Basement Finishing thread...
- Thread starter Road Guy
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Road Guy
Well-known member
I do have a garage door on the side of the house in the basement but to "walkout" you have to go through whats going to be the unfinished part of the basement. the topo of my yard wouldnt allow you to be able to have a back door from the finished part (there are a pair of windows) though, that would be a nice touch..
hvac is coming wednesday, funny how when you get the first quote you think "thats outrageous!" then you get 3 or 4 more and you say man what a deal that first quote was! I have used the company doing it a couple of other times and been happy so I was glad they were priced competitively..
For doing the ceiling most people are saying i should just go with 2X2's and then reinforce them? what say yall?
I found a sheetrock hoist (or whatever its called) at a pawn shop for $150 bucks, that should make the sheetrock on the ceiling go pretty smooth. It was going to be $40 / day to rent and this way i can take my time (& then either pawn it back, craigslist, or take it to the dump when i'm done) :0
hvac is coming wednesday, funny how when you get the first quote you think "thats outrageous!" then you get 3 or 4 more and you say man what a deal that first quote was! I have used the company doing it a couple of other times and been happy so I was glad they were priced competitively..
For doing the ceiling most people are saying i should just go with 2X2's and then reinforce them? what say yall?
I found a sheetrock hoist (or whatever its called) at a pawn shop for $150 bucks, that should make the sheetrock on the ceiling go pretty smooth. It was going to be $40 / day to rent and this way i can take my time (& then either pawn it back, craigslist, or take it to the dump when i'm done) :0
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Dexman1349
Since the ceiling is already framed for the main floor, 2x2's would be all you need if you can't use the main floor joists. You just need something to attach the sheetrock to. If you plan on any larger than average light fixtures or ceiling fans, I would suggest upping the size of the bracing (like a 2x4 laid flat on either side of the box).
Good call on the sheetrock hoist. Last time I had to hang sheet-rock we ended up contracting out the ceiling portion of it (26' cathedral ceilings in the living room with 45 degree pitching, and the bedrooms had 10' pitched ceilings-4' at the walls).
Good call on the sheetrock hoist. Last time I had to hang sheet-rock we ended up contracting out the ceiling portion of it (26' cathedral ceilings in the living room with 45 degree pitching, and the bedrooms had 10' pitched ceilings-4' at the walls).
nashbmattPE
Well-known member
make sure you put in access panels in the ceiling where you need them. it would be a real pain in the future to have to access some waste or water piping or HVAC without them.
wilheldp_PE
PE, LEED AP, SPAM KING
Here's a n00b question, but do you have any columns in your basement, or are there load bearing walls in your basement? I toured a house this weekend that I'm thinking about buying that had cylindrical metal columns holding up steel I-beams for structural support of the 1st floor. If I were to put a load bearing wall there, how would I erect such a wall while simultaneously removing the columns and keeping my house standing?
nashbmattPE
Well-known member
why not include the column in the wall if that is possible and not affect the structure. that way the wall would not have to be built as load bearing and the other thing you would need to consider is if the floor slab could support the increased weight on it from the load bearing wall. the column prob has a deeper footing than the floor slab tkickness is
EM_PS
shining like a lighter...
frame right around them or pop in some 4x4 posts. The wall actually wouldn't technically be bearing the load - the I-beam & columns do that. (sorry kinda duplicated above post)
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snickerd3
Taking suggestions
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Dexman1349
As stated above, most wall framework will enclose these steel braces (I think a 2x4 wall is thick enough for most, some require 2x6's). Then you haven't changed any of the structural integrity of the building and if you want to tear down the wall in the future, you don't have to re-engineer the bracework.
The metal columns might only be there to satisfy building code requirements of maximum dimension between supports for a residential structure (and the codes are based on main beams of wood and not steel I-beams).
A friend had a house with a steel main beam with lally columns in the basement. He wanted to put in a pool table and needed to remove a column to do it. He hired a local structural guy that reviewed his house and framing. the engineer concluded that the steel I-beam alone had sufficient capacity to handle the loads and span the full distance. i.e. the lally comun was not necessary. A contractor removed it with no repercussions.
However, in you case you want to put in a wall in the same plane as the columns. As nashbmatt said, I'd just build the columns into the wall and be done. Make the cavity space of the wall the same dimension as the column OD and sheath on either side of it. done.
wilheldp_PE
PE, LEED AP, SPAM KING
That certainly isn't the case with this house. The steel I-beam is actually split into 2 sections because the load bearing walls upstairs are not 1 continuous wall. So the beams actually end in the middle of the room with a column right under where they end. It's bizarre, but I've checked with the structural people at work, and they say it's kosher and quite common.
So do you just cut the top and bottom plates of the wall around the columns? It seems like that would screw with the structural stability of the walls.
wil:
Maybe, I'm not following you. I am envisioning a main beam down the center of the house supporting floor joists which span between the main beam and the foundations, perpendicular to the main beam. I believe that you want to make a wall parallel to the main beam and centered on it so that you create two rooms: one in front of the house and the other to the rear dividing the basement. Is that correct?
If so, you really just want to infill between the existing columns. The new wall will not be "load bearing" because it's really just sitting below the existing steel beams which will continue to support the upper floor just as they are now. Your new wall will just cover the columns. I don't think you'll have any problems just putting a couple of fasteners into the bottom flange of the steel beam to hold the top wood framing for the new wall and give it some lateral stability.
hope this helps.
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wilheldp_PE
PE, LEED AP, SPAM KING
You pretty much got it. I don't know why I was thinking of splitting a wall around the columns instead of just putting a section of wall on either side of it. Brain fart, I guess.
Here's another stupid question. How do you attach the walls in the basement? I read something that said you need 3/4" of "play" between the floor and ceiling for expansion room. So, you nail the baseplate to the floor with concrete nails, but how do you attach the top with that 3/4" gap? Or was that article just BS?
Hey Wil:
If you are setting up non bearing walls, just put up metal studs. Rent or buy an inexpensive Hilti gun and you can pound out a basement in no time. That is what I did. Mind you, I use mine for a workshop, but I ran about 70' of wall, studded, sheetrock and was able to run the wiring in 3 days. Took longer for the electrician to come in hook it all up and inspect, waited 4 days. We won't go into how long it was for our, ahem, Code Enforcement officer to get there. Also make sure you put a vapor barrier between the studs and your masonry wall.
If you are setting up non bearing walls, just put up metal studs. Rent or buy an inexpensive Hilti gun and you can pound out a basement in no time. That is what I did. Mind you, I use mine for a workshop, but I ran about 70' of wall, studded, sheetrock and was able to run the wiring in 3 days. Took longer for the electrician to come in hook it all up and inspect, waited 4 days. We won't go into how long it was for our, ahem, Code Enforcement officer to get there. Also make sure you put a vapor barrier between the studs and your masonry wall.
as far as leaving a gap to accomodate movement, it would depend on how much movement needs to be accomodated. I think you'd be fine just attaching the top of the wall to the underside of the beam. Sheathing spanning across the columns will provide lateral stability. Similarly, if your ceiling is below the top of the sheet rock it will provide lateral stability also.
EM_PS
shining like a lighter...
I've never heard of a free-standing stud wall - the article was BS - attaching to the underside of the I-beam will be tough, but however you frame it, run the studs right to your top plate.
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Dexman1349
I've installed free-floating walls before. Granted, they were in an attic space and weren't very tall. They had to have a 1/2" to 3/4" gap to accomodate the movement of the roof under snow loads. I'll have to look-up the article on how I did it, because I'm horrible in trying to explain it myself.
I'd just drill a couple of holes in the bottom flange of the steel and either use self tapping screw in a pilot hole or some through bolts and nuts.
What's the width of the flange? What is the OD of the lally columns? Would the width of the new wall encompass both the beam and columns or are you going with a typical wall cavity and then some local blockouts for the columns?
