Finishing a Basement: Question!

[jerseycat10]

Posted Nov 08, 2005 07:40 PM I am finishing my basement, and I have one wall that I am unsure how to handle. Basically, here is the wall in question. Notice its adjacency to my staircase.

If I decide to go with studs straight against this wall, like this:

, I am going to severely interfere with the size of that opening into the basement. Also, I wouldn't know how to handle the transition from studded wall to the sheetrock that is pre-existent in the stairwell (as can be seen in the first image I linked).

I guess my question is, should I go with a studded wall, furring strips, or am I supposed to somehow adhere the drywall/sheetrock to the concrete wall. The last solution makes a little sense because it would line up nicely with the sheetrock that already exists at the top of the stairwell. Thoughts?

Thanks.

[reardong]

I just finished my basement and had a very similar problem. I only had to address the stairwell and landing area, not the whole basement wall as you do. I glued the drywall directly to the block. Some people recommended against this, but in order to mate up with the existing drywall and not reduce the width of the stairs, I felt it was the best choice.

good luck Jerry

[Goedjn]

use a string-compass to draw an arc from that 2x4 post, to see how close you can come with the 2x4 studwall. from that point into the corner, and up the stairs, glue the thinnest urethane foam-board you can find to the wall, and glue sheetrock to that. This will make a bump-put with the existing sheetrock upstairs. Cover the transition with molding.

The continuous support of the foam behind the rock means you have to hit the wall harder to punch a hole, which you're eventually going to to anyway, moving furniture up and down.

[No]

I'm not sure exactly how I would handle it either. The three options you suggest are your only options I can think of. So, pros and cons of each.

Stud wall Pro - room for mechanicals, easy to wire, can make nice a straight Con - loss of room at stair winder, will have a funny shelf at transition (Can be a decorative element though)

Furring Strips Pro - less loss of room, still able to run electric Con - can be a pain to get plumb and straight, no room for measurable insulation (Not a big deal if below grade IMO), more work than studs, attachment can showcase water issues that maybe were not evident, shelf created at transition is too small to put anything on.

Glued direct Pro - fair transition to 1st floor drywall, best maximization of space Con - no room for electric (Possibly a code issue), moisture, no way to ensure plumb and straight, could look like crap, still will probably not line up with upstairs drywall anyway.

So, if it were me - I would do the furring strips IF the wall was straight and plumb and the basement was very very dry. If there were any chance of moisture seeping through the block then I would do a stud wall.

[jerseycat10]

Thank you for your response. What kind of glue did you use to adhere the drywall to the block? Has is held up so far? I searched and saw your original post that was very similar to mine. A lot of people were adamant against not gluing the drywall directly to the block. That kind of worries me.

Another question.. How do you fasten furring strips to cinder blocks? And since they are so thin, how do you fasten drywall to furring strips?

[jerseycat10]

Awesome answer. While furring strips sound nice, I am wary of tapping into my concrete blocks. I don't have any known water problems in my 8 year old house, but I don't want to mess with the structural integrity of it either. I may suck it up and stud it, and create the decorative shelf you were speaking of. This also gives me the advantge of being able to run electrical back there, and conform to code all at the same time. I can make up the lost room at the landing of the staircase by knocking out a stud or 2 on the other side, like many of my neighbors have done. Thanks for your comprehensive answer.

[reardong]

I used Liquid Nails "Heavy Duty Construction & Remodeling Adhesive"

But I see on their web site the do have some just for drywall. It has held up great but its only been about two weeks.

[The Reverend Natural Light]

Cut off the stairs a step or two above where they end now. Replace the landing with a taller one to make up for the missing stairs. Build new steps leading from the landing to floor level. It'd leave room for a framed wall and end up with more width than you have now. It depends on how high the ceilings are, of course.

You could even open up the wall a bit for a nicer appearance.

Furred walls will mold. My basement was built that way and the mess I had to tear out was unbelievable.

Nice photos. What's on the other side of that damp spot on the wall?

-rev

[jerseycat10]

That damp spot is actually not damp. That where I applied extra thick water sealant. I made a particularly thick batch the first time, and that was the end result.

[PDQ]

Construction grade adhesive.

DO NOT NAIL INTO THE CINDER BLOCKS.

The clot before me did and I had to rip all my basement out and re-mortar the walls with a hydraulic cement slurry. As soon as one puts nails into cinder block, they lose their integrity and start letting water in where it is not wanted

[No]

No problem, thanks for the compliment. Yea, I do not like the idea of taping into block either. I think you would be OK if there isn't water present. I do not think you will lose structural integrity just because of a few holes.

As far as electrical - Around here, IIRC, code is an outlet every 6' or so along a wall. The idea is to minimize extension cords. Studs make this easy to do. If you keep them back away from the wall 1/2" then you can even avoid drilling holes (Probably not code though).

-B

[bambam]

Assuming you're in a heating climate and that concrete block wall is an outside wall, there is only one choice: 2 x 4 stud wall roughly half an inch from the concrete block, insulation and vapour barrier.

Enlarge the opening from the stair well by moving the end stud on the existing partition wall back six or eight inches.

The stairwell will be what it is ... if you have a jog, so be it.

Ken

[frank-in-toronto]

if the ceiling allows it, this is the best choice. you get a nice looking landing and a well insulated wall. if the ceiling doesn't allow it, you have trouble. then, to make the best of a bad situation, move that last 2X4 vertical back a half step or more and think about what side to put the railing on. i'm not sure which is best. ....thehick

[roger61611]

Could you not just use drylock or other thick paintlike substance designed for this sort of application, directly onto the concrete block ? You can paint it then and assuming it's reasonably dry down there it'll look fine, covers up the seams between the bricks.

If it's not dry down there, the added drywall will be a emss in 10 yrs.

[Robert L. Haar]

You don't need a full 24x wall if it isn't load bearing. You could get by with 2x2 stud or even 1x furring strips. Furring strips will give enough clearance for running electrical wires and a bit of insulation but you will have trouble fitting in the electrical boxes for any outlets in that wall.

[Colbyt]

He will be fine using the shallow boxes and mostly legal if there are only 3 wires in each box.

Colbyt

[willshak]

On 11/9/2005 10:43 AM US(ET), jerseycat10 took fingers to keyboard, and typed the following:

Your second idea would be the route I would go. I would use 2x? framing and then end the framing about 2' from the stairwell so as not to decrease the width of the stairwell, then use construction adhesive to glue the sheetrock to the block wall from the framing end into the stairwell. I suppose you will be insulating the framed wall?

[willshak]

On 11/10/2005 8:33 AM US(ET), willshak took fingers to keyboard, and typed the following:

Some added thoughts after looking at the pic again. You look like you may have a moisture problem in that one area. You might want to paint the block with a waterproofing paint first before doing any covering. The second thought is to widen the opening of that stairwell by removing the last stud and using the second from last stud as the new end stud. That is, if you intend to put any furniture down there. I doubt whether you can turn a couch through that opening as it stands now.

[Stormin Mormon]

As a guy who works in peoples cellars, finished ceilings are the biggest pain in the job. I would never finish a cellar. at least not more than a drop ceiling.

[No]

Look at it from a home owners perspective. It costs about 1/5, or less, to install drywall versus a drop ceiling. You can patch/repair the drywall many times over for less than the cost of a drop ceiling. Just make sure you have things mapped out and do not cover over shut-offs and such.

Convenience versus aesthetics and cost. I have gone both ways on this issue. I am leaning toward drywall for the rest of my basement. I will get more headroom, have a better look, lower cost, etc. I will run all wires I think I will ever need, map out and diagram where everything is, etc.