Kbalz wrote:
I'm planning to finish my basement. My house is only 4 years old, the
basement is concrete walls & floor slabs. The previous owner framed &
insulated most of the walls, two walls remain un-framed.

The basement has one main room, with a bathroom and utility room
(furnace & wash/dryer). The bathroom door is in line with the slider
to outside. My floor plan was to have large tile floor in the
bathroom, but use the same tile in the main room for the portion that
connects the slider door and bath room door. The rest (85%) of the
main room would be carpet. The utility room also would be tile.

Not sure how well this will show up in google groups, the dots are
tile, equalsigns are carpet:

----------
outsidewall-----------------------------------------------------------
|..........................
(bar).......|......................|.............. ......|
\slider................................
\bathroom........|.....utility........|
|........................................|........ ..............|....................|
|====================|......................|..... ..............|
|====================|----------------------....................|
|=======main==========|........................... ...............|
|======room===========|__________________| |____/
|=========================================|
|=========================================|


Not to scale of course but my point is that the main room will have
two different floor types (carpet & tile). Whats the best approach to
finish the floors?

Also, do I finish framing the walls first, or do the floors before the
walls? Or do I drywall the walls / ceilings THEN do the floors? Thanks.

1. You are not posting to Google Groups, you are posting to Usenet via
the Google Groups portal. Your message is going all over the world, far
beyond Google.

2. But to answer your questions- if basement is dry and warm, tile can
go right on the slab, and slab-rated padded carpet can also. Transition
strips will handle any problems with different heights. Do NOT glue the
carpet down, whatever you do. When basement floods, and most do
eventually, it will be hell to get up and dry out. Many people recommend
the tacky-bottom carpet squares that you can peel right up and take out
in the yard to dry, and even wash at the car wash if needed. Installed
carefully, they don't look too bad. Do walls and paint first. I'd
install a curb around the water heater, and put the washer in a catch
pan, to keep minor leaks contained. If you decide to go with a subfloor
for a warmer feel, get the squares with bumps on the back that allow
water to run underneath, and put moisture sensors down there, or have
some provision to easily peek underneath, like a lift-up panel in key
spots. Figure out the slope of your floor, and do not block the path of
water to any drains or sump pits. Look closely at your sliding door- did
they raise the sill above slab level, expecting a floor to be installed?
If not, that will be the hardest part to deal with. A thick floor will
also make the bottom step on the stairs feel wrong.

3. Personally, I prefer an all-concrete basement, but that is just me.
Easier to clean, for the type of stuff I like to do down there.

--
aem sends...