still frame from some German minimalist movie.

We’re going to test out the miter saw tonight and see if we can run it without waking the kiddo. If it works, I’ll be able to get so much more done.

It does, but it wasn’t intentional.

Be prepared to utter new swears when you found you’ve mitered something wrong. My wife says I am going straight to hell.

 

[Hog]

Good luck.. just redid mine and it only took 8 months

 

[Mumblewood]

Good luck, I remember when I redid mine when I first moved into my house, I’m sure it pissed me off more than a few times but now I just look at it with pride. Someday I’ll get around to redoing my garage.

 

[jazngab]

I bought my studs as needed. That reason and also I didn’t have a pickup truck. I took what I could fit in my suv. When they sit in the basement too long they warp and twist and bow anyways. Also have you looked into using metal studs instead of wood?

 

[Jeffreybomb]

So this is illustrative of how little free time I have. Wall One is laying on the floor waiting for nails.

Bonus: we figured out that my toddler’s room is far away enough from the mitre saw that it can’t even be heard in his room, which is going to free up a ton of extra build time.

 

[Jeffreybomb]

Four walls are up! Four!

What I’ve learned so far:

1. Framing for overhead obstructions isn’t as daunting as I thought it would be.

2. The more I build, the better I feel about some upcoming challenges. Namely, doors. I’m still trying to figure out how I’m going to add a two step landing to the bottom of the stairs.

3. Check where the framing nailer’s air vent is pointed before you squeeze the trigger. Had a few unplanned self-administered glaucoma tests.

 

[rasband]

I can’t wait to do mine, definitely going to follow along.

Are you guys not required to float basement walls in IL (or maybe I can’t tell in the pics)? That’s gotta be a nice time saver!

 

[Jeffreybomb]

Are you guys not required to float basement walls in IL (or maybe I can’t tell in the pics)? That’s gotta be a nice time saver!

We aren't required to do floating walls, but we are required to add fireblocking. That's going to be time-consuming and a little more costly, unfortunately.

 

[rasband]

We aren't required to do floating walls, but we are required to add fireblocking. That's going to be time-consuming and a little more costly, unfortunately.

Interesting, it’ll be fun to see that part - that’s definitely beyond my know how.

 

[Jeffreybomb]

So I had my first framing mishap. Luckily, it does not involve an injury. I decided to write about it in case anyone following the thread could learn from one of my screw-ups along the way (it will likely not be the one and only).

In the photo in this update, I framed around my first of three windows. I measured for the top and bottom headers. Strangely, I came up with two different measurements: 79 3/4" at the bottom and 81 3/8" at the top. At first, I didn't realize how wildly off those numbers actually were. I figured I was measuring something incorrectly. Being in the basement for the entire day, though, I was starting to burn out.

I cut the shorter, bottom header and brought it to the window. It fit great in its own spot. When I held it up in the upper header's spot, there was a huuuge gap between the studs and the header. For the life of me, I couldn't figure it out. Everything was level, the measurements were correct, the cuts were spot on. What in the hell?

In what was, admittedly, a decision powered almost entirely by frustration, I cut the longer header, powered up the framing nailer, and nailed the window together. I wanted to call it a day, but I have a habit of not wanting to let something go unfinished. Namely, framing out this window.

After some sleep (and an improved mood), I took a closer look at the window.

In the videos I've been referencing, the host lays out in meticulous detail how to ensure your studs are plumb between the top and bottom plates. In a nutshell, the top and bottom plates are marked simultaneously with a speed square. You draw an X on the side of the line, a mark that the stud will ultimately cover.

His videos are a fantastic reference. In fact, they're so good that I can't help but feel like a cocky bad-ass when the framing nailer comes out and I start shooting boards into place. KA-THUNK, KA-THUNK, KA-THUNK.

(Side note: "John Wick" was on TV later that evening.)

Back to the problem stud: the bottom plate was fine. The stud was exactly where it was supposed to be. I looked up at the top plate and saw the X that the stud was supposed to be covering. I'd nailed in the wall stud on the wrong side of the line, causing it to be 1 1/2" off. I was so into shooting nails that I somehow didn't realize the stud wasn't covering the giant black X I'd drawn. Thus, the wall stud was sitting at some goofy angle that caused the top and bottom headers of the window to be totally different measurements.

Now that I figured out the doofus move, I had to figure out how the hell to undo the framing I'd already nailed together. In a moment of dread, I thought I was going to have to pull the entire wall down again.

Fortunately, I have a metal cutting blade for my reciprocating saw.

My 6' level came into play: I re-marked the immobile top and bottom plates for the window to the correct lengths. I cut through the framing nails between the plates and stud. I moved up to the stud at the wall's top plate and cut through those nails as well. With the help of my circular saw, I made appropriate cuts in the window frame's plates, making them both of equal length.

I pushed the wall stud into place. Another tool came in handy: a 90° cordless drill. Once I properly lined up the wall stud, I drove a couple wood screws through the top plate and down into the stud. I double-checked my work (which I should've done before I raised the damn wall up to begin with). Happy that the stud was finally in its corrected position, I nailed the window's top and bottom plates into position.

So the moral of the story: pay close attention to what you're doing. I lost probably an hour of time evaluating and correcting the problem, but I'm glad I didn't just leave it be. I don't want to cut corners on this big-ass project and I certainly wasn't going to start there!

 

[Jeffreybomb]

A short update:

Mistakes were made...

Three things I learned today:

1. Remember to tell people who offer to help you with lumber that framing boards don’t have a finished surface and do not slide easily across skin. My wife offered to help heft boards into the basement. She got a nasty splinter on the first piece.

2. Occasionally reconfigure your extension cords. You’d be amazed how much they’ll get tangled the longer they go without a once-over.

3. Along those lines, make sure cords have slack. Don’t pull cords to their limit. A loose cord is a lot more forgiving to trip over than a tight cord.

 

[scottgraham]

Luckily this basement was finished out when we bought, but it was an 80's house.
I just ripped up the carpet and renovated what was my daughters room, now a guest room:

Now I'm doing the downstairs bath:

Last house was a 50's home, found oak floors under the orange shag carpet.
Did a full basement finish out on that one. Also had an old general store/ post office from 1908 on the property, sanded 100 years of paint off the (heart of pine) floor, sheet rocked 9 1/2 foot ceilings and turned it into a home theatre w/ 10 foot screen...awesome for sleep-overs, just throw all the kids out there and let them play the WI all night

 

[Jeffreybomb]

@scottgraham - Holy hell, my first house had so much varnish and crap on the hardwood floors (that were initially covered by crappy carpet), that the flooring company had to use what I’m reasonably sure was 1-grit sandpaper.

 

[PCO6]

I'm about 75% through a downstairs bathroom gut job and total rebuild. I'd be done if I didn't have so many Jeep & trailer projects on the go. Half of the work has been to undo what the previous owner did back in the '70s.

I put up the last sheet of drywall last week and I put that day's newspaper inside the wall for the next guy to read when he renovates my renovation 50 years from now.

 

[PCO6]

I bought my studs as needed. That reason and also I didn’t have a pickup truck. I took what I could fit in my suv. When they sit in the basement too long they warp and twist and bow anyways. Also have you looked into using metal studs instead of wood?

I used metal studs for the first time when I covered our ugly-ass angel stone brick fire place and built a new surround and mantle. They were very easy to use and are straight as can be as was the MDF for the rest of the job. The only strange thing is that when I knock on the wall it sounds a bit "tinny".

 

[Jeffreybomb]

I'm not using metal studs simply because I don't know enough about them. I learned using wood studs, so that's easier for me. If I had to learn an entirely new way of doing this stuff, the project would never get done!

I spent a lot of time yesterday trying to figure out how I'm going to get the most space around awkwardly-placed utilities: radon vent tube, sump pit, fuse box, furnace, and water heater. It would be a lot easier if they were all lined up, but the furnace and water heater are bumped out and slightly staggered from one another. To make matters even more of a pain in the ass: the previous owners had a bathroom roughed in practically right in the middle of a long wall. I have no idea what their future plans were.

I put up a short 45° wall in an attempt to duck by a few of the utilities, but ended up spending an hour trying to justify its existence. Eventually, I gave up for the night. I'm going back down there this evening to take a fresh look at it.

Three things I learned today:

1. I'm still cutting studs a hair too long. They end up taller than necessary, which means they're slightly too tall to maneuver by hand. I've been using a rubber mallet to tap them into place.

2. Warped wood sucks. Cutting it down for smaller applications makes them suck less, but still suck.

3. Connecting the shop vac to the mitre saw does very little to control the sawdust.

 

[jazngab]

Three things I learned today:

1. I'm still cutting studs a hair too long. They end up taller than necessary, which means they're slightly too tall to maneuver by hand. I've been using a rubber mallet to tap them into place.

2. Warped wood sucks. Cutting it down for smaller applications makes them suck less, but still suck.

3. Connecting the shop vac to the mitre saw does very little to control the sawdust.

I learned all of these as well. Here’s my takeaways.

1. Better to cut a little long and shave off little by little. I preferred to have to tap it in with a rubber mallet. I’ve cut many too short and had to add shims to make it fit. Make cuts err on the side of long. Can always take off more but can’t put it back.
2. That’s why I bought studs as I needed them. They warp way too quickly in a damp humid basement.
3. Sawdust will get everywhere no matter what. I positioned my cut table in a corner and minimized the dust to a corner. Also make sure to cover the area where HVAC is unless you want saw dust circulating all around the house. I made it a habit to clean up before I finished for the day/night. That’s tools and sawdust.