looks like a nice project.
it’s pretty clear this is being done without a permit. (which is what most people tend to do to save on taxes, cost, and hassle). The big downside is that selling can be tricky. Put anything about this area in the listings and a lot of towns will bust you.
Mesh tape will crack without the proper compound mix (not premix in buckets)
Like tpgsr said you should put windows in to make it actually count towards sq ft
I am either not paying attention or not getting this concept…does the hose from the sander go to the top of the bucket and the shop vac also goes to the top of the bucket? Any access floats on the water…? I’m a little fuzzy today apparently and I cannot visualize this working.
list as “partially finished basement.” should be fine. You definitely cannot add sq-ft or room count other than the bathroom as another full/half.
Both are true. Be VERY careful using pre-mix on mesh tape. If you can’t avoid it apply multiple thin coats and wait a full 12 hours between coats to allow everything to cure. If you can heat the area that helps a lot.
Or if anything happens with your house insurance will NOT cover anything
Yes not looking to sell the house for 15+ years, we had our dream house built and knew we wanted to finish the basement at some point. 2 smoke and 2 CO’s already installed and yes it’s very open. It’s more just useable space for us now, not true added sqft per selling terms but that I don’t mind. Just somewhere to drink, watch 100" HiDef and some more room for the kids to roam.
Yes we’re using regular tape not mesh and no premix, all hand mixed. Drywall was glued and screwed too for less screws and less cracking.
Don’t have it here yet for a true pic but it’s something like that but with a pole sander. Dust goes through water and kills almost all airborne soot, just need to change the water every so often. If you are needing to do any major drywall work its 110% worth the DIY time spent to make it. I can get real pics and specs when I pick it up from him.
When I find time to do mine I plan on using some of this stuff. Nice and tight to the ceiling
Here’s a DIY for the water trap vacuum thing. I’ll be building one before I start my next drywall project.
Then buying this:
Ah…OK. I got it. This will be needed for the coming summer months.
Thanks so much for this info… <3
I see the house had the original builders insulation on the walls, but did you do any more insulation behind the drywall? You normally need a vapor barrier, such as a 2" foam panel, to create a thermal break and prevent any condensation from forming behind the wall. Was there any thought to that here?
poured concrete walls are awesome and make this almost a non-issue.
How so? Ignoring water seepage, the concrete walls are going to be a different temperature than the basement air, which can cause condensation. An insulated wall prevents the warmer home air from ever touching the cooler walls, eliminating the chance of sweating.
from the pics you can see he still has the “stock” stuff and then studs past that so this is more than enough gap to take care of it as long as the room can stay dehumidified.
My basement is poured and I’ve never seen a drop of moisture anywhere and I’d do the same as him in a second. The cinder block house next door is damp to the touch in the basement often.
Spot on, yes we left a small gap between wrapped wall insulation and the studs and there will be a dehumidifier during the summer. We never had any water issues/condensation problems. There was no insulation around the garage foundation so in that area yes we took care of a new vapor barrier. We also have drop ceiling in the larger areas so it’s not a true sealed cavity and moisture will not be trapped.
Pourced concrete alleviates a lot of the condensation issues compared to cinder block. But you still should not butt the studs/sills directly against the builder wrap.
although it may not matter here…condensation comes from the space not the walls…moisture coming out of a CMU or concrete wall is being driven in from the outside. White crystalline buildup is evidence of this as that material is being driven out of the wall. Condensation is from the moist air in the space meeting the cool foundation wall…if it is at or below the dew point you get condensation…just like you would on a cool pipe.
If there isn’t air circulating along the face of the foundation wall it will tend to be closer to the ground temperature than the space temperature. When the surface is open and the space is tempered in some way this usually isn’t a problem. Once you put a wall in front of the foundation wall face you have cut off the air circulation. You have also cut off easy access to the surface for warm moist air which helps. Ultimately though air will get back there and condense. The benefit of closed cell insulation is that although it allows the foundation wall to become even cooler still…it moves the dew point away for the surface of the wall into the insulation. Since it is closed cell there is no moisture there to condense and where there is moisture the surface is above the dew point.
You very well could be perfectly fine…or you could have mold growing out of your outlet covers in a year. It’ll probably be somewhere between.
I’ll probably be doing my basement sometime in the next year…I’ll definitely have to cut the slab and I’m dreading it…it’s a very dry basement and I hate the thought of poking a hole in it
as for all of the MLS talk…most realtors aren’t going to distinguish between permitted space and non-permitted space when putting the information in the listing. Where trouble may start would be for a refinance, but only in so far as a lender may not want to give any value to a space that isn’t permitted. As it is a basement the area and rooms don’t count toward the gross living area or room count from the lenders perspective anyway because it is below grade. so it probably wouldn’t hurt you too much unless you thought you were going to turn around and try to cash out some equity when the project was done.
Wow this looks great, I love seeing a basement finished
This. One tip I read was to leave the bottom and top joints open about 1/4 inch to allow air to circulate. This is a little tricky with longitudinal studs but you could easily help hide the gap with some molding that is undercut.
Also, avoid plastic barrier against the bare concrete. Plastic should only be used if the concrete is SEALED and if you are going to insulate. Otherwise it holds moisture in place. For bare concrete in your basement your better off leaving a 1/2 gap between the framing and the foundation. Hang your wall and be done! 
Side note. My walls previously were sealed with what appeared to be 10 mil barrier. There was a ton of crystalline I had to etch off prior to sealing.
Not the best clarity but amidst my nut collection you can see the white “powder” on the walls. All this had to come off:
Back at it…snowmobiling and Snocross races took over for the last week lol
Bag of 20 set, some EDM on the speakers and a 6 pack of Sierra Nevada IPA’s tonight to start mudding the screw holes.
Taping and lots more mudding start this weekend. Will post some more progress pics soon.
I’ve never seen anyone use beer with 20 but if it works for you, go with it.
I’ve never seen anyone successfully mud a room with 20 set that shit is unworkable nearly as fast as it is mixed. Good luck!
edit: i read again. Screw holes. Duh.
Yes i read somewhere never to use water, must use delicious beer with 20 set :tup:
Hahaha, I would have to be Superman to tape and mud with 20 set. Just screw holes only, had a long day at work and didn’t feel like taping yet…started with something “easy”.
