Basement Drywall Glued On?

[cant_have_my_email]

The basement in my house had unfinished drywall on all the concrete walls when I bought the place. The one thing I noticed was that it was glued up - I've never really seen that done but I know it's not that uncommon.

Now, a couple years later I'm thinking of finishing the basement and taking a closer look at things. I guess I assumed the drywall was glued to furring strips - WRONG! It appears there's just about an inch of orange foam insulation (presumably glued to the concrete) and then the drywall is glued directly to the insulation!

Is this acceptable? It seems pretty iffy to me but the thought of tearing down 30 sheets of drywall and insulation put up with ridiculously strong glue makes me feel all woozy inside. Not to mention I then have to start all over and do it myself. :(

Somebody save me! Thanks in advance for your help!

[aemeijers]

Shrug. Was the work done under permit? Is it up to local code?

I'd say it wasn't the best way to do it, but if it is holding up okay, I wouldn't feel the need to rip it out. Note that there may be furring you can't see- sometimes foam board has a depression to lay 1x strapping in.

As you finish out the basement, design your new work so you can eventually peel the walls if needed. For example, make any new walls you add have the last two feet where they 't' into the outside wall removable by framing it up as a separate panel held to the rest of the wall with lag screws, lay out the grid for the drop ceiling so the edge row can be removed without trashing the whole ceiling, do any wiring on the outside walls with surface raceway, etc. That way, if the outside walls ever do start causing problems, you can peel them down to bare concrete without trashing the entire basement.

-- aem sends...

[willshak]

on 4/6/2008 12:48 AM cant_have_my [e-mail] said the following:

Why do you want to pull it off? Is it coming loose?

[cant_have_my_email]

Thanks for the advice. Finishing it so that if it ever does become a problem is a great idea.

Just FYI, I'm sure there aren't furring strips. I put in a long finish nail every inch for two feet and hit nothing. I haven't checked the local code, but our home inspector was great so I'm sure he would have mentioned anything out of sorts.

I definitely don't WANT to pull it off, but I guess I'd rather pull it off now than 5 years from now. Overall, it feels solid. There are a two corners that have come loose a little but they are in out-of-the- way places that won't be exposed after I frame it.

Again, thanks for taking the time to respond. I truly appreciate it!

[..]

The foam helps to serve as a vapor barrier to keep condensation from forming between the drywall and the foundation. The safety consideration would be covering the foam, which is flammable, with drywall.

I'm doing a project to finish part of my basement and cemented 2-inch thick extreded foam to the cement walls. However, I'm installing a 2X4 frame before I put up drywall, because I want to be able to mount some nice cabinets in the laundry area.

Dean

[Jeff]

I think Dean hit the nail on the head. The drywall is in place as a fire protection for the foam as opposed to being intented as the finished wall. If the walls are even and secure I can't see why you couldn't just finish them as is. If not you can put up stud walls in front of the glued on dry wall. I would not tear off the existing drywall unless you were prepared to remove the foam insulation as well.

Likewise Dean should think about doing the same, installing drywall or some other fire break directly over his foam insulation before putting up 2X4 walls.

I'm doing a project to finish part of my basement and cemented 2-inch thick extreded foam to the cement walls. However, I'm installing a 2X4 frame before I put up drywall, because I want to be able to mount some nice cabinets in the laundry area.

Dean