(I originally posted this in HomeImprovement. I got some great advice there but looking for as much exposure as I can get!)
Hey everyone!
I am looking for some feedback or even criticisms on my plans for remodeling our basement. We bought the house about 3 years ago, it is a ranch built in the late 50's in Wisconsin. The previous owner, owned the house a while and did a lot of updates (some good, some meh). They did refinish the basement, which was a bonus for us because it has been a great usable space right away and it told us that at least the previous owners thought the basement was dry enough to finish. So far we have had zero problems with flooding or even moisture through the whole basement, there is an unfinished utility area. There are also no signs that the current finished area was ever flooded or had issues.
Here is the basement currently. It is about 800 square feet with unfortunately low ceilings of 6’9”.
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For the walls they put up a vapor barrier, then studs, then ridged foam insulation between the studs (from the parts I have seen in the closet, it wasn’t glued to anything so not sealed). Then they put up cedar. The carpet appears to be glued to the floor, I assume there is padding as well, it feels pretty soft. The ceiling is just painted plywood (yuck). It doesn’t look too bad in person and the craftsmanship isn’t terrible but it isn’t our style. They also put insulation in the floor between the basement and the 1st floor.
Our main problem, besides the look, is the temperature. During the winter it gets damn cold down there. There are three heating/cooling vents and one return already and with the heat cranked up it can get to the high 60s but it is still cold. In the summer it is good.
Our plans for remodel include increasing the closet space and putting in a media/theater room/area.
Here is what we are thinking.
Walls
- Removing all of the cedar and the ceiling
- Removing the studs on the exterior walls (keeping the main layout with the utility room)
- Adding 2” (1” layers, sealed in-between) of ridged foam insulation. I was recommended using polyiso.
- Putting the studs back up (probably won’t reuse unless we can), with treated on the bottom.
- Unfaced batts in between the studs. I have gone back and forth on this and have read either do this or don’t do this but based on what little moisture we have in the basement thus far, I think we will be safe. Plus, with our temperature zone we need to get to R-15. 2” polyiso seems to get us to at least R-10. Using unfaced so that there is no vapor barrier in the walls.
- Closed-cell spray foam in the sills. 2-3” (see my question below).
- Then drywall.
Ceiling
I think we are going to pull the insulation out from the ceiling to keep the basement and first floor all the same condition area. However, we will be added soundproofing material, at least to some of the areas. Most of the ceiling will be drywalled except for some areas where there are pipes. They will either be wood covered soffits or wood panels that we can screw/unscrew incase we need access. Unfortunately the ceiling is too low to use a drop ceiling.
Floor
Our plan right now is to use DRIcore subfloor panels (http://ift.tt/1ywYJRx). While it won’t be cheap, from all my research this seemed like the best solution with taking up as little space as we can afford. Worst case we will do what the previous owners did and glue the carpet to the floor. We would like to attempt this though to hopefully increase the feel/temperature of the room a little bit.
** UPDATE** From my previous post, it seems DRIcore is not as reliable as we once thought. We are now exploring doing a 1/2" rigid foam and then a 1/2" plywood.
Windows
We have three windows that are old wood windows we are getting replaced with glassblock.
Questions.
I think I am going to DIY the closed-cell spray foam in the sills. From what I read 2-3” should be sufficient? Also when doing this to the sills above the cinder block foundation, should I feel in the cinder block or how do I handle insulating that?
Are there are any rules around using spray foam around pipes? I know I will have one water pipe, two pvc pipes (for the furnace I think) and the main gas pipe that exit/enter where I want to spray. Do I just spray around them or do I have to leave a gap?
I am looking at different foam insulation that I can get locally. Besides the price, can anyone tell me the real difference? It seems only one of them is polyiso, at least stated anyway. Option1 Option2 Option3
Sorry for the long post but with all of that being said, am I crazy? am I on track? Is there something I should be doing differently or potential other options? Any feedback is appreciated.
Submitted December 02, 2014 at 02:43AM by Something_Sexy http://ift.tt/1vcYDio
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