Basement Project

scott_vt · Jan 9, 2007

Mornin Rob,
Very neat looking job ! Just a bit off topic, but what are you using to hang all those pics on the walls ? Conventional wall hooks with a finish nail ? The reason I ask is my wife is driving me crazy with finish nails all over the place and actually in one place damaged the sheetrock so bad that it needs to be spackled and wont be able to support another picture

Great job !

RobS · Jan 9, 2007

scott_vt said:
Mornin Rob,
Very neat looking job ! Just a bit off topic, but what are you using to hang all those pics on the walls ? Conventional wall hooks with a finish nail ? The reason I ask is my wife is driving me crazy with finish nails all over the place and actually in one place damaged the sheetrock so bad that it needs to be spackled and wont be able to support another picture

Great job !

Thanks Scotty, all those pics are hung with nothing but a thin nail. I think they are the nails that come with the picture hangers but I don't use the hangers. None of them are very heavy. I have taken to using my nifty little suction cup/laser level to keep things lined up where I want. That has helped avoid the "multiple hole syndrome". Most times I can push the nail in with my thumb, occasionally needs a tap. Once in a blue moon I'll hit a stud and have to use a hammer proper.

ldabe · Jan 26, 2007

Rob, first of all great job!
Second, I am building a room in my basement for guests and a quilting/sewing room for my wife when there are no guests. It is 14'x24'. (total basement is 30'x54')
The question I have for you, is how are you heating the downstairs?
I use a woodburner upstairs which keeps most of the upstairs around 68-71 degrees. The T-stat is set on 64, but does not turn on the furnace until around 2-3a.m. in the morning when the fire dies out. So, I am not sure how your heating needs are in your basement, but I seem to have a problem.
Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Thanks, and again, great job.
Abe.

weldingisfun · Jan 26, 2007

Wow!

Great work!

elalexander · Jan 29, 2007

Robs, Great project. I'm sure your family will spend a lot of time down there. I have started tearing out the old paneling in our rec room and we are in the process of looking at books etc for ideas. My wife also wants a small bar/counter area and we both love what you have done with yours. In one of your first pics I noticed you to have a deep window well. Is that a ladder for escape outside of it? I need to make our window larger to let more light in. Enjoyed looking at your project, great job. EL.

RobS · Jan 29, 2007

Thanks guys, hope to get back on track this weekend. I did get the base trim up the other day but this past weekend was Boy Scouts' Klondike Derby.

Abe, for our heat there were heat runs already in place so my job was pretty easy. If I had all the money in the world, I'd put some sort of radiant floor heat in but as it is, it's comfortable. With your wood heat, you could still run some heat ducts and run the furnace fan all the time. That may circulate enough heat. If not, you could always add a small stand-alone heat source. Our basement is probably the best insulated space in the house so it doesn't take too much heat.

EL, yes the window has a ladder for escape. It's not too attractive, but meets code for egress. One of these years, I'll replace the corrugated steel with landscape block. Thankfully, the windows were put in at time of construction. I helped a buddy cut some into his basement and that was one big job!

I hope to build the countertop this weekend, I'll post pics along the way!

WayneB · Jan 29, 2007

Great job! I am assuming that the wife is getting you the new Unisaw for the shop, Right?

rox · Jan 29, 2007

elaxander,
One very good source for finind basement remodel ideas is to go visit high end model homes. You will get lots of ideas.

elalexander · Feb 1, 2007

Thanks Rox. Rob. Did you make your own molding etc. or get it from a home center? If you had it cut, then made it I would like to hear how/what you had done. Drying time etc. Our digital camera is on the fritz but I have been using my little Bolens to skid in logs that I will have cut to plank our Rec room. Leftover, maybe a tractor shed who kowns. I hate to use Oak and Hickory for a shed. Wind downed trees from the last big storms that are to good for firewood. EL

RobS · Feb 1, 2007

elalexander said:
Rob. Did you make your own molding etc. or get it from a home center? If you had it cut, then made it I would like to hear how/what you had done. Drying time etc. Our digital camera is on the fritz but I have been using my little Bolens to skid in logs that I will have cut to plank our Rec room. Leftover, maybe a tractor shed who kowns. I hate to use Oak and Hickory for a shed. Wind downed trees from the last big storms that are to good for firewood. EL

Neither EL, the molding is the same as the rest of the house. It's MDF and a fairly large profile. I get it from the same place the original contractor did as the home centers don't carry this profile. It's pricey, but no where near what real wood would be. It looks great painted.

I'll be anxious to see your work. I'd love to have real wood but have neither the time to do it my self nor the money to buy it ready to hang.