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First of all, I’d just like to say that this is a great forum. I’ve spent the last few evenings browsing through all of the great posts…learning a lot.
I’m in the early stages of getting my basement ready to finish off. Most of the demo is finished and I’m about to start putting walls up. Unfortunately, I haven’ t found a book that offers the definitive method and opinions from family and friends are varied to the point of being confusing. I also realize that there are a lot of professionals on the list, so if this is a really basic question, feel free to point me in the direction of a book or something…
Here are the questions:
1) What is the order of the materials? The walls are currently cinder block with a thin layer of plaster and paint. I’ve been told you should then stud out the walls with 2x2s or 2x4s (I’d prefer 2x4s), add a vapor barrier, then the sheetrock. Within the stud wall, add 1″ of pink foam insulation, then the wiring/plumbing (we have hot water heat).
My two concerns are 1, the vapor barrier would have to be broken when you rough out the outlets and fixtures and 2, wouldn’t having the heating pipes in the wall BEHIND the vapor barrier cause water problems from condensation?
2) I’ve been told to use treated lumber for the bottom plate of the walls. I’m a bit concerned about using treated lumber in an enclosed basement…is there certain types of treated lumber that would be less toxic?
3) Sheetrock. I’ve read on the list that Greenboard isn’t necessarily any better than sheetrock in terms of water resistance. The basement tends to be a bit more humid. Should I use regular Sheetrock or a different material? We’ll also have a full bath in the basement (properly vented) and I’m thinking it may make sense just to use the same material throughout the basement.
4) and finally, a question that’s not necessarily basement related. I’m planning on prewiring the basement rooms with Ethernet/Coax Cable/Phone. A few have recommended that I run them through channels to make it easier to string new cable through in the future. Is there a certain technique for that? Woul 1″ PVS pipe do the trick?
Thanks!
-Darrel
Replies
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First of all, I'd just like to say that this is a great forum. I've spent the last few evenings browsing through all of the great posts...learning a lot.
I'm in the early stages of getting my basement ready to finish off. Most of the demo is finished and I'm about to start putting walls up. Unfortunately, I haven' t found a book that offers the definitive method and opinions from family and friends are varied to the point of being confusing. I also realize that there are a lot of professionals on the list, so if this is a really basic question, feel free to point me in the direction of a book or something...
Here are the questions:
1) What is the order of the materials? The walls are currently cinder block with a thin layer of plaster and paint. I've been told you should then stud out the walls with 2x2s or 2x4s (I'd prefer 2x4s), add a vapor barrier, then the sheetrock. Within the stud wall, add 1" of pink foam insulation, then the wiring/plumbing (we have hot water heat).
My two concerns are 1, the vapor barrier would have to be broken when you rough out the outlets and fixtures and 2, wouldn't having the heating pipes in the wall BEHIND the vapor barrier cause water problems from condensation?
2) I've been told to use treated lumber for the bottom plate of the walls. I'm a bit concerned about using treated lumber in an enclosed basement...is there certain types of treated lumber that would be less toxic?
3) Sheetrock. I've read on the list that Greenboard isn't necessarily any better than sheetrock in terms of water resistance. The basement tends to be a bit more humid. Should I use regular Sheetrock or a different material? We'll also have a full bath in the basement (properly vented) and I'm thinking it may make sense just to use the same material throughout the basement.
4) and finally, a question that's not necessarily basement related. I'm planning on prewiring the basement rooms with Ethernet/Coax Cable/Phone. A few have recommended that I run them through channels to make it easier to string new cable through in the future. Is there a certain technique for that? Woul 1" PVS pipe do the trick?
Thanks!
-Darrel