# NickWa's Basement Renovation



## NickWa (Nov 17, 2011)

One thing we have to address at some point in the renovation is having our fuse panel changed out to a circuit breaker panel. We have 200 Amp services and all copper wiring but we would like to get rid of the fuses in place of breakers.










Easter of 2014, I had a couple days and wanted to frame in the furnace room. Local code dictates mechanical rooms need 32" doors so I made the room as narrow as I could. Was hoping it wouldn't protrude into the room as much but I had no real choice.

Laying out the walls to get a visual idea.



















A few hours later with the help of my father and brother-in-law, we got ourselves a furnace room!










Spring came and basement work went on hold while I built a new deck and took care of some other landscaping.























































BUT ANYWAYS, this is about the basement, so in August, we got back to it!


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## NickWa (Nov 17, 2011)

The 1970s brown carpet glued directly to the concrete had to go. I knew it was going to be painful. 4" razor blade scraper took all the glue down. I am lucky that the concrete was so smooth underneath.



















FINISHED!










In September (until March of this year) we have had a couple staying at our place in the basement bedroom so we can't do any work on this side until they leave. We set up a small rec room for them to use until they leave (1 more month).










Here in Canada, XPS is about twice as expensive as the US. I found a guy selling leftover XPS he bought from Menards in the US. We bought it all and turns out it is exactly what we will need to do the exterior block walls in the basement!




























Next up, new windows!


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## Windows on Wash (Aug 30, 2011)

Nice updates.

Panel is definitely due for and upgrade but the wiring looks pretty tidy (by comparison to what you normally see).

Love the BMF wheels on the truck by the way. Always love their stuff.


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## NickWa (Nov 17, 2011)

We knew when we moved in that all of the windows would need to be replaced at some point. They were/are all wood slider windows. The upstairs are in good shape but the basement were very leaky. We knew we were RIGHT on the edge of the windows being legal egress and the type of window didn't make a difference. We ended up going with awning and are so glad we did. The lack of vertical divider really makes the window seem larger. 

So here we are in September of 2014 now.










I took a long time to formulate a plan. I was worried about breaking the parging but in the end went for a direct to block fit and it turned out great. The parging didn't get damaged at all!



















Window is out! We hit it from the outside with a sledge hammer after taking out the panes.










...and in...










Finished product. Very happy with the fit and finish of the windows. They were far easier to replace then I was expecting. We could feel an immediate difference in the climate of the basement after the replacement. Again, very impressed with the windows and love having the awning windows. Note, although the awning only opens so far, the scissor bracket has a quick disconnect on the bottom in the case of an emergency. 2 seconds and the bracket can be popped off and the awning popped up all the way for easy exiting of the basement through the window.


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## NickWa (Nov 17, 2011)

Now we are into 2015. Since I had the XPS ready to put up, I needed to get rid of the couple walls in the "unfinished" side of the basement.



















Didn't take long to take down the Poly and take out the fiberglass insulation. Found some moisture behind the walls. I am confident this is just warm air moisture from inside the basement that had condensed on the cold block. The walls weren't sealed on all sides so it was inevitable for some moist air to get back there.




























A day or two later after moving some stuff around I did the other 2 walls.



















Again there was some moisture and even some frost!?!?! in the corner cavity where the 2 walls met.










This is where I am at right now. I am letting the walls completely dry and then I will use a brissel brush to clean them up. Once cleaned up and thoroughly inspected, I will start putting up XPS with PL-300.

A picture from this morning.










In the interim, I will present a couple Sketchup plans we have going for the basement.


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## NickWa (Nov 17, 2011)

So here is the Sketchup that we are currently going with. Things may change but as of now, we think this is the best layout for the space. Right now, the bathroom in the model is a bedroom, and the bedroom in the model is the "finished" rec room. The unfinished space will become the main family room with gas fireplace.

We are on septic and our line exits in the laundry room (to the right of the stairs) 4' up the basement wall. We will need to plumb the basement bathroom in the slab and install a sewage ejector pump but that will be after the rest of the basement is finished.





































And for fun, here is a Sketchup of my 24x24 garage I am in the process of working on too.










And for a little more content, here is the fireplace in the basement. We had initially planned to do a horizontal gas fireplace on the other side of the room and take out/close up this fireplace. But, after more thought, it makes more sense to utilize the current fireplace and not lose any floor space. We will go with a standard square unit from Regency.

Still have to figure out how we will install it and whether or not the steel firebox (heatilator?) needs to be removed, if we can leave it, or if we can just cut out the back of the box to allow for the new gas fireplace insert to fit and vent up the chimney (liner).



















(It's behind the paneling as you turn right down the stairs and walk into the room)










I am hoping the walls are all dry by this weekend so I can take the brush to them and get them all cleaned up and prepared for XPS!


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## NickWa (Nov 17, 2011)

Well I got started on the XPS yesterday. Put up 5 sheets and cleaned up some of the stains on the walls. I mixed javex and water and used a scrub brush on some stains that were up. Put the fan on and let it dry last night and today the stains were gone and all the walls were dry!



















This morning I took down the wood - so much nicer and warmer than concrete blocks!










Today I went up and bought a sheet of 1.5" XPS (to use on the top of the block wall under the joists) and some sheets of 2" foil-faced foam to use in the joist spaces. Then I put up 8 more sheets of XPS on the walls.



















Tomorrow I am going to start cutting the pieces for the joist spaces and top of the block. It will all be secured and sealed with spray foam. 

There is 1 Home Depot here and some small independent hardware stores (which are closed Sunday). Home Depot had no tuck tape or PL-300 left. All of the other stores are closed Sunday (and tomorrow is a holiday so all stores are closed) so I will not be getting any tuck tape or PL-300 until at least Tuesday. As I said, I will continue with the joist spaces and top of block tomorrow.

I think I am going to use my Sketchup drawings and figure out how much framing I need for the "unfinished" side. Once I have the XPS completed I can start framing.

We also went and looked at the fireplace insert we are going to get. Got the spec sheet for it and got pricing on everything. Should be pretty nice and 30K BTU!


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## NickWa (Nov 17, 2011)

Well got a bit more done today, nothing too impressive.

Put up the rest of the XPS in the room and removed all of the fiberglass from the joist spaces. About 75% of the joist spaces had some frost (not sealed from the rooms air) so they are going to dry for a few days before I put in the foam. 



















You can see that I have a piece of XPS over the fireplace opening right now. That piece goes above the heatform. I haven't secured it yet because A. I need to fill the couple voids in the blocks in the upper left, and B. I have no PL-300 left. Figured I would put it over the fireplace to block a bit of the cold air coming through.



















Wednesday I am going to go back to Home Depot and pick up some Roxul board which I will use to insulate the wall around the fireplace opening. Hopefully they have a couple more tubes of PL-300 in stock and some tuck tape.

Depending how ambitious I feel, I might pick up the lumber I need to frame out the walls on this side of the basement. Figure I need:

70 * 2x4x8 (about 15 spare)
1 * 2x4x10
2 * 2x4x12 
1 * 2x4x16 
2 * 2x4x8 Treated
1 * 2x4x10 Treated
2 * 2x4x12 Treated
1 * 2x4x16 Treated 

Also wondering if I should frame the walls on the floor and stand them up or stick frame them by attaching top and bottom plates first? Everything seems nice and level and square but I can't say for sure. I will be working by myself if that matters and I don't have a pneumatic framing nailer. Any advivce?

Finally, I have my gas guy coming Thursday to run a new line from the manifold by the furnace to the fireplace. Figure I should get this done now so I can continue working on walls without needing to worry about having to run the gas later.


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## PD_Lape (Nov 19, 2014)

Seems like you really thought things through. +1 For not forgetting insulation and another +1 for the sketchup. Very detailed and very informative. Looking forward to updates. Thanks for the share mate.

-Paul


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## Gary in WA (Mar 11, 2009)

Double check with AHJ on the egress windows required height above the floor.... and any supply air to HWT gas appliance or just louvered doors on furnace room. Foam under the XPS to floor for air seal or caulk/sealant as it does shrink with age. XPS under the wood frame wall plate also. Where in Canada are you that 1" XPS works on walls? Research clearances of XPS around the fire-box... looks good!

Gary


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## NickWa (Nov 17, 2011)

Gary in WA said:


> Double check with AHJ on the egress windows required height above the floor.... and any supply air to HWT gas appliance or just louvered doors on furnace room. Foam under the XPS to floor for air seal or caulk/sealant as it does shrink with age. XPS under the wood frame wall plate also. Where in Canada are you that 1" XPS works on walls? Research clearances of XPS around the fire-box... looks good!
> 
> Gary


Thanks for the reply. As for the windows, the requirement is that: "Each window in a bedroom shall have an individual, unobstructed open portion having a minimum area of 3.8 ft^2 with no dimension less than 15”.

My glass literally works out to 3.7xxx square feet. It doesn't qualify as an egress window. The basement "bedroom" will be an office with a bed. I am not worried about safety because there is far more room to escape with the awning open then if the window was a slider with the vertical center divider. The height may be a problem but I don't have any requirements for that in the basement development guidelines I have.

I was told by the hot water tank installer that having a decent sized gap under the door would be sufficient. The furnace room is approximately 130 square feet (900 cubic feet).

I do plan to seal all of the seams in the XPS with tuck tape and seal the bottom to the floor with spray foam. I will also be sealing the foam in the joist spaces with spray foam. There will be no way for warm conditioned air to come in contact with the concrete when I am done! I don't plan to put XPS under the wall but instead use a sill gasket sealer (pink thin foam) and pressure treat bottom plate.

I am treating XPS as a combustible (very flammable as far as I know) so it will be outside the allowable clearances recommended by the gas fireplace insert. In other words, 6" away from the sides and 15" away from the top. I am still trying to figure out how to vapor barrier this part but am planning to use Roxul board and Roxul batts inside the combustible clearance zone.




PD_Lape said:


> Seems like you really thought things through. +1 For not forgetting insulation and another +1 for the sketchup. Very detailed and very informative. Looking forward to updates. Thanks for the share mate.
> 
> -Paul


Thanks for the compliments. I over-think and over-plan everything. I spent hours figuring out how I was going to go about replacing my basement windows and dedicated an entire weekend to do so. When the time came, it took around 1 hour per window and was FAR easier than I was expecting. It is much less stressful to over-plan and be underwhelmed then the opposite.


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## ccleme11 (Mar 20, 2013)

did you not have to install any fire-blocking in your basement?


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## NickWa (Nov 17, 2011)

ccleme11 said:


> did you not have to install any fire-blocking in your basement?


I haven't been able to find anything in my local codes about it. I suppose I can call and check. When I considered it early on in my project, everything I found talked about what to do to cover the gap between the basement wall and the stud wall. I will be erecting my stud wall as tight as possible to the XPS so no real gap behind. I found this picture in another city's basement code guideline showing the top plate of the wall as the "fireblock".


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## Gary in WA (Mar 11, 2009)

The spaces between the 2' on center blocking will allow fire to access the joist cavities/other side of basement, up plumbing holes/chases to roof, house burns up and down at same time with no egress as too high up and night with no lights from fire... US now required to list all "sleeping rooms" with egress as too many deaths from rec. rooms with a bed added later; http://publicecodes.cyberregs.com/icod/irc/2012/icod_irc_2012_3_sec010.htm?bu2=undefined

The sill sealer is an air barrier, moisture barrier but only R-2 against the warmed wood wall acting as a "heat sink" 24/7 to the cold slab on earth. 

Where in Canada, we can help you find your code requirements to keep your family safe, they are counting on you.

US fire-blocking; http://www.diychatroom.com/f98/how-fireblock-framing-37190/

Gary


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## NickWa (Nov 17, 2011)

Hi Gary, I am in Thunder Bay Ontario. I might stop by code office today if I have time.


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## PD_Lape (Nov 19, 2014)

NickWa said:


> Thanks for the compliments. I over-think and over-plan everything. I spent hours figuring out how I was going to go about replacing my basement windows and dedicated an entire weekend to do so. When the time came, it took around 1 hour per window and was FAR easier than I was expecting. It is much less stressful to over-plan and be underwhelmed then the opposite.


I completely agree but you still took it to the next level. It does make things easier and a lot less of a hassle. I often plan things out but still end up missing a couple of things since I don't really give it much time. More often than not, not having a plan makes a project more expensive than it should've been. Things are looking good for you so far. Thanks for giving us quick updates. :thumbsup:

-Paul

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Enjoy massive daily discounts on cleaning and office wholesale supplies 
_Ad removed, moderator_


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## 123pugsy (Oct 6, 2012)

I was just checking my building code and from what I'm reading is that basements are exempt from the height requirement?? See #(2)
After this section, I can't find any other reference for heights for basement egress windows. 


From the OBC 2012:

9.9.10.1. Egress Windows or Doors for
Bedrooms
(1) Except where a door on the same floor level as the
bedroom provides direct access to the exterior, every floor
level containing a bedroom in a suite shall be provided with
at least one outside window that,
(a) is openable from the inside without the use of tools,
(b) provides an individual, unobstructed open portion
having a minimum area of 0.35 m² with no dimension less
than 380 mm, and
(c) maintains the required opening described in Clause
(b) without the need for additional support.
(2) Except for basement areas, the window required in
Sentence (1) shall have a maximum sill height of 1 000 mm
above the floor.
(3) When sliding windows are used, the minimum
dimension described in Sentence (1) shall apply to the
openable portion of the window.
(4) Where the sleeping area within a live/work unit is
on a mezzanine with no obstructions more than 1 070 mm
above the floor, the window required in Sentence (1) may
be provided on the main level of the live/work unit provided
the mezzanine is not more than 25% of the area of the live/
work unit or 20 m2, whichever is less, and an unobstructed
direct path of travel is provided from the mezzanine to this
window.
(5) Where a window required in Sentence (1) opens into
a window well, a clearance of not less than 550 mm shall be
provided in front of the window.
(6) Where the sash of a window referred to in Sentence
(5) swings towards the window well, the operation of the
sash shall not reduce the clearance in a manner that would
restrict escape in an emergency
(7) Where a protective enclosure is installed over the
window well referred to in Sentence (5), such enclosure
shall be openable from the inside without the use of keys,
tools or special knowledge of the opening mechanism.


.


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## NickWa (Nov 17, 2011)

Not too much done today. Taped some seams after finally finding some tuck tape in town. Have to move some stuff around tomorrow so I can finish.



















Also still waiting on Roxul ComfortBoard to be back in stock so I can finish sealing up the fireplace vents and finish the rest of the block insulation. Guessing it will still be a week or so until it's back. Hopefully the PL-300 will be back in stock before then.

Had the gas guy come to run the line for our future gas fireplace insert. After hanging out with him while doing the job, I won't be paying for anymore gas work. Black iron seems fairly straight-forward (pain in the butt having to get pipe threaded) but the CSST is really easy. If I had known in the first place I would have got the supplies myself and did it. Oh well, got to learn from someone with lots of experience.



















Went to Canadian Tire and was checking out the weekly tool sales. Couldn't pass up this deal on a cordless lithium ion gas-fueled framing nailer. Regular price $349.99 on sale for $139.99. Picked up a 2-pack of Passload red fuel cells and a 1000-pack of clipped head framing nails to feed it. Haven't tried it yet but I am very excited to. I planned to do it the old fashioned way but had been keeping an eye on the pneumatic framing nailer. It went on sale for $99.99 once and a while but I have a big compressor in the garage so I'd have to run a long line through the window to use it - didn't want to buy another one to use inside. From what I've read, the fuel cells last a decent amount of fires.


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## NickWa (Nov 17, 2011)

123pugsy said:


> I was just checking my building code and from what I'm reading is that basements are exempt from the height requirement?? See #(2)
> After this section, I can't find any other reference for heights for basement egress windows.
> 
> 
> ...



Thanks for the information. Regardless of height, I am just barely too small on glass size - shame really as I can easily climb out the window at 220 lbs!

Are you able to see anything in the code book about fire-blocking in the basement (for Ontario)?


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## NickWa (Nov 17, 2011)

NickWa said:


> Thanks for the information. Regardless of height, I am just barely too small on glass size - shame really as I can easily climb out the window at 220 lbs!
> 
> Are you able to see anything in the code book about fire-blocking in the basement (for Ontario)?


I found a copy of the Ontario building code online on the e-laws site!

Here is what I found about fireblocking. Will require reading 5 more times before I fully understand it ha ha.



Ontario Building Code said:


> 3.1.11. Fire Blocks in Concealed Spaces
> 
> 3.1.11.1. Separation of Concealed Spaces
> (1) Concealed spaces in interior wall, ceiling and crawl spaces shall be separated from concealed spaces in exterior walls and attic or roof spaces by fire blocks conforming to Article 3.1.11.7.
> ...


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## NickWa (Nov 17, 2011)

NickWa said:


> I found a copy of the Ontario building code online on the e-laws site!
> 
> Here is what I found about fireblocking. Will require reading 5 more times before I fully understand it ha ha.



I think this is the relevant part.



> 3.1.11.2. Fire Blocks in Wall Assemblies
> (1) Except as permitted by Sentence (2), fire blocks conforming to Article 3.1.11.7. shall be provided to block off concealed spaces within a wall assembly,
> (a) at every floor level,
> (b) at every ceiling level where the ceiling forms part of an assembly required to have a fire-resistance rating, and
> ...


Going by my comments in red to the bolded text, I think the way I am constructing my walls will negate the need for fireblocking. I left a message for the building inspector yesterday asking him about it but I haven't got a call back yet.


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## 123pugsy (Oct 6, 2012)

Glad you figured all that out for me as I will be doing the exact same thing in about a year.


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## NickWa (Nov 17, 2011)

^^^ That's my interpretation of it anyways. I called the code inspector and left a message but haven't heard back yet.

Small update from today. Got the bottom of my XPS spray foamed and the west wall joist spaces foamed and spray foamed. Still have to do the North and East joist spaces but I am giving them a bit more time to dry as there was frost up there when I removed the batt insulation last week.

Not too exciting...



















Home Depot is having a 10% off with your Home Depot card sale right now so tomorrow evening, I am going to go pick up all my electrical and the framing I need to complete this side of the basement. Our renters are moving out March 17th so I will demo the other side after that and get the XPS up over there too.

Moving along, albeit slowly.


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## NickWa (Nov 17, 2011)

Here is my plan for doing around the fireplace / fireplace insert. I need 6" on the sides and 16" above for combustible clearances. I will do steel studs over Roxul board for the non-combustible part and Roxul batt in the stud cavities. Outside of the non-combustible zone will be normal wood studs over XPS, and fiberglass batt.

X = XPS
R = Roxul Board
Brown = Wood framing
Green = Pressure Treat plate
Blue = Steel stud


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## Windows on Wash (Aug 30, 2011)

Looks solid. I would still use Roxul beneath the fireplace.


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## Gary in WA (Mar 11, 2009)

If that is only one layer of XPS on the wall, you may have problems... R-5 (1") with R-15 frame wall cavity insulation fill gives a temp (above grade) of the CMU /foam inside face of 25*F. Safe to only 20% Relative Humidity at 68*F room temp. 

R-10 XPS w. R-15 cavity = 33*F (during the coldest three months average high/low temps for your location; http://www.currentresults.com/Weath...thunder-bay-temperatures-by-month-average.php) and safe to only 25% RH.

R-10 and no cavity fill = 58*F and 70%RH. Check locally, I thought all Canada required min. 2" XPS. 

Imperative that you foam board the tops of the CMU's; between your new XPS and the wood plate edge, with air-sealed joints as well. 

Gary


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## NickWa (Nov 17, 2011)

Gary in WA said:


> Imperative that you foam board the tops of the CMU's; between your new XPS and the wood plate edge, with air-sealed joints as well.
> 
> Gary


Let me look into that somewhere. I'l scour the code book here.

In regards to what I clipped above, I am not sure what CMU is? On my West wall (where I put the foam in the joist space already), the sill plate comes right to the outside edge of the block, so I brang the XPS over top to the bottom of the joist and filled the joist space with 2" foam.

On the North and East walls, the sill plate does not come to the edge of the block so I took 1.5" off the XPS, I am filling the gap between the sill plate and the outside edge of the XPS with 1.5" XPS, and will then use the 2" foam in the joist space.


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## 123pugsy (Oct 6, 2012)

CMU= concrete masonry unit = concrete blocks


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## NickWa (Nov 17, 2011)

123pugsy said:


> CMU= concrete masonry unit = concrete blocks


Thank you.

In that case, I will have all of the concrete block sealed off from the interior. Tuck tape and/or spray foam will be sealing all of the edges.


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## RHeat (Nov 14, 2014)

NickWa said:


> So here is the Sketchup that we are currently going with. Things may change but as of now, we think this is the best layout for the space. Right now, the bathroom in the model is a bedroom, and the bedroom in the model is the "finished" rec room. The unfinished space will become the main family room with gas fireplace.
> 
> We are on septic and our line exits in the laundry room (to the right of the stairs) 4' up the basement wall. We will need to plumb the basement bathroom in the slab and install a sewage ejector pump but that will be after the rest of the basement is finished.
> 
> ...


I love the layout you designed


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## NickWa (Nov 17, 2011)

RHeat said:


> I love the layout you designed


Thanks! It is pretty basic but my the fiance wanted a nice open foyer at the bottom of the stairs and the rec room to be as big and open as possible.

Also, we were sort of restricted for the laundry and bathroom because the septic line out is behind the dryer at 4' up the wall. It would be way too much work to move the laundry (and consequently bathroom plumbing) so that is staying where it is.

We have 3 bedrooms upstairs (and plan to add on ~500 square feet one day) so only 1 basement bedroom (office/den) was needed.


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## NickWa (Nov 17, 2011)

Well, since Home Depot was having one of it's semi-regular 10% off sales, figured it would be a good time to get all of our electrical (usually doesn't go on sale) and framing for the one side of the basement.

$1150 later I had all of the electrical (minus a 6-pack of recessed lights that they were short) and majority of the framing for the side I am working on now.



















Went for the Siemens 40/80 circuit 200A breaker panel that includes the following breakers: 1-Q115AF, 12-Q115, 2-Q120, 1-Q215, 1-Q230, 1-Q240. Will need to buy a bunch more 115s and a 260 for the garage, but pretty good package otherwise. Wanted to go with Siemens to match my new garage panel I put in last year.










Since Home Depot is out of stock on the Roxul board, I found another retailer in town who carries it and also carries steel studs so I will go pick those both up tomorrow. If they have treated wood (Home Depot doesn't carry treated over the winter) I will get that too for my bottom plates, otherwise another lumber yard near me has it.

Excited about getting all these supplies so I can continue moving forward once I have the joist spaces all insulated and spray foamed.

Also ordered an "all-in-one" laundry basin with a nice 28" base cabinet and white acrylic top. Come with flexible tall faucet and a stainless wire pull-out drawer. We couldn't believe the drawer was included as we purchased one for our kitchen in our old house, and it itself was $100. Paid $270 for the cabinet. Pictures once it comes in.

Hopefully next update will be an actual work update and not just supplies!


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## NickWa (Nov 17, 2011)

Well, got all my XPS insulation done and the rim joists all insulated. I will stuff batts up in the rim joists as well before I build my walls but avoiding playing with batt insulation for today. Still need to get my hands on some Roxul board and steel studs but I can almost start setting up walls!


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## NickWa (Nov 17, 2011)

Got my steel studs and pressure treat 2x4s. Still trying to get ahold of Roxul Board and if I can't in a reasonable amount of time, I may just go with Roxul batt.


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## NickWa (Nov 17, 2011)

Well, got a bit done yesterday and will be hard at it once everyone leaves in a couple hours. We have a couple staying in our basement bedroom (they are leaving March 17) so I don't like to do work while they are home. They are paying us to stay and I'd rather not annoy them with the lovely sounds of a chop saw and Ramset gun.

Yesterday I got all of my plates marked and cut. I got the PT bottom plates down with foam sill gasket underneath them and shot into the concrete with my trusty strike tool. At some point I will use acousti-seal to seal the seam between the PT bottom plate and the concrete as well.










I did my chalk lines 4.5" from off the XPS which leaves me with ~1" gap all the way around. I will use some "big gap" spray foam to fill this gap. I also added my blocking where necessary including down the joists that run parallel with my one wall. Framing nailer worked EXTREMELY well here and I can only imagine how frustrated I would have been nailing or screwing it by hand.










Next I marked 4.5" out from the top of the wall's XPS and snapped a chalk line.










Then I chose 3 spots on the chalk line (both ends and somewhere in the middle) to make sure with my plumb bob that the plates would lined up exactly above and below one another.










I was just about to start putting my first plate up but our renters came home so I shut er down for the day. We were having dinner guests anyways so it was almost time I come upstairs anyways. 










Today, everyone will be out of the house by 8:30 and I will start getting my top plates up. I have some appointments this afternoon but I am hoping to get all my plates up and verify everything is plumb, level, and straight, before I go out. If I could start putting studs in by this afternoon, I (and my fiance) would be very pleased!

Stay tuned!


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## NickWa (Nov 17, 2011)

Getting there...

Stick framing walls alone...

Step 1: Get that top plate up there by any means necessary. I had already chalked my edge and checked it with a plumb bob. I also marked where the end of the board should end up. I tacked one end up with a deck screw, went to the other end, lined it up and did the same. Again, checked things with the plumb bob and level.










Step 2: Mark all your crowns and line the boards along the wall. Visualize your soon-to-be wall.










Step 3: Put your studs in and line them up on your pre-drawn marks. Tack the bottom, 2 nails on the right, 1 nail on the left. Then move up to the top, line up your stud and do the same.



















Again, things went a lot easier then I expected. Every time I would check a stud for plumbness and level, it would be dead on. Guess I got lucky. Pre-planning and thinking about how I was going to do it really helped. Have to work tomorrow but I am off Wednesday and am hoping to finish the fireplace wall and the right hand wall. After that I will start planning my recessed lighting layout for the rec room.


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## NickWa (Nov 17, 2011)

Baboom, finished framing yesterday. Just waiting on Home Depot so I can get some Roxul board for around the fireplace and do my steel studs. Going to start wiring receptacle boxes and recessed lighting in the meantime.




























Anything look incorrect? I checked all my studs as I went for plumbness and levelness and everything was great, I was surprised!


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## NickWa (Nov 17, 2011)

Got all my wiring run yesterday as well as the steel stud fireplace wall up. Had to check placement of the pot lights on the fireplace side so I just wired up a pair to check in the dark last night. Decided to move the RIGHT side row over 10" closer to the bulkhead. The light should still miss the bulkhead but provide a better spread over towards the TV side. Also looks better not being so close together in the center of the area.










Fireplace wall framed with steel studs and insulated in the back with Roxul. Couldn't wait any longer for the Roxul board so I got a few pieces of regular Roxul from my sister to use and just stuffed them up behind the studs. Still need to drill a 1.25" hole for the gas line into the firebox and run it.










Left nice long tails at all my lights because I hadn't stapled the wires up yet and wanted to make sure I had some extra in case I decided to move the lights sideways at all.










Each wall has 3 receptacles plus 1 additional that will be built into the backside of the fireplace wall for the gas fireplace insert. Placed bottom of receptacle boxes at 13" and bottom of switch box at 49". Figure about 1" of sub floor then the standard 12"/48" height.


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## Windows on Wash (Aug 30, 2011)

Looking good. How much warmer is it down there already?


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## NickWa (Nov 17, 2011)

We were pretty excited how much warmer and more comfortable the XPS made it feel but sealing up the 4 holes around the fireplace made a huge difference!


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## NickWa (Nov 17, 2011)

Here we are, basically finished this half minus insulation and drywall. I still have to do my AV wiring, finish routing the fireplace gas line, and build the bulkhead but that will be done in parallel with the other side. Our renters are leaving next Tuesday and I plan to start tearing out the other side on Wednesday.

I am going through chemotherapy right now for colon cancer (at age 27!??!!) on a bi-weekly schedule. I get treatment Wednesday through to Friday every second week and consequently am off work said Wednesday to the following Wednesday. Basically I work 1 week on, 1 week off (when I have my chemo). I don't get a lot done on the first 5 days during/after my treatment but the Monday and Tuesday before I go back to work, I usually feel ok enough to put in a full day of work downstairs. 

I will be starting my next treatment on the 18th and this is when I plan to start demo of the other side of the basement. Hoping to get all of the walls down and the concrete wall exposed to start drying before I go back for my week on of work.

Anyways, I got all of the old wood (that had nails left in it) out and gave the floor a thorough vacuum.

Onto the pictures!

Right side of room:









Center of room:









Left side of room:









And obligatory night time photo showing the recessed light output. Pretty happy with it considering it should get brighter once drywall is up. Again, I did 6 on fireplace side and 8 on other side. Spacing off walls is 36" on the right side and 31" on the fireplace side. 36" from front and back walls on both sides.


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## chronojosh (Feb 11, 2011)

Everything looks great! when you installed your new windows, did you just caulk the new ones in or was it done some other way?


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## NickWa (Nov 17, 2011)

chronojosh said:


> Everything looks great! when you installed your new windows, did you just caulk the new ones in or was it done some other way?


The old windows were removed and the concrete surround exposed. Put the new ones in, shimmed them snug and straight, then used low expansion window and door spray foam. Once it was dry, trimmed it and called the surround on the exterior. On the interior, I used vapor barrier tape to seal the perimeter of the window to the XPS.


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## NickWa (Nov 17, 2011)

As our renters were gone for the weekend (and consequently moving out tomorrow for good), I decided to rip out the finished rec room in preparation for XPS. I left the laundry room and bedroom intact of course, until they are gone.

Here is the room before. The drop ceiling was removed on the left when we had the furnace and duct work put in last year. Moved everything to the other side of the basement for now.










Took down the drop ceiling and removed the wood paneling then took out the insulation.



















I had thought about keeping the long wall and just replacing the bottom plate with PT, but when I dropped it I found that half of the crowns were the wrong way and lots of the studs were warped so I figured for the cost of 20 studs, I would rebuild new.

After I dropped the walls and cleaned up. Took Javex and water to the wet spots yesterday which has now dried.




























I have some concerns about the corner. The first 4.5 blocks from the top are above ground so I can't see any water entering from there. The corner was concealed with studs on either side so very hard to dry but I am wondering if it was just a build up of moisture (coming from an unsealed top part of the wall) or moisture from the block? Is there any way to tell? The corner is pretty much dry now (after washing with Javex and water yesterday), and I can see a couple small cracks in the mortar but I am not sure if this would allow leakage? Also, there was carpet in this room forever until I removed it in the fall and there was no evidence of any moisture on the floor in this corner.

Is there a definitive way to determine if the moisture is from outside or inside?


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## NickWa (Nov 17, 2011)

WHOA!?! Where has the time gone. Lots of progress but unfortunately slowing down the past few weeks due to spring and other, outdoor projects taking precedence. 

The other side of the basement is more or less all framed now. I have the new panel in place and wired as a sub-panel for the time being. All the circuits are moved over except for the stove because I only have 60 amps feeding the sub-panel and don't want to overload it. So far it has been fine with everything else in the house running on the sub.

I've pulled my electrical permit and plan to do the full panel swamp (running new PVC conduit with new service entrance wires (longer) from the meter base to the box. When the switchover occurs, I will add the neutral/ground bonding strap so the sub becomes the main. After that I can finish framing the last wall in the bedroom and complete the electrical.

Here is a dump of some of the progress photos.

*DEMO*





































*CLEANED UP*



















*INSULATION*


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## NickWa (Nov 17, 2011)

*CONTINUED*




























*FRAMING*


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## NickWa (Nov 17, 2011)

*CONTINUED*



















*NEW PANEL*



















....And that's where things stand now. I've been working on leveling our grass (25 yards of soil moved with my riding mower and a small pull trailer) and finishing my garage interior. Hopefully more updates next week.


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## chetacheese (Feb 13, 2012)

Great work. Are we going to see a write up on the electrical????? The wiring is way neat.


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## NickWa (Nov 17, 2011)

chetacheese said:


> Great work. Are we going to see a write up on the electrical????? The wiring is way neat.


I'll try and go through and do a rundown after I do my panel swap next Friday (July 3rd). Have a hydro disconnect at 9 am then inspector in mid afternoon. Hopefully no issues and power back on at 4:00.

I have all the electrical roughed in now (minus basement bathroom and laundry room). I pigtailed everything and added wire nuts to the ends, and grounded boxes (also pigtailed and wire nutted grounds). I have staples within 6" of all boxes and every <4' on runs along joists or down studs. 

I went by the simplified Ontario electrical code book and think I have all my bases covered. The only thing I hope I can get away with is having my pot lights wired up in the built in junction boxes. None of the new circuits will be connected to the breaker (wire nut hot wires) so I am hoping I don't get in trouble for having the recessed lights connected. It would be painful to have to go back and disconnect 20 recessed lights only to have to reconnect them after a quick look over.

I'll give a better run down of everything with pictures after the panel swap and before insulation goes in!


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## lambjere1 (Jul 1, 2015)

We are beginning a similar project this fall - look forward to following your progress!


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