Basement Project - Ceiling
Comments
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I loved having dropped ceiling tiles. You will want to get some decent tiles if you go this route. Something with a little weight, and also the tiles tend to transfer less acoustical energy to the room above. The problem I see though is at 7 feet you are going to lose 6 inches. If you do enclose it you will need to run every cable imaginable ahead of time. A couple runs of cat5, coax, HDMI, .... Also if you have any water pipes in that area you might not want to kill the access you have to them. If something ever happened it could be an awful expensive mess. I know the idea of a low ceiling really sucks, but if it is for basically a sitting room you won't be bothered by the low ceilings as much.Please. Please contact me a ben62670 @ yahoo.com. Make sure to include who you are, and you are from Polk so I don't delete your email. Also I am now physically unable to work on any projects. If you need help let these guys know. There are many people who will help if you let them know where you are.
Thanks
Ben -
My Ultimate question would be: Should I trust the french Drain 100%?, can I install hardwood flooring directly ontop of the concrete floor or is that a no no?
That would be a No No. There would be no way of nailing the floor down. Since you need a vapor barrier such as tar paper, gluing it will not work either. You can lay Pergo on concrete but that hollow sound you get with Pergo on concrete may drive you mad.
As for the drain, does the basement have a sump already in it? Is there a pump already installed? -
bingo! -
The question now is how do I do the walls?, Do the studs touch the concrete block walls? or are they set away from the concrete and the sills on the floor are attached to the concrete floor just past the french drain openings?
Should I use some synthetic material between the bottom sill and the concrete?
Thanks again. Sal
Hey Sal Take a deep breath,
Im not familiar with these types of draining systems inside the house as my building experience was with new construction and these types of drains were done outside of the footer. Since your have an existing dwelling, digging around your foundation to install it outside is really not feasible or cost effective.
So, I cant answer your question about placing the walls above the drains. I do think it should not be a problem since if you have water above the concrete line, you will have bigger issues than just drainage. As for placement of the 2x4 walls You will want to do a complete layout of your basement before building any walls. You cannot rely on the block walls being plumb and the room being square. Even if they were during construction, chances are they moved over time.
What I did in the basement of my old house and what I will do again in my new house is I held the wall 2 from the concrete. This gave me the ability to do 4 things
1. I was able to plumb the walls easily with no interference from the foundations walls
2. I was able to square the room.
3. Pulling wire \ Cable Mngt was a breeze and required no stud drilling.
4. And the main reason I held it 2 inches is because I used R19 insulation instead of the standard R13. Overkill, but I felt it would provide better sound proofing.
You dont need to go 2 but if your foundation is square and you walls are plumb, you can get away with 1.
Another few points worth mentioning You will need to Drylok your floor and walls before doing anything or at least after your drain is finished. Finally, check the grading around your foundation. Be sure you have enough fall away from your house. You dont want that sump pump running around the clock. Of course, be sure the pump is pushing the water far enough away from your foundation so youre not re-cycling the water.
Finally, the finish ( floor leveling ) on basement floors can be horrendous. Especially if they poured the floor after the first deck was on. You need to be sure your floor is flat enough for hardwood flooring. Using the subfloor will correct small imperfections in the floor but if you have big ones, you will see it in the finished product. -
install the mounts for your projector before you drywall. That way you can attach them solidly to a floor joist.
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My understanding of the french drain system is to take water that seeps in from the concrete block walls and move it to the underside of the slab and that allows the water to find the sump pump well.
If I dylok the walls and the basement floor after I put in a french drain then do I really need a french drain? Or is the Drylok system not 100% effective and that's why the french drain will be there. Just in case any water gets in?
I would do both. A basement can never be too dry. If it does, get a humidifier.I have seen on the "This Old House show" framing partition walls in a basement, Tommy Silva cut out blocks of pressure treated lumber and instead of making one continuous pressure treated sill he staggered them so that if any water was ever on the top of the concrete floor it would be able to flow by and get to the drain.[/COLOR]
Great idea and I have seen this done just a lot of work. I don't think you will need to do that.Here's another question: I have read on some website that the whole concrete floor can move up and down and then you should never build the stud walls in a basement that are snug fit between the top and bottom plates. They suggest that you should use a gap of around 3/4" and make it so that the wall doesn't meet to the underside of the floor joists.
What do you think about this?
I agree, but not because the floor moving up and down. It may move slightly with expansion from heat, but not very much. Some framers like to frame in place, meaning establish the top plate to the joists and Tapcon the bottom plate to the floor, and then fill in the studs. I prefer to build the wall on the ground. By making the wall height 3/4'' to 1'' short, it makes moving the wall into place much easier. It also gives you some wiggle room with an uneven floor. When you build a wall, be sure you take a few vertical measurements where the wall be placed and use the shortest measurement as the wall height.
When you get ready to start framing, let me know. If I free time, Ill see if Face & Polrbehr want to make a day trip. I didnt say we would work, well just watch you work and drink:D -
This is coming along good. I've got all the cables run to the projector, audio rack, and speakers. Also discovered a leak in the upstairs bath so I replaced the old drain pipe with PVC and it is not leaking anymore.
So everything is going very well so far.polkaudio RT35 Bookshelves
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Front projection, 2 channel, car audio... life is good!