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My Basement Reno Project

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Aug 4, 2010
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aprofetto wrote: Looks like the final coat of mudding/sanding won't happen until the weekend of May 2nd. He was supposed to be coming back this weekend to finish off, but will be out of town.

Damn, this wait is going to be torture! Can't think of anything else I can do either until the drywall is finished.
Subfloor?
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Start stripping the wire and putting receptacles in?
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maybe next time use plexiglass or glass for the walls??? that way everything will be still 'visible' :)

i also like it better without the drywall lol
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pardnme wrote: maybe next time use plexiglass or glass for the walls??? that way everything will be still 'visible' :)

i also like it better without the drywall lol
You may be on to something. Tempered glass walls showing off the bluwood and roxul. Genius!
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amace wrote: You may be on to something. Tempered glass walls showing off the bluwood and roxul. Genius!
Hmmm... Interesting. Just remember to use regular drywall around the bathroom!

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dgmorr wrote: Start stripping the wire and putting receptacles in?
Not until paint is done. The wires should have been stripped at rough-in anyways, and neutral bonded to the box. Without passing judgement on the issue of permits yet again, I will note that this would have been required to pass ESA inspection had the OP pulled a permit.
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Very interesting thread!
We plan on doing our basement sometime too but I'm nowhere near as handy (i.e. we'll be hiring someone probably)... Looking at your recent set of pictures though...isn't it going to be a pain in the butt to get furniture down there with that 90 degree turn down the stairs like that? I'm thinking things like large couches or tables, etc.
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lol so many suggestions. I love it - especially the glass walls to show off the bluwood and roxul.

I want to save everything that was said though for after the final coat of mudding and sanding. In the grand scheme of things, a week longer than anticipated really shouldn't be something I let bother me. It'll just be more of me aimlessly wandering around downstairs starring at the walls.
ipxxx wrote: Very interesting thread!
We plan on doing our basement sometime too but I'm nowhere near as handy (i.e. we'll be hiring someone probably)... Looking at your recent set of pictures though...isn't it going to be a pain in the butt to get furniture down there with that 90 degree turn down the stairs like that? I'm thinking things like large couches or tables, etc.
The landing is deceiving, I've gotten a treadmill down there (by myself believe it or not, almost killed both me and the treadmill in the process though). The landing is 8' 2" tall and the narrowest point is about 3'. The biggest hurdle will likely be the long couch, we'll see what happens when the time comes. I've moved smaller pieces of furniture up and down no problem in the past.

EDIT: I just realized you're probably talking about the bottom of the stairs. It's actually a wider spot than the landing believe it or not. So if it can get through the landing, it can make it around that 90 degree turn, or so is the plan, lol.
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My Basement Reno Project
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Drew_W wrote: Not until paint is done. The wires should have been stripped at rough-in anyways, and neutral bonded to the box. Without passing judgement on the issue of permits yet again, I will note that this would have been required to pass ESA inspection had the OP pulled a permit.
Odd. When I spoke with the ESA about my permit, they told me have about 8" of wire beyond the box, complete all junctions, but mentioned nothing about bonding it to the box or stripping the sheathing. Sure enough though, that's a requirement. Guess I've got some stripping to do in my basement!
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amace wrote: Guess I've got some stripping to do in my basement!
I see what you did there.

We started our basement reno last week. We hired it out because we have neither the tools nor the talent. The past few days have been spent by the contractor leveling out the basement slab. Some spots needing grinding down and others filled with self-leveling compound. Should be starting on subfloor and framing in the next day or two. I've been taking lots of pictures as the work progresses.
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mrweather wrote: I see what you did there.

We started our basement reno last week. We hired it out because we have neither the tools nor the talent. The past few days have been spent by the contractor leveling out the basement slab. Some spots needing grinding down and others filled with self-leveling compound. Should be starting on subfloor and framing in the next day or two. I've been taking lots of pictures as the work progresses.
Nice to hear!

This is one of the things I've thought about doing while I wait for the drywaller to come back - levelling the slab. I have a 7' level I'm going to go around the floor with and start marking out the low areas. Then I'm going to fill them with self-leveling concrete as well. Curious to see how bad the lowest areas are. Dricore advises anything larger than a 1/4" dip needs to be addressed.
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My Basement Reno Project
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aprofetto wrote: Nice to hear!

This is one of the things I've thought about doing while I wait for the drywaller to come back - levelling the slab. I have a 7' level I'm going to go around the floor with and start marking out the low areas. Then I'm going to fill them with self-leveling concrete as well. Curious to see how bad the lowest areas are. Dricore advises anything larger than a 1/4" dip needs to be addressed.
I'll have to post some pics of my floor. It would give you nightmares
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amace wrote: I'll have to post some pics of my floor. It would give you nightmares
You mean that funky orange carpet wasn't the worst of it? :-0
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aprofetto wrote: Dricore advises anything larger than a 1/4" dip needs to be addressed.
We will be using Dricore so yeah my guy is trying to get everything as true and level as possible. He uses a 12' bar to test the trueness of the floor. Some spots were really bad.

/rant
Geez home builders, how hard is it to pour a basement slab and not have hills and valleys all over the place?!
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mrweather wrote: We will be using Dricore so yeah my guy is trying to get everything as true and level as possible. He uses a 12' bar to test the trueness of the floor. Some spots were really bad.

/rant
Geez home builders, how hard is it to pour a basement slab and not have hills and valleys all over the place?!
It's not hard but too time consuming for them and as long as it "looks right" on to the next house. Watch out for the main water line from the city to your house being under one inch or half a inch of concrete. I hear a lot of people are drilling through the water lines by accident.
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So I've been looking at getting the subfloor so I have it ready to install when the time comes (hopefully in a few weeks time).

I've decided to go with the Dricore R+ Insulated Panel.
[IMG]http://www.homedepot.ca/wcsstore/HomeDe ... 02_P_4.jpg[/IMG]

I heavily contemplated between the Amdry system and the Dricore. Lowes actually has the R5 Amdry panels on sale for $15/panel (8 sqft), while the Dricore R+ (R3) at Home Depot is $7.62/panel (4 sqft). The Amdry subfloor actually ended up being cheaper when comparing the two options listed above, even when accounting for the Amdry channels I'd need to purchase to connect the panels together.

The depth of the Amdry subfloor started to concern me a bit. Even the R5 still comes in at 1.6" deep, whereas the Dricore R+ is 0.97". Almost 3/4" less. I've said before that the height in my basement is at a premium, and I am trying to protect it as best I can.

What interested me was on HomeDepot.ca they sell the Dricore R+ in pallets (online exclusive) of 100 panels for $697 each. Bringing the unit price to $6.97/panel vs the $7.62/panel in store. But the shipping ends up being $445!!!

When I called the online Home Depot number they basically said it is what it is and theres nothing they can do about the shipping. So I called the Home Depot near me and asked if I could buy two pallets (I need 200 panels) for $697 each as opposed to buying 200 panels for $7.62 each. Not only did they agree to it, but they also gave me free shipping! What a fantastic experience I had, I didn't even ask for free shipping, they offered.

They'll come sometime next week, I'm thinking of replacing my pillow with one of the Dricore panels until it's time to install them.
The worst part about prison was the Dementors. - Michael Scott

My Basement Reno Project
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bacalhau4me wrote: Watch out for the main water line from the city to your house being under one inch or half a inch of concrete. I hear a lot of people are drilling through the water lines by accident.
Fortunately, our water line comes in through the cold cellar and to the meter which is right next to the cold cellar wall. And the area around the meter won't be finished so no worries about hitting the line.

Although, when we had our backwater valve installed in the cold cellar (sewer line goes out that way too) the plumber almost hit the water line while digging. He commented that by code the line should have been on a separate "shelf"(?) before everything was backfilled.

Anyway, sorry for the off-topic OP. :)
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aprofetto wrote: Went to Home Depot today to load up on primer and paint. Took advantage of the rebates with Behr paint.
Good luck with those MiR.. So many horror stories of people trying to get their $7 that I basically ignore this "promo" if it's on (which it is, every 5-6 weeks it seems.) Funny how the rebate is less per gallon if you buy the pail ($25 instead of $35!)
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