Hanging Drywall?

[ste6168]

Hey everyone, this doesnt have to do with my tank, for once, but our basement right now is just a concrete floor with cinder block walls, this summer i was planning on hangin some drywall, adding a drop cieling, and painting the floor with that spackle-look brown paint for garage floors (dont know what its called as you can see). But my question was how do i got about adding in framing on the cinder block walls to put in some insulation and hang the drywall? Anyone have any readings on that or could tell me how, let me know.

Thanks, Mike (RC is the best site for everything BTW)

[Alphabet]

I see your intrests include construction, does that include framing? If you can frame a standard wall you can do your basement the same way. (top and bottom plates, studs 16" oc.)Build your walls/partitions on the ground stand them up and secure them to the floor with a ramset and screw/nail the top of the wall to the bottom of your floor joists. Provided things are level and square. Then you can add elec,plumbing,drywall or whatever you need. hth

[Blown 346]

You are going to have to lay out the 2x4's on the floor and then drill holes in them and thru the concrete and use concrete anchoring nails. This will hold te 2x4 base down. I reccommend that you not have the framing flush with the wall since the wall might not be 100% straight. I would leave a 1/2 inch gap from the wall to the framing base on the floor. Also frame in the top just like the bottom
Then all you have to do is cut the other 2x4's to the proper length and nail them to the 2x4 base on the floor and to the framing near the ceiling . You should have the 2x4's about 16 inches apart from eachother depending how your building codes are there.
As for the drywall hanging, this you will need a drywall lift or some extra hands to raise the sheets to the ceiling. Once the sheets are flush with the ceiling 2x4's you want to use dry wall screws to hold the drywall in place.

[abbalahdun]

have you ever hung a drop ceiling??? If you havent, read up a lot , They can be a real PITA

just take your time and keep checkin your level as the whole thing can get off and unlevel pretty easy

[Blown 346]

Im sorry, I was thinking drywall ceiling.

[Palancar]

I agree that ideally you build the walls on the floor then stand up into place. I did that for half of my basement. The other half however space was a premium. I could not afford the extra 4-5 inches. So I attached ferring strips directly to the walls. Just another alternative. Also, drilling holes in concrete floors and hammering in them will get tiring very fast. Spend the extra couple dollars and buy a powder hammer from Home Depot/Lowes. They are quite cheap and will make life so much easier.

[panaboy95]

YOU CAN RENT THOSE GUNS THAT USE A 22 SHELL TO PUT NAILS IN CONCRETE IF YOU DO NOT PLAN ON USING IT A LOT I WOULD RENT ONE I HAVE A FRIEND THAT HAS ONE AND THEY ARE WORTH THE TIME TO GO GET ONE. PLUS IT IS FUN LOADING A GUN AND SHOOTING IT IN YOUR BASEMENT

[stugray]

I dont know how old your construction is. If there is any chance that the floor could still move, there is a trick for framing walls in basements.

I have seen where they pound HUGE nails (~6 inches long ) through the bottom plates sticking straight up. You then attach the plates to the floor using anchors.

Next you pound a second bottom plate down over the first one and pound it down over the long nails. You leave a gap of ~1-2 inches between the two plates. Finish framing the wall like normal. When you put up the drywall, do not put any nails into the bottom-most plate.

This way, if the floor ever moves ( up or down ), it will not buckle the drywall.

It is a pain, but will save you a huge headache, espescially if the house is new construction, and the basement floor hasnt stopped moving yet.

Stu

[comatose]

there are many ways to do it
like they said above Or, like i did was nail 1x3's directly to the cider block walls 16" on center and use foam board for insulation and glue it to the cinder wall in between each 1x3 then hang your sheetrock.

[BeanAnimal]

If you need some help let me know... Your choice of framing is going to really depend on your basement conditions and wall conditions. It will also depend on the age of your house.

Here in pittsburgh, many basement are damp and need some special consideration before you frame them in. In most cases a vapor barrier will be needed to keep your drywall from growing mold.

Stu I am familar with the process that you are talking about, but in all honesty don't see a need for it in this type of situation. Let me put it another way, if your basement floor is rising and falling, youve got more problems than drywall cracking. The most common use for that technique is acutally in single story balloon framed buildings that have large roof truss spans. If the interior walls are gunned to the floor, the roof trusses will rise and leave a gap or damage the wall. This happens due to the long spans expanding and contracting. The expansion and contraction allows the span to bow or become tight, changing the distance between the bottom framing members and the floor. To fix the problem, the walls are attached firmly to the roof and allowed to float up and down on the "guide nails".

In some newer home construction where extrememly long TGIs or TRUSSED floors are used, the same problem exists to some degree. Because there is no load bearing member running accross the span, the floor may rise and fall depending on loading and other conditions. The first floor walls (above the basement) would have to be built in a similar fashion. Needless to say ballon framing of this sort sucks. Not to mention the hazard it poses if a fire breaks out.

Bean

[itZme]

When attaching things to the block walls in your basement isn't it a concern that you may intruduce cracks or split the mortar between blocks and allow water from outside to enter the wall/basement?

I am in the process of framing up a basement in-wall system but I only used liquid nails on the block walls to attach the new wall on the ends. I would love to finish the rest of the room instead of just painting the block (already painted) but was afraid of perforating the concrete on our 8 yr old house and having it leak like crazy.


-- itZme

[BeanAnimal]

itzme not really. Block are porous anyway. You don't want to cauese huge cracks, but suffice to say if there is water on the other side, it will find it's way right through the block anyway.

The liquid nails product may not last that long, depeding on many conditions. In nay case there is a better way than trying to nail furring strips to the block walls.

Your best bet is to:

1.) Attach a vapor barrier to the wall from floor to cieling (this may or may not be needed depending on a lot of things)

2.) Frame the wall using 2x4's but leave them off of the block wall by about 2 inches. This will allow you to make them plumb and straight. It will also allow you to use R19 (or thicker) insulation in the stud cavities.

3.) the walls should be attached to the floor with a stud gun and to the cieling joists with nails at each joist and nails and nailer plates every 16" if a wall runs paralell to the joists.

4.) Make sure the rim joists are well insulated so that the air does not leak up over the top of your new wall.

5.) Make the decision wether or not ot insulate the cieling if you are going to drywall it as well.

Bean

[Palancar]

Yes water should be taken into consideration if you have a water problem. The back wall of my basement used to leak. So I dryloc'd it first and then build my wall an inch or so off of it so no holes in the walls which would defeat the purpose of the dryloc. Been 10 years now and everything is still dry to the bone. Sump pump does work overtime though!

[BeanAnimal]

IF you are finishing a wall in a basement that is serviced by sump pumps, it is best to hang vapor barrier and run a water channel along the bottom edge of the wall. The water channel should go to the sump pump pit. You can search the web for this stuff.

You would tuck the edge of the vapor barrier into the water channel, so that all condensation and seepage drips down the barrier into the channel and then to the sump pump.

Bean

[Matt Rise]

Anyone have any readings on that or could tell me how, let me know.

Mike, I grabbed a great little book from B&N for around $16. It is by Black and Decker, and it is entitled "Finishing Basements and Attics" This gave me the confidence to tackle my new project. I am framing in a new Living Room/Office, and am going to build a tank into one wall. Good luck with your project......I'm off to the basement again.

Matt

[vulkum]

rent a ramset for a day to secure the framing to the block wall and cement slab. check out so 25 gauge steel stud instead of wood. much lighter and can be cut with weiss hand tin snips. the price of steel VS wood is very close right now. as for your ceiling , if your plumbing and electrical for the upstairs is below the floor joists then i suggest framing walls up to the floor joist then slapping up a peice of track or wood ledger and building the ceiling at whatever height you want. i prefer working with the steel stud as its much quicker and easy to cut and fasten.

[Matt Rise]

LOL, I just bought a Ramset tonight. 20 bux at Homie D. Of course, the employee said I would be fine with the "brown" box of .22cal, but I shot one into the cement floor and and only went halfway through. Off to the store in the AM to buy the "yellow" box......I always get screwed :rolleyes:

[BeanAnimal]

I have one of thos echeap ramsets... not a bad tool for the price. I also have a nice HILTI DX460, it has to be one of the best powder actuated tools I have ever used or owned.

[JRod]

In the process of doing my basement now.

Run new wall about 3" froom concrete wall. Make sure no insulation touches the concrete, it will suck moisture into it.

The bottom 2x4 you place on the concrete, it should be pressure treated. Anything above that does not have to be pressure treated. Use a Hilti gun for this. Like said before, can be rented. Forget drilling, waste of time.

As for the sheetrock, make sure that you stagger the seams, so that none are all the way across the wall up/down or flat. This way when the wall is viewed, you see partial seam.

Spackle, sand, spackle, sand, spackle sand.

For the corners, use stuff called "StraightFlex" stuff is a plastic and works great. Outer corners use metal corners.

Enjoy.

Joe

[ste6168]

hey, thnks everyone- this thread really took off, i have not read all the posts on here yet, but will make sure i do. Bean, thanks for the help also and i will keep in mind that you know what your doing and also from pittsburgh, im sure that will come in handy. anyway though i will not be doing this until summer so i have plenty of time to plan everything out and study up.

Thanks again, Mike

[douggiestyle]

when putting in stud walls in a basement i prefer putting in the bottom plate first, use pressure treated. then use a plum bob put in the top plate. then cut each stud to fit. that way if the floors elevation changes you can compensate as needed. toe nail the studs as you go. tapcons with liquid nails work very well for the bottom plate. no need for hilti and less chance for spalling the concrete. you could space the tapcons every 24" and be ok. if your basement is small and you need to conserve space. i like the firing strip and celotex design for covering block walls.

as always with dry wall, waste it. dont try to save material by piecing it together. do your best to eliminate end joints. you will get better results and less labor taping and feathering.