I have wood paneling on furring strips on cinderblock in my basement. For a
contractor to redo it with drywall, he needs to do it to code and build out
almost 2 inches to bring it up to R-13.

I know 1.5 inches is just that, but how much does this perceptibly make a
room smaller? I tend to think it is worth it to have the work done, but
worry a little about losing the space, since it is at a premium.

Buck Turgidson wrote:
I have wood paneling on furring strips on cinderblock in my basement. For a
contractor to redo it with drywall, he needs to do it to code and build out
almost 2 inches to bring it up to R-13.

I know 1.5 inches is just that, but how much does this perceptibly make a
room smaller? I tend to think it is worth it to have the work done, but
worry a little about losing the space, since it is at a premium.



I would think that part of the answer would depend on how big the space
is to begin with. The size of a closet? Then a 2-inch shrinkage may mean
something. The size of a stadium? Who's going to know?

When I remodeled my basement recreation room splitting the 25X25 space
into 2/3rd and 1/3rd to make an "extra" room and insulated and drywalled
getting rid of the '64-vintage dark wood paneling in the process the
space actually felt larger because of the lighter colored walls.
Removing the old lighting fixtures and putting in recessed cans and
track lighting also increased the visual space.

--
John McGaw
[Knoxville, TN, USA]
http://johnmcgaw.com

On Sun, 21 Jan 2007 14:50:04 -0500, "Buck Turgidson"
wrote:

I have wood paneling on furring strips on cinderblock in my basement. For a
contractor to redo it with drywall, he needs to do it to code and build out
almost 2 inches to bring it up to R-13.

I know 1.5 inches is just that, but how much does this perceptibly make a
room smaller? I tend to think it is worth it to have the work done, but
worry a little about losing the space, since it is at a premium.



Actually it's on both sides of the room, so times it by two for lost
space. I would suggest, guessing the room size is large enough to be
worth finishing, live with the size shrinkage, or go to extruded foam.
You might have enough space for the foam to give you the r13.

Just guessing....

tom @ www.YourMoneySavingTips.com

If the room is currently furnished, and you plan to return the furniture to
the same general positions, then the best thing to do is look around and
measure to see if anything is not going fit after the loss of the 1.5 inches
(or more if opposite walls will need built out). Otherwise, besides things
like carpet that might need recut to size, you probably aren't going to
notice it unless the room is closet size!

Oh, and if there is existing floor-covering, particularly carpet, make sure
the contactor doesn't build right on top of it. Make him pull it up, or at
least cut and remove where he's building. My bro-in-law had a new laundry
room put in and the guy just built the new walls on the old capet. When he
had a washer leak a few months later he found that the old carpet on the
hall outside the room was UNDER the new wall, and of course was soaked.

"Buck Turgidson" wrote in message
...
I have wood paneling on furring strips on cinderblock in my basement. For
a contractor to redo it with drywall, he needs to do it to code and build
out almost 2 inches to bring it up to R-13.

I know 1.5 inches is just that, but how much does this perceptibly make a
room smaller? I tend to think it is worth it to have the work done, but
worry a little about losing the space, since it is at a premium.

"Tom The Great" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 21 Jan 2007 14:50:04 -0500, "Buck Turgidson"
wrote:

I have wood paneling on furring strips on cinderblock in my basement. For
a
contractor to redo it with drywall, he needs to do it to code and build
out
almost 2 inches to bring it up to R-13.

I know 1.5 inches is just that, but how much does this perceptibly make a
room smaller? I tend to think it is worth it to have the work done, but
worry a little about losing the space, since it is at a premium.



Actually it's on both sides of the room, so times it by two for lost
space. I would suggest, guessing the room size is large enough to be
worth finishing, live with the size shrinkage, or go to extruded foam.
You might have enough space for the foam to give you the r13.

Just guessing....

tom @ www.YourMoneySavingTips.com



I'm glad this question came up. I was thinking of doing something very
similar to this as a place to hide my rather expensive rifle collection.
Place them behind a false wall - it only has to be about 7 inches wide, so
that to a casual or even thorough robber they won't be stolen. The trick is
hiding the door.

I would think that part of the answer would depend on how big the space
is to begin with. The size of a closet? Then a 2-inch shrinkage may mean
something. The size of a stadium? Who's going to know?

I agree.

On Sun, 21 Jan 2007 15:14:37 -0500, John McGaw
wrote:

Buck Turgidson wrote:
I have wood paneling on furring strips on cinderblock in my basement. For a
contractor to redo it with drywall, he needs to do it to code and build out
almost 2 inches to bring it up to R-13.

I know 1.5 inches is just that, but how much does this perceptibly make a
room smaller? I tend to think it is worth it to have the work done, but
worry a little about losing the space, since it is at a premium.



I would think that part of the answer would depend on how big the space
is to begin with. The size of a closet? Then a 2-inch shrinkage may mean
something. The size of a stadium? Who's going to know?

When I remodeled my basement recreation room splitting the 25X25 space
into 2/3rd and 1/3rd to make an "extra" room and insulated and drywalled
getting rid of the '64-vintage dark wood paneling in the process the
space actually felt larger because of the lighter colored walls.
Removing the old lighting fixtures and putting in recessed cans and
track lighting also increased the visual space.

Fake windows.