If you are doing basement renovation work in your home’s basement and setting up a room or office there, it is good to know a bit about how to frame basement walls and about insulating a basement. The first thing you will want to take care of, however, before getting started on either of these projects, is checking out the building codes in the area you live in. Some building codes have specifications regarding how to frame basement walls as far as what kind of materials should be used and whether certified professionals need to do part of the work, or at least check it. You may also need to check your insurance policy regarding this as well to make sure you can insure your home if you do the basement renovation by yourself.
After you have taken care of checking the building codes, make sure that your basement has no humidity problems before you start any work in it. Humidity in a basement will make living or working there difficult and it is a lot harder to fix once the basement renovation work and wall framing has been finished.
After any humidity has been taken care of, then you will want to carefully plan out exactly how you want to renovate the basement. Make detailed plans and then draw out the lines where the walls will be with chalk on the floor. You will need to put in wooden 2×4 boards for the floor and ceiling plates and then put in the wall studs lined up. It is important to have the wall studs lined up because this makes it a lot easier to add in the electrical wiring and plumbing if you are going to put a bathroom into the basement. It is also important to note that you should have a bit of space between the wooden framing and the basement walls.
Insulating the basement walls is a good idea if you are going to use the room a lot, as then it is easier to keep cool in the summer and warm in the winter. You will need to glue rigid foam insulation straight onto the basement walls and floors (not the framing) with a moisture resistant adhesive glue. You will then need to put in mud sill directly on top of this insulation but only on the basement floors and ceiling, not the walls. For insulating basement walls, you will need fiberglass insulation, which is then put in between the wall studs. You will want to be very careful handling this particular kind of insulation as it can irritate the skin if you do not wear gloves and clothing that covers your arms and legs.
This is all that you need to do to have well insulated basement walls but if you want, you can add sheet rock to the walls. While this is not an absolute must, it is not all that hard to do once the insulation is in place and it makes the room a lot more suited to be used as a bedroom or office.
If you are doing basement renovation work in your home’s basement and setting up a room or office there, it is good to know a bit about how to frame basement walls and about insulating a basement. The first thing you will want to take care of, however, before getting started on either of these projects, is checking out the building codes in the area you live in. Some building codes have specifications regarding how to frame basement walls as far as what kind of materials should be used and whether certified professionals need to do part of the work, or at least check it. You may also need to check your insurance policy regarding this as well to make sure you can insure your home if you do the basement renovation by yourself.
After you have taken care of checking the building codes, make sure that your basement has no humidity problems before you start any work in it. Humidity in a basement will make living or working there difficult and it is a lot harder to fix once the basement renovation work and wall framing has been finished.
After any humidity has been taken care of, then you will want to carefully plan out exactly how you want to renovate the basement. Make detailed plans and then draw out the lines where the walls will be with chalk on the floor. You will need to put in wooden 2×4 boards for the floor and ceiling plates and then put in the wall studs lined up. It is important to have the wall studs lined up because this makes it a lot easier to add in the electrical wiring and plumbing if you are going to put a bathroom into the basement. It is also important to note that you should have a bit of space between the wooden framing and the basement walls.
Insulating the basement walls is a good idea if you are going to use the room a lot, as then it is easier to keep cool in the summer and warm in the winter. You will need to glue rigid foam insulation straight onto the basement walls and floors (not the framing) with a moisture resistant adhesive glue. You will then need to put in mud sill directly on top of this insulation but only on the basement floors and ceiling, not the walls. For insulating basement walls, you will need fiberglass insulation, which is then put in between the wall studs. You will want to be very careful handling this particular kind of insulation as it can irritate the skin if you do not wear gloves and clothing that covers your arms and legs.
This is all that you need to do to have well insulated basement walls but if you want, you can add sheet rock to the walls. While this is not an absolute must, it is not all that hard to do once the insulation is in place and it makes the room a lot more suited to be used as a bedroom or office.
photo credit: Andrew Ciscel