# My First Basement Remodel!!!



## brockmiera (Oct 9, 2012)

Well I got half of the tiles off of the concrete wall last night and should have the rest off tonight or tomorrow morning. My goal would be to have the demo complete by the end of the weekend. We'll see how that works out. More pics to come tomorrow.


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## brockmiera (Oct 9, 2012)

Well whoever decided it was better to dump gallons of glue down to concrete instead of using tack strips can suck it. I spent the entire night on my hands and knees pulling up the glued down pad. This after having a discussion with the boss about whether or not to get a permit / install egress / ///. I guess there are always going to be surprises. So it looks like it will be back to finishing up the bathroom demo this week. I'm extremely nervous to find out how the shower pan was constructed. It has a huge slope to it that needs to be corrected. Who knows what I'll find down there. If the rest of this place is any indication, I dont think it will be good and I'm sure it will be more work than what I was hoping for. Wish me luck!


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## brockmiera (Oct 9, 2012)

So I took some more pictures last night. Here is my progress since my last update.

I did get all of the carpet up from what will be the spare bedroom
I am still working on that carpet pad from hell!
I moved the light switch from the old bedroom/bathroom wall so it was out of the way for new framing
I demo'd the tile off of the sloped concrete shower pan
I realized that the arched water stop was actually poured concrete with rebar. Hey why not. I'm sure that it was going to be subjected to some amazing shear forces. Ah #5 rebar will keep it intact. Come on man!!!

So I assume that someone took out the flat concrete in the shower area to create the sloped concrete shower pan. My question would be, If you are going to go thru all that work to open up the floor why wouldn't you put in a damn P trap??? Is that normal?

I guess add jack hammer rental to the list.


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## brockmiera (Oct 9, 2012)

Here are some more pictures


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## brockmiera (Oct 9, 2012)

This is more demo progress on the bathroom. I'm gonna tear up that shower pad and replace the p trap and riser this weekend. Wish me luck!

Please feel free to comment or ask questions. I'm sure I'm overlooking something.


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## JasonSm (Nov 3, 2012)

Wow! It looks like you have quite the project and are well on your way! Is this an underground basement or a walkout? 

With the house being built in 1961, what type of heating / air do you have? Are you going to be re-routing a lot of duct-work around for this project? 

Cheers

Jason


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## brockmiera (Oct 9, 2012)

JasonSm said:


> Wow! It looks like you have quite the project and are well on your way! Is this an underground basement or a walkout?
> 
> With the house being built in 1961, what type of heating / air do you have? Are you going to be re-routing a lot of duct-work around for this project?
> 
> ...


This basement is all in ground. We have a gas furnace and forced air. No duct work needs to be moved / added. The nice part is that it was really set up well even though everything had been torn out except that bathroom. 

All of the heating registers are high in the wall. If I do anything Id extend the run down the wall so the heat is coming out closer to the floor. What are your thoughts?

Sent from my SGH-T959V using DIY Chatroom


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## JasonSm (Nov 3, 2012)

I like the idea of running the ducts down the walls to be closer to the floor, but I don't know if that will have an impact on the airflow balance. I wouldn't think it would be too drastic.


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## brockmiera (Oct 9, 2012)

Well my remodeling has been sidetracked lately by a small pinhole in my main supply pipe and by needing to get the yards ready for winter. 

I am happy to say that the small pinhole has afforded me the opportunity to teach my self how to sweat copper pipes, and how to install a pressure reducer. 17 joints and not one leak. that my friends suprised the heck out of me. 

Anyway after the Turkey day holiday I will get back to demo on the shower pan and installing a new drain. 

We've decided to do a tub instead of a shower base so I will need to move the drain a little further to the wall so I can install the tub drain assembly. it should work fine though. 

I'll keep you updated on my progress and thanks for checking in. Any thoughts or suggestions are very encouraged.


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## brockmiera (Oct 9, 2012)

Demo Demo Demo. This glue and thinset that the previous owner used to put the tiles on the wall and the carpet to the basement has really caused my some time delays. I'm working thru it though as time permits. I'll get some more pictures up soon.


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## brockmiera (Oct 9, 2012)

Here are a couple more pictures of the progress. We've managed to get all the carpet and pad up from the half of the basement we will be finishing first. I've also managed to put a nice hole in the concrete so I can replace my shower drain pipe and re-position it according to the size shower pan I'm using.


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## brockmiera (Oct 9, 2012)

Here are a couple more pics for you folks.


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## brockmiera (Oct 9, 2012)

Here are some more updated pictures. Im finally getting some new framing done. This is going to be the new closet door in the basement downstairs.


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## rebelranger (Aug 1, 2012)

Can you post a paint sketch of the dimensions and design of your basement? I can't really tell exactly what your plan is from these pictures. As for that closet door, is that wall load bearing? It looks like it may be helping support the floor joists as they continue. Are you going to remove the blocks along the floor?


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## brockmiera (Oct 9, 2012)

Yes I can. Ill scan in a drawing tomorrow.


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## brockmiera (Oct 9, 2012)

Here is the layout.


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## rebelranger (Aug 1, 2012)

Thank you. I thought your basement was about half that size from the pictures. Keep at it!


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## brockmiera (Oct 9, 2012)

rebelranger said:


> Thank you. I thought your basement was about half that size from the pictures. Keep at it!


Yeah that makes sense. I'm only working on half of it right now so I've only taken picture of half. Once we get that wall supported and the beam sized to make it a half wall it will really open things up.


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## brockmiera (Oct 9, 2012)

Well Framing is underway. Here are some pictures of the progress from this weekend.


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## rebelranger (Aug 1, 2012)

The framing against the concrete walls are they attached overhead? It looks like they are offset of the joists. What are your door plans? What are you doing for HVAC? Humidity control? Flooring?


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## brockmiera (Oct 9, 2012)

rebelranger said:


> The framing against the concrete walls are they attached overhead? It looks like they are offset of the joists. What are your door plans? What are you doing for HVAC? Humidity control? Flooring?


Yeah in one spot the top plate was right under a joist. The other walls required some 2x4 blocking but they are all secured now. 

Door plans - For now I have a 30" door going into the bathroom, 30" door going into that back room, and a 30" bifold door going into the closet. 

HVAC - All of the HVAC was already down there. I do plan on cutting in at least one more cold air return just to get the air moving a little more down there. It tends to get warm a lot faster than upstairs. That coupled with the fact that it is very pleasant down there year round. 

I haven't thought about humidity control. We are getting central A/C installed this summer so I'll probably get something installed when that happens. 

Flooring for now will be carpet in the two back rooms, tile for the bathroom and engineered hardwood for the rest. We wanted to go with stained concrete but the glue from the carpet previous has proven pretty tough to get up entirely. 

Thanks for looking and commenting on the remodel. Any and all ideas are welcome.


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## brockmiera (Oct 9, 2012)

Here is a fence I built when we found out we'd be getting a new Lab puppy last summer. It was smart since he's now a 120# lab puppy now!


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