I've been reading the vault of postings for basement refinishing, and
had a couple of questions....

I have joists in the basement, 8' ceilings. So I was going to put 1x3
pressure treated down, shim them up, and cover with OSB for the
subfloor (this is on top of concrete, no water problems). Then carpet
over that, sound good?

I do have a drain for a toilet, and thought it'd be a good idea to
stick one down there while I'm at it. The water softener is right
by that drain, so would you recommend framing that into the bathroom to
get it out of sight?

The landing for the basement is only open to the left. It's framed in
with a door, and it's impossible to move anything larger than 4x4
through that door. Terrible design. I was going to rip that door out
and open up the wall a bit going down to move larger objects down there
(like a pool table, drywall, etc). Any problem in doing so?

Drop ceiling... While I'd rather have drywall ceilings, drop will make
it so much easier for running pipes, wires, etc, in the future. Do you
frame around main air duct that splits the room or drop the ceiling
another 6" to cover the whole thing?

TIA.

wrote:
I've been reading the vault of postings for basement refinishing, and
had a couple of questions....

I have joists in the basement, 8' ceilings. So I was going to put 1x3
pressure treated down, shim them up, and cover with OSB for the
subfloor (this is on top of concrete, no water problems). Then carpet
over that, sound good?


Cant comment. I am putting carpet tiles down ontop of the cement.

I do have a drain for a toilet, and thought it'd be a good idea to
stick one down there while I'm at it. The water softener is right
by that drain, so would you recommend framing that into the bathroom to
get it out of sight?


Or move the softner since its just piping. Framing the bathroom is a
good idea.


The landing for the basement is only open to the left. It's framed in
with a door, and it's impossible to move anything larger than 4x4
through that door. Terrible design. I was going to rip that door out
and open up the wall a bit going down to move larger objects down there
(like a pool table, drywall, etc). Any problem in doing so?


good idea. Do it now before you have to bring down a hot water heater
or new furnace, etc.


Drop ceiling... While I'd rather have drywall ceilings, drop will make
it so much easier for running pipes, wires, etc, in the future. Do you
frame around main air duct that splits the room or drop the ceiling
another 6" to cover the whole thing?

TIA.


my basement is drywalled over the main I-beam where the return ducts are
also, and drop ceiling everywhere else.


--
Respectfully,


CL Gilbert

wrote in message

I have joists in the basement, 8' ceilings. So I was going to put 1x3
pressure treated down, shim them up, and cover with OSB for the
subfloor (this is on top of concrete, no water problems). Then carpet
over that, sound good?


Moisture barrier, then indulation between the 1 x 3. I don' tknow how good
OSB is for a floor, I'd use plywood.


I do have a drain for a toilet, and thought it'd be a good idea to
stick one down there while I'm at it. The water softener is right
by that drain, so would you recommend framing that into the bathroom to
get it out of sight?

Probably would look better that way.


The landing for the basement is only open to the left. It's framed in
with a door, and it's impossible to move anything larger than 4x4
through that door. Terrible design. I was going to rip that door out
and open up the wall a bit going down to move larger objects down there
(like a pool table, drywall, etc). Any problem in doing so?

Yes, it is a fire hazzard. Check with your building officialn, but AFAIK, a
door is requred to a basement with utilities. Wider door or a double door
is a good idea though. You can put up a 32" door for normal use, but have a
swinging 18" or so side for when you need the extra space.



Drop ceiling... While I'd rather have drywall ceilings, drop will make
it so much easier for running pipes, wires, etc, in the future. Do you
frame around main air duct that splits the room or drop the ceiling
another 6" to cover the whole thing?

What looks best to you and is practical to work with.

Edwin Pawlowski wrote:

wrote in message

I have joists in the basement, 8' ceilings. So I was going to put 1x3
pressure treated down, shim them up, and cover with OSB for the
subfloor (this is on top of concrete, no water problems). Then carpet
over that, sound good?


Moisture barrier, then indulation between the 1 x 3. I don' tknow how good
OSB is for a floor, I'd use plywood.

Not for a basement...it will absorb moisture and swell far worse than
ply even though it is cheaper...

.....

I have joists in the basement, 8' ceilings. So I was going to put 1x3
pressure treated down, shim them up, and cover with OSB for the
subfloor (this is on top of concrete, no water problems). Then carpet
over that, sound good?

Basement tends to have a higher humidity level than the rest of the
house because the HVAC system probably will not take care of the
basement. Stepping on a carpet that has a slightly higher humidity
level may have a kind of sticky feeling.

Drop ceiling... While I'd rather have drywall ceilings, drop will make
it so much easier for running pipes, wires, etc, in the future. Do you
frame around main air duct that splits the room or drop the ceiling
another 6" to cover the whole thing?

I like drop ceiling for running wiring. Many time we simply cannot
forsee what kind of wiring that we may need to run in the future. A
drop-ceiling takes care of this possibility.

I would not want to drop the ceiling by 6". You has 8-ft ceiling that
is reasonably good height. But then you need to subtract the floor
height and the drop ceiling height. You may end up getting 7-ft left.
If you need to drop the ceiling further by 6" for the air duct, you
will only have 6.5-ft left. That is a bit too low. And a low ceiling
will subtract the "value" of a finished basement (here "value" means
the value to you in term of comfort and having a good feeling, and is
not in term of dollar value).

Seem like the air duct runs along the center of the room, you can frame
around it, and kind of using it as a way to divide the room into two
areas to achieve a "rooms within a room" effect -- like one side is a
bar another side is an entertainment center. And you can put furniture
around it to re-inforce the idea.

Jay Chan

Edwin Pawlowski wrote:
wrote in message

I have joists in the basement, 8' ceilings. So I was going to put 1x3
pressure treated down, shim them up, and cover with OSB for the
subfloor (this is on top of concrete, no water problems). Then carpet
over that, sound good?


Moisture barrier, then indulation between the 1 x 3. I don' tknow how good
OSB is for a floor, I'd use plywood.

Thanks.


The landing for the basement is only open to the left. It's framed in
with a door, and it's impossible to move anything larger than 4x4
through that door. Terrible design. I was going to rip that door out
and open up the wall a bit going down to move larger objects down there
(like a pool table, drywall, etc). Any problem in doing so?

Yes, it is a fire hazzard. Check with your building officialn, but AFAIK, a
door is requred to a basement with utilities.

Ok, let me add this: I've already partitioned the basement with my
woodshop in one half with sheetrock and a door (with the utilities),
and the part I'm going to finish in the other. Does that count?