# A few Q's on Finishing My Basement - Is there a FAQ on this?



## Termite (Apr 13, 2008)

ossrocks said:


> I have a house built in 2001 with a 44'x26' basement that is partially above grade on the east 26' run but otherwise mostly beneath grade. I have no known leaks but I do have a few hairline cracks mostly in the grout path. Recently, to reduce the dust odor in the basement more than anything else, I applied Drylok everywhere.
> 
> There is one small 6' wide area that was damp because the water faucet had frozen and burst (woops) and ran for nearly four hours. I'm not very concerned about this at the moment because I don't intend to build a wall in that corner and it had dried before I applied the Drylok.
> 
> ...


Hope this helps!


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## Garasaki (Apr 14, 2008)

ossrocks said:


> - If I'm building my walls on a plywood subfloor I don't need to use any treated lumber for the bottom plate right?
> 
> I would consider doing the treated bottom plate anyway. What is the downside? A very small amount of extra money. What if your basement ever floods - like an 1" of water is in it (or even less). Above the platon. And subfloor gets wet. Then the bottom plate gets wet - either because the water hit it or it soaks up water from the subfloor. I dunno just seems like really cheap insurance.
> 
> ...


I'll get back to you in about 2 months on that last one.

Biggest regret so far - misjudging both the time and money involved. I put a hefty fudge factor into my budget but still missed by a decent amount. Wife is not happy about that. Never ever came close to fathoming the time and pure amount of work involved. Probably 300% longer and harder then I would have conservatively guessed. Wife is not happy about that either.

If only she would realize how much quieter the ductwork is....


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## ossrocks (Jan 6, 2009)

thekctermite: thanks! I will look up some more info on the furnace specs. I don't intend to make anything a bedroom so I may be fine there. Lots of good info but I'm confused on this:




> Coating the wall does not nullify the treated wood requirement.


I'm really confused on what is the "right" way to frame the outer block walls. Do they get pushed up against the block, do you put a barrier between the block and the veritcal studs, etc? 



Garasaki said:


> Biggest regret so far - misjudging both the time and money involved. I put a hefty fudge factor into my budget but still missed by a decent amount.


I'm actually in the planning stages and calculating lumber, drywall, plywood, lighting, etc. requirements in a spreadsheet. What areas did you under estimate? I can imagine the whole time aspect. I spent the better part of six days off over the holiday hand brushing drylok and I'm not done yet 



Garasaki said:


> I would consider doing the treated bottom plate anyway. What is the downside? A very small amount of extra money. What if your basement ever floods - like an 1" of water is in it (or even less). Above the platon. And subfloor gets wet. Then the bottom plate gets wet - either because the water hit it or it soaks up water from the subfloor. I dunno just seems like really cheap insurance.


I see your point but if this happened wouldn't I need to cut out and replace the water damaged plywood sandwiched between the platon and the bottom plate? I've always been hesitant to put treated lumber in the house but I guess as long as its not arsenic treated it won't be any worse than the pieces already on top of the block 



Garasaki said:


> Anyway I really like it so far. I wish I had done it before my walls. It would go REALLY fast with nothing to cut around. There really isn't any fastening involved on the platon itself, except at the overlaps and there are instructions for that. I am tapconning down the OSB I'm putting on top of it.
> 
> I think you'll find it's a much easier install then you imagine. Sorta like building with legos. But definately get the wide rolls.


I found a place in Indiana that only stocks the 8'x65' rolls and has a 2 roll minimum, but they'll ship it to me for free. I believe it was $220 per roll so it'll cost me $440 for 1040' feet. When you say get the wide rolls are you talking about the 10' ?

I'm actually hoping to do the platon flooring part soon but my wife wants to "see" it, so if you have any scrap pieces let me know ;-)


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## Garasaki (Apr 14, 2008)

I missed the most on electrical and plumbing. Oh and final flooring. The crazy thing is I do construction cost estimating for a living (well it's part of my job... :huh: )

Figure 50 bucks per recessed light fixture. Figure out how much wire you think you need and multiply by 2.5 or 3. Crazy as it is, it takes about 20' of wire to go up and down a wall. So if you have a run that runs 10' in plan view, it will end up taking probably over 30' of wire to run in the field. The price of wire fluctuates greatly. It's about 40% lower now then when I started. I 'spect it'll go back up. 

Good light fixtures or ceiling fans will put you back 300 bucks a piece. Or you can buy cheapo stuff from the borg at 1/10 of the cost.

Figure a shower will set you back 500 or so (remember you gotta get it in the front door, which rules out 1 piece units, the cheapest alternative - don't ask me how I know).

Lumber's cheap compared to everything else. But you'll use more then you think. There's lots of studs you'll need to double up. And the top and bottom plates eat up a lot of footage. Sheet goods (drywall, plywood) are easy to estimate. 

I didn't have any money in for ductwork changes.

Flooring is way more then you think. 4 bucks a sf will buy you decent carpet. 

Don't forget cabinets. Countertops. Mirrors. Paint (30 bucks a gallon and a gallon only covers maybe 300 SF of surface - do the math). These things cost way more then I'd have thought. And I forgot em to start with.

There's always cheaping out on stuff - carpet, lights, plumbing stuff - but my opinion is why spend all this time and money only to put the cheapest light fixture on the shelf in? Quality shows and you get what you pay for.

Builders carpet for instance - saves you a bunch of money and looks good for about a year and a half...

Anyway, you may think I'm crazy, but I'd suggest throughly doing a detailed budget - then doubling it.


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## Garasaki (Apr 14, 2008)

Menard's carries the 7' wide rolls of platon, for basically the price you just mentioned. It's not with the flooring and stuff. It's by the builders desk with a lot of the roofing or siding stuff. And it's something they keep in the yard so they only have 1 on display then you grab a ticket.

There is also platon in a 3.5' wide (I think) roll that's exactly the same product. THe 7' roll is marketed as the foundation waterproofer. But it's the same thing. And a bit cheaper. And way less overlapping.

Hopefully there is a menards nearby. If not, I think orange or blue carry it too - one or the other does. I'm not sure which.

EDIT oh yeah I have plenty of scrap. To be honest I can't promise to ship any soon (too busy trying to finish) but I could post pictures. Or if you have a menards nearby, just go see it in person.

I was able to fit 2 of the 7 foot rolls in my car. 97 accord 4 door. But only juuuuuuuuuuuuuuuust barely and I spent 30 minutes in the cold and snow figuring out how to do it. Would have rather just taken the pickup and payed a bit more for gas...


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## Garasaki (Apr 14, 2008)

Dont' forget tools either. 100 bucks dosent buy you much in the way of tools and you'll need several if you don't already have em.

Having the right tool saves a lot of time and frustration too.


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