# 1780 sq foot basement here we come!!



## ryan5068

The Bathroom features vertical tiles on the walls and glass inserts halfway up with a stone ledge around the tiles. The floors are 20" heated tiles set in at an angle. What a pain that was! A special thanks to oh'mike for his tremedous online help. All we need to do is install a vanity, sink and mirror and we are done.


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## ryan5068

The tiles have since be fully cleaned and they match the wall tile just different size obviously!


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## sbmfj

very nice....


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## Gary in WA

W.C. looks close to the tub, 15" from center? That left a lot of room for a vanity- 48"+? Rough-in was already there.... never mind. Try breaking the drywall joint mid-height of the walls, easier on the back.... Bath fixtures look nice, good job!

Gary


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## ryan5068

GBR in WA said:


> W.C. looks close to the tub, 15" from center? That left a lot of room for a vanity- 48"+? Rough-in was already there.... never mind. *Try breaking the drywall joint mid-height of the walls, easier on the back....* Bath fixtures look nice, good job!
> 
> Gary


Gary you kind of lost me on this statement. 17" from center of teh toilet flange to the side of the tub. It looks deceiving. We are doing a 36" vanity with granit counter top and a vessel sink. thanks for the compliments though.


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## ryan5068

One question someone may help me with. I have not put up floor trim yet and the accent fixtures and the vanity are going to be an espresso color. I was thinking instead of staining wood trim an espresso color I would use bullnose ceramic tile in espresso color. How would that look? I think I would want it around 3-4" tall. Let me know the thoughts.


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## 95025

Bathroom looks great!


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## gma2rjc

It looks great. 

If you have an extra $20 sitting around, go to the hardware store and buy a handle for your toilet the same color as your fixtures. It makes a big difference.


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## ryan5068

Yes that is on my list of things to do. They do look nice and it will add some dimension to it for sure. My new vanity should be installed within the next month as well as the spare bedroom also done. I am excited to get them done and post photos. Thanks for the advice


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## ryan5068

Here are some progress photos of the basement. Thanks for the comments.


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## ryan5068

Another picture. The doors and all trim will be a dark espresso color. The doors will be either solid bi fold doors or matching 2 panel oak doors. Let me know what you think.


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## oh'mike

Looking very good--Thank you for the pictures--Mike---


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## DangerMouse

Man, looking good Ryan! 
I'm jealous.... I have a stupid crawl space. :laughing:
Keep posting the progress pics!

DM


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## cocobolo

Wow! Nothing timid about your project, is there?

Can I suggest one thing...it looks like your nice doors there currently have no finish on them. It's often a good idea to get perhaps a coat of some sort of sealer on them to protect them before you get around to do the finishing.

It keeps them cleaner, which saves you a bunch of sanding later.


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## ryan5068

Thanks for the tips on the sealer but I too thought of that. I plan on staining the jams soon then pulling the doors completly off during the rest of the basement renovation or at the bare minimum put some plastic sheeting up over the doors. I am hoping my air compressor would certainly blow off any dust that gets on them. Fortunately framing is a pretty clean job, sheetrock is the mess! More pictures to come after it gets painted this week.


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## cocobolo

ryan5068 said:


> Thanks for the tips on the sealer but I too thought of that. I plan on staining the jams soon then pulling the doors completly off during the rest of the basement renovation or at the bare minimum put some plastic sheeting up over the doors. I am hoping my air compressor would certainly blow off any dust that gets on them. Fortunately framing is a pretty clean job, sheetrock is the mess! More pictures to come after it gets painted this week.


Yes, plastic is a good idea. it is always that little area around where you grab the door which seems to get dirty. Always better to keep the wood clean if you can.

Good show!


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## jomama45

Looks great so far! I really like the random bond on the vertical tile in the shower.

I might suggest carrying over the dark bronze in the fixture of the bathroom into the door hinges and knob as well.

Did you do something to the concrete floor in the weight room, or is that just the existing concrete finish?


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## ryan5068

What I plan on doing is certainly to get oil rub bronzed door hinges, knobs etc. All the gold is going bye bye. The floor in the weight room are actually sponge mats (very high quality mats). The floor looks pretty dirty in those photos but they mop up really nice. I am also going to do an espresso colored 3"x12" espresso colored bull nose tile for the floor trim in the bathroom as I think it will really tie everything together. I think that will really set the room off. I am so excited to get these small projects finished up before moving on to the larger sections. I will add more photos soon.


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## ryan5068

Additional weigh room pic and pic looking into where the game closet is located between the bedroom and bathroom. Those two black bars hanging down are pull up bars with grip tape on them. They are on opposite joists and hold our weight no problem. They are specifically for P90X!


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## DsBrim

Curious what kind of climate you are located in...and what you are doing for heat. You mentioned heated tiles in bathroom...is that electric or hot water system? Any thing in the other spaces?


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## ryan5068

Well I live in Iowa and I have forced air heat in each room in the basement however the concrete gets so cold that this is the only room that will have tile on it when you'd have your shoes off. I have an electric floor heat mat 120 volts. It works very well but it takes the tiles I'd say 45 min to an hour to heat the floor nicely. This time of year as it is around zero outside the floor temp of my basement is around 55-60 degrees. With the floor on it runs about 75-80 degrees.


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## ryan5068

Well I have been progressing on the project. I got the walls framed up around this particular room as well as the half wall that will house a rounded front countertop. The open top of the half wall will also be coming down about 15" from where it is now. Then the top will be rounded. I ran out of lumber so I plan on making a run to the store on Thursday and or Friday to continue to work on the project. I have some of the bulk heads done but I am going all the way around the entire basement to give it a recessed ceiling look. Alot of work but it will certainly be worth it.


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## hodgepodge93

Sharp remodel dude!.... You are putting a lot of people to shame!


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## ryan5068

thanks podge! It would be helpful at times to have family come and help but they have projects themselves or so they say. My wife does a good job helping out too!


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## hodgepodge93

Ryan-50... I'm sure your family will help build your bar, I'll bet you have some family that is decent at finish work. If not, I bet they would drink at your bar! Peace out...


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## ryan5068

Well I got quite a bit done as of late!! Carpet in the room has been installed and looks excellent! Recessed lights are installed, next I will be installing recessed lighting in the bulkheads which also turned out excellent. Everything is level and near ready for sheetrock. Doors are in the process of being stained by my wife (excellent assistant) I originally wanted this done before super bowl 2012 but now I am hoping for season opener NFL! Keep checking back.


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## hodgepodge93

making some headway bro! bedroom looks nice... I will be finishing the first coat of mud tonight.... No crown, I am taping the corners....


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## Jim F

I second the compliment on the doors. They look very classy. Someone gave my son has a Weider weight station similar to yours. Hopefully, we can make room for it in the basement one of thes days. For now it is set up in the garage.


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## ryan5068

Recessed lights are up and fully functional but I ran into a 3 way wire snafu that I need some assistance with hopefully my good friends on diychat can help me out. I will be posting the question in the electrical section. Lights look great though!


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## Quickdraw

Ryan, did you do anything to the concrete floor before carpeting it?


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## Gary in WA

Looking good! You'll want to remove the "diaper" on the fiberglass at exterior walls as that was required only in unfinished basements. Building Science has good info here; http://www.buildingscience.com/documents/information-sheets/5-thermal-control/basement-insulation
AA search in the box above at the top of each page will help. also.

Gary


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## ryan5068

Well the basement is completly dry as I did nothing to the floor except sweep it! Too late on removing the white plastic lining from the walls and it looks like the liner is glued or not wanting to seperate from the insulation. I tuck taped the top and bottom so we should be nice and tight. My exercise room has been done for a couple years and I've had NO issues with anything that has been done.


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## ryan5068

Hey thanks everyone for the compliments it really does mean alot. Also a huge thanks for the DIY chat electrical guys for walking me through the snafu that I created with my 3 way switches. After having my post up for less than 5 minutes I got a response on how to fix my error. This website has been quite the saver for me on several different parts of my remodel. Thanks again. This site is the real deal!!!!


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## Quickdraw

ryan5068 said:


> Well the basement is completly dry as I did nothing to the floor except sweep it! Too late on removing the white plastic lining from the walls and it looks like the liner is glued or not wanting to seperate from the insulation. I tuck taped the top and bottom so we should be nice and tight. My exercise room has been done for a couple years and I've had NO issues with anything that has been done.


Isnt the floor COLD? I'm in Indiana and was thinking of using the dimpled plastic Platon ( http://www.systemplaton.com/flooring.html ) and 1/2" plywood under the carpet to get it off the cold floor.


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## ryan5068

Well the basement floor is not that cold. I put a heated mat in the basement bathroom and the carpet is really thick and I got a 1/2 in premium mat so that is not cold at all. When I do not have the basement heated mat on and I quickly turn it on it says the temp of the floor is around 66 degrees and that is in the cold of the winter. It must have been insulated well underneath. I am putting tile in behind the bar under the window and that could get a little bit chilly at 65 degrees but honestly I will not be standing there that often and if I am down there mixing some drinks behind the bar I will use a space heater on my feet!! Overall the basement stays very warm.


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## Quickdraw

ryan5068 said:


> Well the basement floor is not that cold. I put a heated mat in the basement bathroom and the carpet is really thick and I got a 1/2 in premium mat so that is not cold at all. When I do not have the basement heated mat on and I quickly turn it on it says the temp of the floor is around 66 degrees and that is in the cold of the winter. It must have been insulated well underneath. I am putting tile in behind the bar under the window and that could get a little bit chilly at 65 degrees but honestly I will not be standing there that often and if I am down there mixing some drinks behind the bar I will use a space heater on my feet!! Overall the basement stays very warm.


 
Ive got a heated floor in my bathroom downstairs as well but my floor temp (when I first turn on the heatmat thermostat) is about 59-60 degrees with outside temp about 25-30 degrees. As I said Im near Chicago and basement floor is about 70" under ground level. Thanks.


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## ryan5068

Well to update everyone on the progress I got most of the sheetrock on the ceiling and am ready to start sheetrocking the bulkheads however I need to get the 3" lights installed first. I called for a quote to have the ceiling and bulkheads prepped and ready to texture and they way 645.00 to do it. It is a total of 8 sheets on the ceiling then the bulk heads. I think I will just do it myself and spend the 645 on other things that are needed. I will post some photos later in the week!!


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## ryan5068

Well the ceiling is up!! The bulkheads will be sheetrocked and lights installed by mid-week. I have the drywall experts coming on the 28th to mud/tape/sand the ceiling and bulkheads. I got all the plumbing done too as I tested the drain and the waterlines. Everything works as planned. So far so good.


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## ryan5068

Well all the lights are in and they look fantastic! I need to finish installing the faces of the bulkheads, install bullnose corner bead, finish installing a couple pieces of sheetrock and I will be ready for the tapers on Monday the 28th. It is getting good now!!!


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## ryan5068

Mudders and Tapers are coming today. Here is what the project looks like the night before they arrive!! I am picking up the carpet on Tuesday and also looking for the tile for behind the bar. Things are coming together quickly.


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## hodgepodge93

*looking good bro!*

Your basement is looking NICE.


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## coderguy

The ceiling looks really good, I love the lighting.


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## scotzilla

looks great!


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## ryan5068

Lots of progress over the last few days. The walls are primed, ceiling textured. More priming on Monday then texturing walls on Tuesday. 

I did a knock-down on the ceiling which turned out really nice. Pics look sketchy but trust me it turned out good. Priming the ceiling on Monday then painting it on Tuesday night. 

I am hoping to have the carpet installed on Thursday or Friday so before then I need to install the floor tile behind the bar. Pics will be coming all week long!!


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## hodgepodge93

SWEET Bro! Can't wait until it is all done... 1st Beer is on me!


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## ryan5068

Much progress was made over the last week and a half by my wife and I. Check out the pics! Time to take a week or so off to cool our heels.


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## ryan5068

Well there has been more progress on the basement project. I got the cabinets all set but not stained yet. I am saving for the slab on the counter tops so I am not in a huge hurry to get that part done. Since my last post I have all the doors stained and hung. They look rich in color and style. I still need to buy one more door for the small closet area. The bedroom is completed and it looks real nice I think. I will post pics. Now I am working on the theater room. It is now ready for sheet rock as all the cables and what not are run through the walls. More pics to come shortly


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## ryan5068

And yes that is duct tape on the toilet seat as I broke it when I was trying to change a light bulb!


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## ryan5068

Well 2 years later and the project is nearly finished!!! 1700 sq feet with help primarily from my wife. Check later this week for all the photos from start to finish.


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## ryan5068




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## jjohn230

WOW! This project sounds fun and looks great! You have done a fantastic job of putting it all together and planning out. keep up the nice work and keep posting pictures. I can't wait to see more!

Thanks,
John


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## ryan5068

Here are a bunch of pictures of the final product. Well close to a final product. I still am going to build a fireplace under the screen that will also house the a/v equipment then topped off with a granite slab to match the other things. There are also a few odds and ins to do such as buy my hanging lights over the bar and the glass table, faucet and pump for the bar, projector mount etc. We were so ready to enjoy the space and catch up on the bills now! The total basement renovation was probably $10-$12,000. Not bad when you do the work yourself!


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## ryan5068

More Pics


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## ryan5068

and more pictures


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## ryan5068

and more!!


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## ryan5068

Special thank you to Scuba Dave and Oh'Mike for all their help on some of the different projects that caused me some grief. Once again thanks to all that gave great input on the project!


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## mferguson0414

I am so glad I looked at your thread. Very nice work sir.


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## itsnotrequired

just found this thread. day-um that looks nice! starting my own basement project up right now but it isn't nearly as large in scope.

comment about the bar: did you consider a full-size fridge? in-laws have one and it sure is nice. plenty of room for beer/mixers and is handy during the holidays when you need that extra fridge space.


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## juryduty

Wow that wood grain tile is really awesome looking, especially with the bright white grout. Nice choice on that and looks like a great tiling job too!


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## ryan5068

It'snotrequired and juryduty:

Thanks for the overall compliments it really means alot since much information was gained from this very site. I did think about a reg. size fridge but I did not want my bar to go out that far into the main room. It really works well for anything we use it for. Besides too late now! We love the new space and recently we had a water line burst over the shower that was the outside spigot (forgot to unhook hose) anyway insurance paid out and afforded me to pay off what I owed on the credit card and to completly finish the basement, lights, pump, faucet etc. I will be posting updated final photos real soon. Also the grout is actually sand color but the camera flash kinda highlighted it. Overall we couldn't be happier with the outcome. If you need any tips and or pointers on how to do something in related to what I've done just shoot me an email.


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## chongololo

Nice work Ryan, I've just done one of those myself so I know how much work is involved.
Good job.


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