You have a house and but you need more space. New houses come expensive, space constraint may not allow expansion of the house and building regulations forbid adding another storey. What do you do? The answer lies in the basement of your house. This space can be easily converted into a living area and the first step in the conversion is basement walls finishing.

You can save money by doing the basement yourself. Some things you should remember for your basement walls finishing are;

Check the moisture on the walls. See if there is any dump on them. Call the professionals if there is any water dump.

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Find out the amount of dry wall and furring strips needed. Furring strips are long thin wooden strips which allow you to attach the dry wall to the concrete face. Assuming that your ceiling is below 8 feet, you will need one sheet of dry wall and 4 furring strips, for every 4 feet of wall.

Screw the furring strips to the wall. To avoid seepage leave ½ an inch between the bottom of the strips and the floor. Use a plumb line to make sure that the strips are vertical. Now drill holes about 16 inches apart in the wall and then drive in hardened concrete screws.

Shim the furring strips to make a flat plane for the dry wall. Start with the strip nearest the corner making sure its plumb by using a long level. Repeat the process making sure that the strips are level with the first one.

Buy insulation panels and a vapor barrier to minimize moisture penetration. Find out the amount of insulation panel needed to cover the space between the strips. Now cut the panel to the required size and press them between the strips.

Placing insulation panels between the strips increases the R-value of the basement which measures the basement’s resistance to heat loss. Next staple the plastic vapor barrier to the strips taking care not to break the surface of the barrier. More porous the barrier more will be the moisture penetration.

Using a straight edge, mark a cut line on the dry wall face. Using a utility knife cut along the line through the paper facing. To detach the piece to be cut off, snap it back towards the back of the panel.

Screw the dry wall to the furring strips using 1-¼ inch dry ball screws. Take care not to screw so deep to break the surface of the face paper.

This is the final step, which will decide how good your basement walls finishing looks. It calls for a bit of artistry. Apply about 3 inches wide layer of compound of dry wall in the cracks between the dry wall sheets. Then apply a strip of dry wall tape followed by another application of the compound over the tape. Fill all screw holes with the compound and smoothen the surface – not an easy job. Once the first layer dries in 24 to 36 hours, scrape off uneven ridges or lumps and apply a thin layer of compound with a wide putty knife. Now sand smooth the wall.

Your basement walls finishing is over. The walls are ready for painting.

by Manuel Kupka

If you want more living space, a cheaper way would be by doing the basement. While it is not easy, with a little help from professionals and by reading a bit about the subject you will be able to do the job yourself.