# Basement Project



## ThunderCAT (Jan 29, 2009)

Drywall and finish work at current state (5/27/09)


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## ThunderCAT (Jan 29, 2009)

Fireplace stone


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## shumakerscott (Jan 11, 2008)

*Dwarf*

Who was that pajama clad dwarf in one of the pic's? Looks great, dorf dude...


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## LeviDIY (Apr 16, 2009)

Excellent work... any bathroom pics?


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## ThunderCAT (Jan 29, 2009)

The smaller size of the bathroom makes pics challenging, but when we get it done, I'll post some more if I can get a good look at it.


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## ThunderCAT (Jan 29, 2009)

shumakerscott said:


> Who was that pajama clad dwarf in one of the pic's? Looks great, dorf dude...


 
That's my little man (he'll be 2 in Aug)....he really enjoyed being down there with me. I gave him a 2' level and a small hammer and he would go down there and help daddy whenever he could.


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## HABSFAN2006 (Feb 25, 2009)

Great job on your basement project! Everything looks well planned out, and I'm sure it turned out great. Love the idea of the custom fireplace in the corner. I noticed you placed your two front speakers in the ceiling, and your two rear in the wall, I am currently contemplating this exact scenario. The color is a little dark for my personal preference, but, to each his own! I do like how you've painted the sides of the bulkheads to match the walls, this seams to be common practice lately, and I think I will have to try it out. The little man maybe be only two, but doesn't it seem less like "work" when you have a little assistant? 
My Springer Spaniel currently serves as my assistant... :laughing:

Looks great, thanks for sharing!


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## ThunderCAT (Jan 29, 2009)

HABSFAN2006 said:


> Great job on your basement project! Everything looks well planned out, and I'm sure it turned out great. Love the idea of the custom fireplace in the corner. I noticed you placed your two front speakers in the ceiling, and your two rear in the wall, I am currently contemplating this exact scenario. The color is a little dark for my personal preference, but, to each his own! I do like how you've painted the sides of the bulkheads to match the walls, this seams to be common practice lately, and I think I will have to try it out. The little man maybe be only two, but doesn't it seem less like "work" when you have a little assistant?
> My Springer Spaniel currently serves as my assistant... :laughing:
> 
> Looks great, thanks for sharing!


Thanks!
The color is a little dark for a basement, but with the white trim it's not too bad. We also have a lot of lights down there, which helps too. It'll be interesting to see what it looks like when the carpet is in (going in a week from today).

Regarding ceiling speaker placement - I had some consultation from a friend that works for Best Buy's Magnolia Home Theater department. He assured me the in-ceiling speakers will be very effective (actually have three speakers in the ceiling, including the center speaker along with the R&L Front). I went with Speakercraft AIM8THREE'S with aimable tweeters, so they should work quite well. Hoping to have those hooked up to everything withing a month or so and am excited to hear everything. I ordered the receiver and subwoofer, but still have to get the TV and Blue-Ray player.


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## HABSFAN2006 (Feb 25, 2009)

Very exciting, I am hoping I will bet getting much of the same done very soon.

Did you work on the fireplace stones & mortar yourself? Was that a difficult job, I am leaning going this way, but Electric insert instead...


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## ThunderCAT (Jan 29, 2009)

I actually didn't do it myself, though I was planning on it. I was able to get installation for 50% off, so I opted to spend the money to have it done. I figure after what I would have paid in materials it was only $150-200 to have it done for me.


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## slowboyy (Jun 2, 2009)

nice job im about to get started this weekend on my basement


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## ThunderCAT (Jan 29, 2009)

slowboyy said:


> nice job im about to get started this weekend on my basement


Good luck...post some pictures of your progress! :thumbsup:

I have my laminate wood floor down in the landing and bathroom, and have all doors now installed and trimmed out. This weekend will be final plumbing (toilet and vanity/sink install) along with some painting, final touch ups and cleaning. Carpet's coming Monday, so hoping to have final inspection next week.


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## GunMetal87 (Feb 13, 2010)

Awesome color! Perfect for my new office, what color is it?


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## Lali (Oct 27, 2009)

Terrific job! Love the fireplace, tho' grey is probably the last color I'd choose. Each to his own! Cute li'l munchkin! Blessings!


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## fmj67 (Feb 21, 2010)

Very Nice Job!

I have a question, how did you attach the pink foam board insulation? I'm assuming that it's glued to a cement wall and if so, how did you glue it and what type of glue did you use?

I have to do the same in my basement and had a problem with it sticking to the wall. I ended up nailing it to the backside of the stud wall. I like what you did and want to know your process.

Thanks,
John


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## seawiz (Feb 22, 2010)

Looks great. Adds a lot of space too. Were there any bathroom pictures posted as I didn't see any?


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## Lali (Oct 27, 2009)

seawiz said:


> Were there any bathroom pictures posted as I didn't see any?


There weren't. They'll be coming around the mountain when he's done!:laughing:


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## BlueBSH (Oct 29, 2009)

Hey how high are your ceilings down there? I am working on plans for mine and I have 97" from concrete to joist then lose 10" of that where the duct work goes through...


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## ThunderCAT (Jan 29, 2009)

GunMetal87 said:


> Awesome color! Perfect for my new office, what color is it?


Sherwin Williams - Cityscape (I believe). It's actually a bit less grey and a bit more blue than what it appears to look like here.


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## ThunderCAT (Jan 29, 2009)

fmj67 said:


> Very Nice Job!
> 
> I have a question, how did you attach the pink foam board insulation? I'm assuming that it's glued to a cement wall and if so, how did you glue it and what type of glue did you use?
> 
> ...


Not 100% sure on what the adhesive was called at the moment. Purchased it from Menards. Just need to make sure it's compatible with foam substrate. I didn't have any problems with it not sticking and it was glued to a poured cement wall.


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## ThunderCAT (Jan 29, 2009)

Lali said:


> There weren't. They'll be coming around the mountain when he's done!:laughing:


I need to apologize...I've been done for awhile (since mid-June last year) but have neglected to take any photos! Totally forgot! I did just put the shower door in last weekend (officially the LAST thing that needed to be done). 

I'll take some tonight and post. Word of warning...there will be a lot of toys in the pictures! The space has been a great place for our family and little one to hang out. We spend a lot of time down there and it's nice to have his toys downstairs out of the main level (well, most of his toys are out of the main level, he still has enough up there to keep him busy!). :yes:


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## ThunderCAT (Jan 29, 2009)

BlueBSH said:


> Hey how high are your ceilings down there? I am working on plans for mine and I have 97" from concrete to joist then lose 10" of that where the duct work goes through...


We had 9' ceilings down there. The soffiits are around a 12" drop, so 8' celings around the ductwork and in the bathroom (due to a support beam).


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## ThunderCAT (Jan 29, 2009)

Here are some pictures just after carpet install in June '09 - carpet was a little darker than we wanted, but still looks pretty good. Will hide some of the wear and tear and inevitable stains from our son's antics throughout the years (he's 2 and 1/2 now).


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## ThunderCAT (Jan 29, 2009)

Here it is finished (after about 9 months of full use). I warned you about the toys! Our son's a sports freak already at 2.5 yrs old, so we play a lot of hockey, basketball and football in the basement. My wife would certainly love to decorate more fully down there, but just no need right now until our son gets a little older, and hopefully more in control of his slap shot! Ideally we'd have black leather furniture, but we had the brown stuff in a different room of the house, so for now it will do. Also need a better media center organizer. What we have now is just a coffee table borrowed from elsewhere in the house. The TV, in case anyone is wondering, is a 58-inch Samsung plasma. I went with it because it's only a little over an inch thick, and because of the wall it's on I wanted it to be as slim as possible (it's also mounted on a slim-mount). It's picture is awesome!

By far the best $ invested in the house so far. On a $ per sq ft basis, the entire project was really cheap. Also, as stated previously, bathroom is difficult to get pics of due to size. We live in MN, and the fireplace was a key addition for us. We use it a lot to take the cool edge off down there. My entire basement is below grade, and even though I fully insulated it and have plenty of ductwork take-offs, it still gets a little colder down there than preferred. Also made the little chalkboard for my son and his friends/cousins. Couple coats of magnetic paint overlaid by a couple coats of chalkboard paint and trimmed out. As you can see, it gets a lot of use! I should have used another coat of magnetic paint (or two), but it serves it's purpose.

I often get asked if I would do anything different...a couple of things:

1. Make the playroom a bit bigger. It's currently about 10.5x11. But in the future it will be used as an office or craft room, in which case size will be fine.

2. I should have planned my TV area a little better and developed a media area off to the side rather than needing to have the components, gaming systems and set top boxes directly underneath.

3. I wish I would have done better/more soundproofing directly around the speakers as I get a little bit of noise in the main level above the in-ceilings. I did wrap the ductwork with Dynamat, which helped a lot (especially with blocking noise traveling up to the second level, which we get none of).

4. I used Dupont laminate wood flooring from HD in the landing and bathroom. Wish I would have used tile. Laminate is already scratched...need to look into warranty on this.

5. The trim in the rest of the house is maple with white doors - the basement's look and feel is a bit different with the white trim. I wish I would have use maple trim to match the rest of the house.

All in all for my first big interior DIY project, not too bad and we're very pleased with it. Please let me know if you have any questions! :thumbsup:


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## DBRhino (Nov 16, 2009)

Nice work!! Looks great!


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## Stephen S. (Nov 23, 2009)

Good job with the remodel !


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