My unfinished large basement near Philly is cool in winter -- not cold. I have guests sleep there, sometimes they use a small electric heater but its not bad. And its cool in the summer. I want to finish the basement. I have no water leakage even during heavy rains, but a french drain exists around the basement -- done by the builder. I'm curious about opinions on:
- sheetrocking on top of 2x4's on the walls. If I can avoid insulating, should I? Does insulating between 2x4's expose me to other hazards. If I insulate, I don't need much -- but what insulation is best to use that will fit in between the 2x4's and not have problems with mold?
- If I choose not to insulate, then why bother with 2x4's which decrease the square footage of the basement. I'm wondering if I can just attach 8x6' (or something like that) vinyl panels I see at H. Depot. They have nice looking patterns on them, and make the walls look a lot better than exposed cinder block. I guess they're usually used in kitchens but they look great. They're usually nailed into sheetrock I suppose. I wonder if they can go directly onto the cinder block walls or is this a stupid thing to do from a mold perspective.
- For the roof of the basement, I can use a drop ceiling but I don't like that it decreases the height (even though I have a deep basement). I'm thinking of just sheetrocking, and using insulation to keep noise from upstairs from reaching the basement (which occurs now). Is there any kind of *sound proofing* sheetrock I can use instead, so I don't have to needlessly insulate my entire basement ceiling just to eliminate sound ;)
TY all for any advice Jason Shohet