Garage furring over concrete, is it safe?

Question

I thinking on making these walls flat and nicer hiding the foundation concrete.

My idea is to use furring strips, let's say 2x3 attached to existing studs of the drywall creating some space over the rough concrete. If I have to attach anything to concrete, I will try to use glue instead of drilling anything on foundation concrete. Then I will insulate the gaps and place some finishing on top, like drywall or slatwall, etc.

Do you think is is doable and safe for the exiting wall resting on concrete?

Do you know if this kind of minor renovation needs some permit?

Answer 1

You're planning on 2x3 furring strips? Those are small studs! (No, really, you can buy 2x3 studs for interior, non-load-bearing walls.) Furring is usually 1x material. Go to town with the 2x, though, if you want to!

"attached to existing studs of the drywall" are you attaching the furring to the drywall, studs or concrete? It's not clear but in any case...

Glue could work, but most people in the construction industry would drill holes for TapCon™-type screws or use a powder-actuated nailer to drive nails through the wood into the concrete and wouldn't give a 2nd thought to damaging concrete with them. 1x material might split with a powder-actuated nailer, though - go with screws. The advantages of screws:

• No waiting for glue to dry.
• No trying to figure out how to clamp the wood to the concrete while it dries.
• No worry about bumping wood and moving it out of position before the glue has dried.
• You can remove it later if you either don't want them, or if you realize you put one in the wrong place.

If you're going to go with "glue", though, use an appropriate adhesive for attaching wood to concrete. Your kid's bottle of Elmer's Glue™ or even fancy wood working glue will look at the concrete and laugh at you for even trying.

If you're spanning from wood/drywall down over the concrete, then simply use the appropriate screw for the type of material behind your new furring - wood screws where you're attaching wood to wood, and TapCons where you're attaching wood to concrete.

We can't tell you if a permit is required because you haven't told us where in the world you live. If you're in the US, it's very unlikely that you'd need a permit to hang some drywall in your garage. Where I live, repairs (including completely tearing out our front porch and replacing it) don't require permits, while new construction (adding square footage to the building) or major renovation (moving/rearranging walls) does. If you're not sure, contact your local building department - they're the ones who will know for sure.

Answer 2

I am in the middle of doing this renu myself in my unfinished daylight basement in Bothell, WA. No permits needed for me by the city nor county (Snohomish). If you would like to double check mypermit.com is where you will find the information. To complete this job I rented a Makita hammer drill from Home Depot. This takes a SDS Plus drive which I bought the 5/32 size which in turn is compatable with the 3/16 anchors(screws). I used 2 drivers to complete the job which was attaching lathe vertically (this was to bring some areas plum)to the concrete foundation and existing studs. Now I can adhere whatever width furring strips to the lathe to create framework for the drywall. Some adhesive was used. I prefer loctite over liquid nails, liquid nails seems to dry too hard.