I am working on doing a quick “remodel” of a basement room. Its a walk in basement that the door currently doesn’t shut, its damp as hell and there is no insulation on the ceiling so the upstairs floor is always ice cold. I also want a better place to work on and store the bike since getting it deeper in the basement involves some really tight corners that I’ve already scratched the bike, and the outside barn is just mice heaven (bike sat 1 week and had a nest in it :banghead). Anyways, I’m re-routing some electrical quick so I can put up the insulation and some quick sheetrock on the ceiling and I’m down to just this last little box thing. I cannot figure out what the hell it is. It seems to go to lighting but there are 2 “terminals” on the face of the box and small 22awg-ish wires that follow along the basement to an unknown location The only wording I can find on it looks like Bell_ 10 volts (possibly says 110volts, but I am not sure). I’m at a complete loss right now and if its nothing big, I’ll tear the f’er right out.
Thanks in advance.
Sorry for the really crappy and small pics. My cam was dead so I had to use my phone.
I cant see shit. bigger pics! does it have a few smaller wires coming out? It maybe a door bell transformer. Do u have a doorbell? lol just a shot in the dark.
I am using moisture barrier. I am hoping to try to insulate it as much as possible to stop losing all of the heat in the house through that floor. In addition, I am hoping that it will reduce the amount of cob-webs that I am constantly walking through while trying to get anything done… lol. Once I get that “room” closed off to the rest of the basement, I am hopefully going to put a de-humidifier in there to help keep it somewhat dry and turn it into a decent workshop. Plus, I think once I get the entrance door fixed so it actually seals, it should help some of the moisture issue… probably not much but hopefully some.
wait a minute… worst thing in the world you can do in a moist basement is add a moisture barrier and trap more moisture in…especially if your gonna sheetrock it… insulating the floor wont do much unless there is cold air entering the basement, in which case, that should be addressed. Moisture barriers on the floor and walls in a basement is best, along with insulation on areas not below the frost line…but the ceiling is a bad idea…unles you have a vent system to control humidity… which can effect temperture…which in turn may require floor insulation… vicious cycle.
Just want to add that I find a significant amount of mold and wood destroying insect damage in sub-structures that have a moisture barrier on the ceiling of a moist basement. basement are meant to breathe. That said… insulation on the ceiling, with active ventilation in the moist basement might work fine… use purple or greenboard of course.
The electrical box your discussing is most likely a doorbell transformer. (looks like several small “plates’ if you will and is about 2.5” square). Cant have 110v going to a rainy location that we intentionly touch. The transformer steps the voltage down.
You do make a valid point that I didnt think of. The issue with the cold is mainly b/c the door is completely rotted out and so that room of the basement is always ice cold with full airflow going in and out of it which makes the upstairs cold. Currently that room of the basement is not very damp, its mostly the rest of it. I was thinking that when I close it off by fixing the door, it may cause that room to become damp as well. The biggest thing I want to the ceiling for is to keep the damn cobwebs off of my head/face while I’m trying to work. I think I’ll work on getting the door fixed first then see how damp it gets and go from there.
Thanks for the info!
Here are a few more pics that are a little better. The power goes into the box, then out to the light right next to it; and then also tee’s off and goes out to the back porch area. The small wires go out to the porch area (2 wires) and out to somewhere around my kitchen area (2 wires). 1 wire from each area is connected to each other so it would seem like it goes out of the box, out to area 1, out to area 2, then back to the box… but I have no idea since I have found nothing above where the small wires go through the floor.
It’s gotta be… it’s just weird as hell b/c where it goes through the floor is at the complete opposite end of the house as the front door… lol; and none of the wires go anywhere close to a door. Oh well… I’ll pull it out and see what I lose.
Neither is mine. Mine is on the complete opposite side of the house. I didn’t realize what it was until after it was unplugged and my neighbor tried ringing my doorbell one day.
