Questions tagged [basement]
For questions generally relating to habitable spaces in a home below ground level, and to foundation types that include a space of this type.
1,711
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Finishing half of basement, should I insulate all?
We're finishing our basement, and after much research have settled on using EPS foam boards attached directly to the concrete wall to insulate and control moisture. However, there is not enough room ...
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Can you lay ceramic/porcelain tile over existing mastic without grinding the floor?
We had a basement flood, and consequently had to rip out the vinyl floor tiles in our basement. The tiles were not asbestos (we had them tested).
But after the tiles came up we discovered that they ...
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Is there such a thing as a vacuum sump pump? No standing water above check valve?
Is there such a thing as a vacuum operated sump pump?
Most sumps or ejector pumps leave a column of water above the check valve, and leave a few centimeters of water in the sump beside.
I have a need ...
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How do I vent the plumbing for my basement bathroom?
I'm trying to determine how to best vent plumbing for basement bathroom I am putting in.
The nearest main stack is around the corner and kind of a mess with connections. I'm not sure I'd be able to ...
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Two by fours embedded in basement concrete slab used for framing... including a load bearing wall. Should I be concerned?
So there's some long ass backstory - sorry for the wall of text! I figured better too much detail than too little tho.
We recently bought a house in Vancouver, WA (climate zone 8b), a custom job ...
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Basement bathtub drain is roughed in close to the wall
I am the second owner of my home. The original owner had the contractors rough in a bathroom (no copper or anything) in the basement but it was never completed. I am in the process of finishing the ...
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How can I determine if moisture in a basement is due to condenstation vs intrusion through walls?
I have a 1902 house built upon a limestone foundation, and I am interesting in finishing a portion of the basement to build a home office. Before I build anything though, I want to make sure I do it ...
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Will internal waterproofing solve my moisture problems?
We've been working on our water problem for awhile now.
Here's the deal:
There is black drain tile under the home (all the way around) tied into a sump crock. Water was only coming in one side. A ...
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How can I frame this area of my basement wall around my water main?
I have started the process of framing my basement, but I've hit a bit of a snag as I'm not sure how exactly to frame around our water main. My original idea was to frame two walls (floor to joists) on ...
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What do I level a 2" slope in my concrete basement floor?
I want to finish a 12'x36' part of my basement. The trouble I am having is that it is sloped to a floor drain. I was told that DRIcore and shims would work but the drain is a 2" slope down from the ...
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Should I insulate metal duct work in basement?
I have a balloon frame house with an unfinished basement. The air handler and furnace are in the basement too. Last fall, we had the duct work removed because it was wrapped in asbestos tape that ...
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How can I insulate my basement on a budget?
I have a home built in 1925, a "Chicago Bungalow" style, in Louisville, KY.
I have roughed in the basement, trying to take advantage of every square inch. I am planning on using it for short-term ...
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Should I add air ducts when finishing my basement or rely on space heaters?
I am going have a finished basement of 1000 sq/ft which includes a theater room of 12X16. Currently I am in process of planning in stalling duct work to my basement.
I am thinking of not putting duct ...
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How can I attach drywall directly to cinder blocks without using furring strips?
Note: the below image is distorted (curved lines) because of the panoramic picture)
I had old tiles in the remote corner showed in this picture. Those came off the wall taking the drywall with them. ...
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What is the cheapest way to brighten a basement workshop?
I have a bare concrete block unfinished basement. I have zero moisture problems (it's a 2007 construction with exterior waterproofing applied to the concrete along with a buried perimeter drain). ...
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How can I remove a mystery pipe in basement wall and floor?
Here is what I know so far
The house I live in was built in the 1920s.
It is located in central Illinois.
The damage you see around the pipe is only in that section of the basement. Everything else ...
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Ramset nails not flush with basement frame wall
I built my first wall in my basement when I started to frame and I bought the Ramset MasterShot 0.22 gun from Home Depot and read up on everything and when I used it to nail my treated 2x4 to the ...
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How can I open this door latch with the knobs removed?
So my stupid roommates not only put tape in the door but also took the knob off. I closed it while doing laundry and they dont know where the knob is or pieces to open it. Can yall help
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Are there concerns with leaving part of a home's ground level unfinished?
I'm designing a new house for myself, and I've always wanted a basement so I would have unfinished hobby space. The kind of space where you can get messy stuff on the ground like water, paint, sawdust,...
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Kind of contractor to hire to install new basement window, where there was none before?
A family member is interested in getting their basement finished, and one of the things they'd like to do is have an additional bedroom in the basement. The bedroom should have a window. However, ...
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Should under slab basement plumbing include a trap for the shower? [closed]
Paid builder for basement under slab plumbing consisting of a drain for shower, sink, toilet and bucket. They did not include a trap for the shower. So, the eventual basement work to put in a ...
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Best way to prevent basement flooding
I am trying to mitigate my basement flooding. The flooding is pretty minimal. Just in two location water seeps through the floor. One spot is in the back corner of the house and the other is along the ...
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Would insulating a basement prevent it from passively cooling the house in the summer?
I have an unfinished basement in Upstate NY in a large old house that helps in keeping the house cool in the summer. Would insulating it limit the cooling effect in summer?
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Will I trap moisture in the concrete of basement walls and floors if I seal them with epoxy?
I'm thinking about painting my basement's walls with some concrete sealer (before finishing the basement) and floor with epoxy paint. Many people are doing that, but I'm concerned about moisture in ...
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What is required to move a washer/dryer from one room to another?
How hard is it to move washer/dryer from an upstairs room to the basement? What hookups would we need, etc?
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How do I build a basement that does not leak when I have a high water level?
How do I insure a basement will not leak when the site has a high water level?
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How do I drywall a corner with a lally column?
I'm finishing my basement and I've come across this lally column which is supporting a steel beam. I want to frame an external corner for this interior wall at this "corner" but the distance from ...
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What are the options for moisture-proofing foundation from the interior
I'm trying to prevent moisture from turning into mold and growing on concrete exterior walls and getting into the fiberglass insulation.
I see polystyrene, foil, chemical-based concrete sealing, and ...
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Weird orange rust spots appearing in holes on freshly painted basement cinder blocks
I've started to paint my basement with white primer, and on one wall weird orange spots appeared in the holes I had "filled" with the primer.
The wall is made of dark cinder blocks which are pretty ...
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Attaching non-load bearing walls to steel I-beams
I'm preparing to remodel my basement. A steel I-beam runs the length the of the basement with vertical steel columns spaced periodically across the span. The beam is 5" wide and 8" tall. I'm ...
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Is it okay to protect NM Cable in an unfinished basement with ENT?
Adding a 20 amp subcircuit (120V) to furnace room to turn it into a workshop. Initially it will have one duplex and 2 fourplex receptacles, the fourplex receptacles will be on cement walls, the duplex ...
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How should I remove a raised concrete pad on my basement floor?
I have a raised square of concrete, about 42" by 42" by 6" in my basement.
Its probably an "equipment pad" of some sort, not sure what it was originally for, but it is inconveniently placed.
Its ...
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Is there a more attractive alternative to a drop ceiling that allows easy access to the space above it?
Are there any ways of installing a basement ceiling that is seamless and does not look like a drop ceiling, but which can still be somehow disassembled?
Alternatively, are there more subtle forms of ...
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How should I attach basement walls to the foundation when there are no joists?
I am looking at finishing my basement under a modular home. The basement doesn't have traditional wooden floor joists that are easily accessible. The house sits on steel beams which are exposed in the ...
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Is it reasonable to install a utility sink in this location?
We recently moved into a new (to us) house with an unfinished basement where I would like to install a utility sink.
Background:
All plumbing runs through the basement, adjacent to the area where I ...
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How do I correctly measure this basement window for a replacement?
I have three of these metal-framed basement windows which I would like to replace but I am unsure of what dimension I should measure and use for the replacements.
Initially I measured the outside ...
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Must a window in a proposed basement habitable space conform to code even if it is not required to be in the space?
I am looking to create a finished space in my basement. The plans are for a habitable room within my basement (non-sleeping) to be used as an office. The plans exceed horizontal width requirements, ...
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What is this hole in my concrete basement floor?
I've striped my basement floating floor, as I want to have a epoxy/polyurea flooring installed. I've found this hole, with a plastic frame, under the floating floor. It was covered with some ...
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Reinforcing a Load Bearing Wall
I just finished removing 100 year old plaster/lathe combination over a long load bearing wall in my basement. It revealed quite a bit of termite damage to a load bearing wall and header going across ...
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Horizontal fire blocking when using rigid foam in basement?
There are lots and lots of how-to's out there on how to put rigid foam against a concrete basement wall before putting up 2 X 4 framing. Seal the joints, etc...doesn't seem to complicated. On to ...
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Should I remove vinyl flooring to allow the floor underneath to dry out?
We are renovating a 200+ year old house that had a dirt basement. We poured a concrete floor and put vinyl flooring (snap-together, looks sort of like wood) over this. The basement has gotten wet (...
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Rim Joist Insulation without a Sill Plate
I've seen a few similar questions but the answers don't add up...
I would like to use some rigid foam insulation to insulate my rim joists. Here is the problem: everything I have seen shows putting ...
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How can I find out if a vapor barrier is requried for finishing a basement to code?
I'm planning out a basement finishing project, and I'd like to do it correctly. I've done a lot of research but what I can't tell is if I do, or do not, require a vapor barrier.
I was hoping from a ...
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What type of paint should I use to paint a block foundation wall?
My house has an old well room that is off of the main foundation of the house. I want to clean this space up to use it for storage and part of this process is to repaint the cement block walls.
The ...
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Should I use Tyvek or tar paper on basement walls?
We are going to be redoing our basement which was done in the 60's and very cold. We have been told to apply Tyvek or tar paper to the walls, stud, then vapour barrier and drywall. We plan on using ...
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How to approach insulating my rim joist
I'm working on finishing my 1924 home's basement in Minnesota and am currently working on insulation. My rim-joists look like this:
2x8 Joists with a board between each joist. Behind that board is a ...
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Sewer odor from basement floor drain
I'm experiencing strong "sewer odors" coming from one of the basement drains. This is an old house (meaning the basement floor drains don't have an elbow bend and instead run straight down / there is ...
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What type of cleaner should I use to remove a puke stain from concrete?
My cat puked on the basement floor in a couple places, but I can't seem to clean the stain. So far I've tried simply mopping with Pine-Sol®, which didn't work. Then I tried scrubbing/mopping with ...
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What are these 3 thin lines draining into my sump well?
There are 3 thin lines draining constantly into my sump well. The lines are coming through the concrete to the best of my knowledge because i can't trace them on the walls or ceiling. I am having a ...
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What is the proper order in framing the basement walls?
I am thinking of finishing my basement and am wondering what is the proper order of things for framing the walls.
Do I put up perimeter walls first with electrical, insulation and vapor barrier, and ...
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