Ideas to cover insulation in unfinished basement

[Spork]

I would like to start using my basement more. I don't have the time or money to finish it and not sure if I would want to anyway. Half the wall is above ground so its insulated with plastic stapled over it. I don't mind a plain basement look but the exposed insulation is terrible. I was thinking about putting drywall over the ugly insulation just to make it a bit neater. Would this be ok? I like the idea of leaving the basement unfinished in case of any future moisture problems.

I've even thought of the possibility of being able to paint the concrete and drywall to make it look more like a wall. I wonder how the painting would go over if I ever did have to sell the house though.

thanks

[Spork]

Just to clarify the plain foundation makes up half the wall and I wanted to leave that open. I wanted to use the drywall to make it more seamless with the studded portion above it.

[Ed Pawlowski]

Your basements sounds like a typical raised ranch style home in our area. Part below, part above grade. The good news is they are usually dry, or at leas dryer than a full basement. You will get benefits of insulating the concrete portion. It can be framed with 2 x 4, wired, then insulated and sheetrocked. You can use construction adhesive and put up foam board and sheetrok on top of that. If you do a good enough job, you can even paint it and leave the seams as is. Unless you want it for a nice family room, it is plenty good enough as a storage or workshop area just with the rock screwed in place.

[Frank]

When I did mine, I put polyethylene sheeting over the block, framed the wall, insulated and put peg board over it. I use it as a work area but painted the peg board and floor. Ceiling is unfinished. Its actually only half my basement and other side had been finished by builder as family room. Entire back wall is above ground and ceilings are eight foot. I had done wall and a half in above ground, unfinished part. Other wall and a half are painted. Wall between finished and unfinished had drywall which I painted and put homemade shelves on entire wall. There are also 3 full windows on fully exposed side and two basement window where mostly below ground.

[HerHusband]

If I'm understanding correctly, the lower 3-4 feet of your wall is the bare concrete foundation, and the upper half is framed with wood studs and insulated. Is that correct?

If so, it sounds like my garage, except my concrete is only 2 feet high. In my case, the stud wall was exactly 1/2" less thick than the concrete wall, so adding the 1/2" drywall made the two surfaces flush. Of course, the two sections don't have to be flush, but it makes for a more seamless look, and is easy to cover with trim if you don't want to leave the transition exposed.

I like the lower exposed concrete in my garage, as it allows me to hose down the floor when needed without worrying about damaging the drywall (which would be a problem if you framed a full wall clear to the floor).

Unless this is going to be a finished space with carpet or wood flooring, I would not paint the concrete wall.

Another option, if your stud wall and concrete wall are already flush, would be to bring the drywall all the way to the floor (or 1/2" off the bottom to avoid moisture wicking). You could screw the upper half, and use adhesives to glue the lower half to the concrete.

Good luck,

Anthony

[hrhofmann]

Do you have poured concrete walls or cement/cinder block walls? Will the added sheetrock surface joint where it meets the concrete be flush, or will the sheetrock be "inside" the concrete block. Why not put sheetrock over the entire wall? What did the builder do for the other halc of the basement? Follow his lead.

[Evan]

Once you close in the stud walls your basement is considered "finished" and will require more lighting and power receptacles than are typically provided for unfinished basements...

Do this properly and obtain building permits and get your work inspected OR this type of thing will come back to bite you if you sell your home as the basement will be listed as unfinished with the local building department and any discrepancies in what exists and what is known to the building department will cause issues with a listing/sale of the property and may in fact take away value rather than adding it as there would be back permit fees, inspections and penalties to pay before someone could legally use that space for uses other than as an unfinished basement...

~~ Evan

[Spork]

Thats right and yes it is poured concrete. I don't think it would be flush with the drywall but I don't mind. A 4x8 sheet should fit in just right. Sounds like you have already done what I have been thinking about. As I said I don't mind the plain basement look its just the insulation that bugs me. The stuff should be covered up better anyway.

[HerHusband]

You could always shim out the studs, use thicker drywall, or two layers of drywall to make the drywall surface flush with the concrete. It's not a big deal, just a little nicer visually, and works better if you're hanging things on the wall or standing cabinets against the wall.

If your insulation has a kraft paper face (vapor retarder), it is also a fire hazard to leave exposed (it usually says so right on the face of the insulation).

Good luck!

Anthony

[Rath]

Have you done anything on your basement ?

I have the same unfinished basement I want to use it for a play area for my kid and put a pingpong table. The top 4 feet is not flush with the botton concrete wall on one side of the basement. So I was thinking to shim out the studs and drywall and make the full wall even. I have already painted the concrete wall. On the celing I have taken the insulation (which is between the wooden frames which is coved with brown paper) out and paited the ceiling. Now I want to put the insulation back but the problem is how to cover the insulation ? It doesn't look good on the celing. Can I just don't put the insulation back to the celing and any issues with that ? If I put it back what are my options to cover it ? Please advice.

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[brandywinefarm]

replying to Evan, brandywinefarm wrote: Unless you live in a FREE state without all the government intrusion into your personal life.....