Finishing a basement?

[wrx-n-ktm]

Has anyone here finished their basement, or a room in the basement?

I plan on having 1/2 of my basement finished before spring time. It's going to be about 20'X16'. My plan is a subfloor specific for basements, a drop ceiling, and basic framed out walls with moisture resistant sheetrock.

Anyone have any tips? I already bought a 5 gallon pail of Dryloc concrete sealant/paint for the walls before I frame them out. I would love to be able to move one of my lolly columns a few feet, but the more I research that the more it seems to be a bad idea.

Oh, and I plan on doing all of the work myself unless I decide to try to move the column.

 

[tk5028]

Is it a underground basement, ie. concrete or block walls? If so you could use blue styrofoam for insulation under the drywall. Use it under your floor also for added heat. You mentioned a droped celing. Check your local codes. With a subfloor you might be limited on a drop celing. Here I believe there is a minimum between floor and celing. Also, have the carpet installed by a "real" pro. Avoid those cheep $99 install specials from places like Menards. I have friends (and some myself) who are carpet installers. These "specials" that are offered are a bunch of cheep newbies who usually do not know what they are doing and you will end up having repairs in a couple of years down the road. We did part of a Meriot hotel in Omaha and they had some of those kind of installers. You could walk down the halls and see the seams in the rooms. Amoung other things. You can look right at our seams knowing where they are and still cannot find them. Remember, you do get what you pay for.

 

[joesbruiser]

I have one suggestion.
When doing your Dryloc bring it down the wall and onto the concrete slab a little 2-3 inches.And do several coats so it fills any pits or voids.The stuff works wonders as long as you use enough of it.

 

[usa1man]

i did my basement last winter i first built the frame work, then insulated with blue styrofoam . then cover with moisture resistant sheetrock. after a couple weeks of mudding and sanding and painting it was done. i too wanted to add a drop celing but i have to much low hanging duct work to mak it look good so i left it open. my floor is cement so i coverd it with black and white tile to give it that raceing flag look

 

[wrx-n-ktm]

So far I have used 6 gallons of drylock, and I probably need 5 more. That chit aint cheap either!

I think I am going to use this for a subfloor, it'll end up costing me about $650. I hope it's worth it in the long run. http://www.dricore.com/en/eIndex.aspx

 

[wrx-n-ktm]

this was the area I am trying to finish before...

And after about 20 dump runs and countless hours!

 

[Flip]

The Dri-core is some good stuff to use but before putting it down I would seal the basement floor first. Use a two part epoxy finish, I know it is expensive to cover up but hear me out. The epoxy will seal out the Radon gas trying to make it into your basement. You may not care now but if you sell your house and the buyers request a test which if Radon is found, the cure will be more expensive.