Basement Finishing thread...

[Road Guy]

okay were finally biting the bullet and going to finish our basement..

getting prices for HVAC & Plumbing right now,, not a lot of fun making calls, but thats my job as part time GC

So I am doing some myself, some sub-contracted like the HVAC, plumbing, sheetrock (ceiling as well)

My budget is $12K for about 1,000 SF, all the walls are framed in and one room is already sheetrocked from the original builder, but its needs some touch up work

First thing up for me this weekend, I need to install a sub-panel for the HVAC, 100 Amp Sub-Panel. I have installed circuit breakers and new lines from the main panel before, what I have read adding a sub-panel is a lot like adding breakers? Nead you guys to reasure me that I can do this Or encourage me to pay a few hundred bucks to have a proffessional do it?

Heres my schedule:

HVAC

Plumbing (rough in for bar, and full bath)

Electircal rough in

Sheetrock

painting

flooring

stripper pole installation

crazy disco party (your all invited)

will get some in progress pics done along the way!

 

[ALBin517]

okay were finally biting the bullet and going to finish our basement..
getting prices for HVAC & Plumbing right now,, not a lot of fun making calls, but thats my job as part time GC

So I am doing some myself, some sub-contracted like the HVAC, plumbing, sheetrock (ceiling as well)

My budget is $12K for about 1,000 SF, all the walls are framed in and one room is already sheetrocked from the original builder, but its needs some touch up work

First thing up for me this weekend, I need to install a sub-panel for the HVAC, 100 Amp Sub-Panel. I have installed circuit breakers and new lines from the main panel before, what I have read adding a sub-panel is a lot like adding breakers? Nead you guys to reasure me that I can do this Or encourage me to pay a few hundred bucks to have a proffessional do it?

Heres my schedule:

HVAC

Plumbing (rough in for bar, and full bath)

Electrical rough in

Sheetrock

painting

flooring

stripper pole installation

crazy disco party (you're all invited)

will get some in progress pics done along the way!

Alas, the previous owner of my house was a basement finisher for Owens-Corning so I've never had the need to do any basement work.

But my general rule for construction projects is to allocate $100 off the top for pizza and beer. Get a couple buddies over to work and you'd be amazed how much you can accomplish on the cheap.

I would not recommend mixing alcohol and electrical work but maybe you could get them to visit on Dec5 to do the drywall. Extra hands are useful with drywall. Then invite them to stick around for refreshments and the SEC championship game.

 

[chaosiscash]

Or encourage me to pay a few hundred bucks to have a proffessional do it?

I would have a professional do it if you don't have a lot of electrical experience. Depending on your jurisdiction, you may have to pull a permit/have it inspected.

Where is the existing panel in relation to the proposed subpanel location? Trying to fish #2 through a tight wall space can be a real PITA.

 

[FINK_RB_PE]

My dad is building a house now and he has pricing in sheetrock that ranges from $22-$28 per sheet to finish, as far as the electrical better get a pro, I put in a circuit breaker and a sub pannel for a hot tub at my house and got a nice letter from the town wondering what electrician I used and when could they inspect it. I weased my way out but a couple hundred bucks would have been worth the hassle.

As far as the flooring, I just finished putting down Novalis stick tile flooring in my basement, looks like hardwood flooring, very durable, easy to install and is like $1 per sf.

Best of luck!

 

[IlPadrino]

I put in a circuit breaker and a sub pannel for a hot tub at my house and got a nice letter from the town wondering what electrician I used and when could they inspect it. I weased my way out but a couple hundred bucks would have been worth the hassle.

How did they know?

 

[Supe]

If you're serious about the stripper pole, let me know. I've done a lot of research on this subject and can tell you which to avoid. Mine will be ordered shortly after the holidays.

 

[Road Guy]

from what my neighbors have told me you can get the sheetrock hung for not much more than it cost to buy it so I am going to go that route and then pay them to also do the mudding, my sheetrock mud experiences havent always been that good....

i'm going to give the sub-panel a shot, the "kit" is only $80 bucks but if it seems like its overly diffucult I will sub it out...

my neighbors put a pole in their basement, but somehow they made it removeable so they only have it up when they have get togethers, i need to go do some investigating of how they did theirs

 

[Supe]

from what my neighbors have told me you can get the sheetrock hung for not much more than it cost to buy it so I am going to go that route and then pay them to also do the mudding, my sheetrock mud experiences havent always been that good....
i'm going to give the sub-panel a shot, the "kit" is only $80 bucks but if it seems like its overly diffucult I will sub it out...

my neighbors put a pole in their basement, but somehow they made it removeable so they only have it up when they have get togethers, i need to go do some investigating of how they did theirs

The better ones use a compression fit setup with a silicon pad on the bottom to prevent slippage and an extra wide top cover so it doesn't have to fasten to a ceiling joist. They also have set screws at the base that either anchor them solid or allow it to double as a spinner pole.

 

[Chucktown PE]

^^ whoa, whoa, whoa. Supe, that was an idea that you and I worked on together and I thought we had agreed to patent it. I suppose we could put the patent in EB.com's name and it could forever be known as the EB.com Stipper Pole.

 

[FINK_RB_PE]

How did they know?

I guess they saw the hot tub during installation, or someone snitched. But i think it is a ordinance that there has to be one within reach of the tub so they assumed one was installed.

 

[Supe]

^^ whoa, whoa, whoa. Supe, that was an idea that you and I worked on together and I thought we had agreed to patent it. I suppose we could put the patent in EB.com's name and it could forever be known as the EB.com Stipper Pole.

Sadly, someone beat us to it, at least in a 3 piece pole version.

 

[Santiagj]

I'm currently finishing my basement as well. Its taking a lot longer than expected. Its just me and the wife. She has been helping me alot and is my second pair of hands. I start falling behind when she has to work evenings cause alot of the stuff takes two people to do.

So far my favorite thing has been installing a full bath rough in. It was sweet. I was stoked to use a concrete saw and a serious hilti jack hammer. I do have prior experience though. In college I used to finish basements. Most of it is pretty easy though and you get way more satisfaction doing it yourself. I would give it a shot first and then call a sub if you get flustered.

I also agree with subbing out the drywall finishing. Spackling is a pain in the butt. I don't get any satisfaction from spackle buggers.

 

[humner]

For my basement floor, I installed the rubber interlocking mats. They have them at Wal-Mart in the excersise area. Made a big difference on my heating and cooling in the house. You don't have to worry about the tiles like other flooring where it warps and pulls up. If the mat becomes worn or damaged, just remove it and snap in a new one. I went with the dual color mats, and just put the black side up. Nice to walk on too.

 

[Supe]

For my basement floor, I installed the rubber interlocking mats. They have them at Wal-Mart in the excersise area. Made a big difference on my heating and cooling in the house. You don't have to worry about the tiles like other flooring where it warps and pulls up. If the mat becomes worn or damaged, just remove it and snap in a new one. I went with the dual color mats, and just put the black side up. Nice to walk on too.

How did the cost work out as compared to tiles?

 

[humner]

How did the cost work out as compared to tiles?

I don't remember how much I paid for them, had gotten them at Sams club about 4 years ago. I did the whole floor of about 24' x 24' in about 2 hours. Has been down since. Here is a web site I found. http://www.greatmats.com/products/foamspecial.php

 

[Road Guy]

I've got three rooms, one room I am going to score the actual cooncrete basement floor and stain it (not me personally) one of my neighbors did this and it gives a great look, it almost looks like really big tile until you see that its actually the concrete floor, the other room which will be part workout room, part storage I am going to look into some type of rubber mat floor or the floating "fake" hardwood floor.. then I think the room which will be the tv room will just be carpet since it will be the lounging around room....

 

[MA_PE]

I guess it stands to reason, that the pole will be in the workout room.

 

[Road Guy]

I havent decided which room to put the pole in, the workout room will be a little confined, probably need more room for viewing.......

 

[Supe]

I wouldn't put it in the workout room. You don't want bare ass on the workout equipment, that's just screaming for pink eye. Also, heels don't work exceptionally well on a treadmill, and with a swinger pole, there is serious risk of crashing into exercise equipment on an extended leg/inverted maneuver.

 

[Dexman1349]

Once you get the pole installed, maybe you could host the US Pole Dancing Federation Championship:

Pole Dancing highlights <---it's actually safe for work

These ladies look like they could actually work for Cirque de Soleil