Finishing a Basement, Part 3

Continuing our series on finishing the basement . . . 

Last time, I said the stage was set, but not quite. We still had some preparation left.

• Demolish existing structures/components as needed (1 April 2023, no foolin').
• In our case, we removed the remaining walls and suspended tile ceiling of the formerly-finished area. We also removed the carpet on the stairs.
• We saved the kitchenette cabinets to re-use, though we threw one away due to mold damage.
• The walls were a combination of 'padded fabric' (think cubicle walls) and drywall. In either case, metal studs supported them, so those came out too.
• We left metal studs around a sewage pipe on the exterior wall, as we could re-use that portion.
• Friends helped us accomplish this portion. Their labor, knowledge (in how best to demolish and what to keep), and tools (sawzalls helped on the metal studs) were much appreciated.
• Since the formerly-finished area had electric, we kept the outlets and wiring where possible, safely preserving them for re-use. And, of course, we had to cut power to certain breakers when doing so.
• We also kept a few nice pieces of plywood to re-use on the bulkhead (housing the HVAC conduit).
• It took 'only' 3-4 hours to demolish everything, since we had so many helpers. It took two pickup truck dump runs to dispose of the material. Since it was construction-related, we had to pay (by weight) for what we took there.

• Address things running under the joists.
• Since we were going from a suspended ceiling to a drywalled one, we had to identify and address water hoses, gas lines, and electrical wires that were running/fastened to *under* the joists (those running through the joists were fine). 
• We had a plumber come out and re-run  faucet and refrigerator water lines through joists so this would not cause problems when building.
• A few electrical wires were also running under the joists. We rolled those back to appropriate points (i.e. into what would be unfinished areas) to re-use portions of them.
• Seal the walls (late April/early May 2023).
• We painted one wall—the one with the highest probability of water problems—with two coats of drylok paint, a masonry waterproofing product.

• Install rigid foam insulation (4 May 2023).
• For heightened water protection and insulation, we installed 1-inch thick foamboard insulation.
• Note: this insulation comes in 4ft x 8ft sheets. We didn't order it with the other large items, as we didn't know we would be installing it at the time. When shipping it failed, our friend came through in a pinch and got it to our home. Since his pickup truck was not a full bed, the sheets did not lay flat. Make sure you tie down such things appropriately.
• We required 22 foam boards of this style, Loctite PL 300 Foamboard adhesive, and Tyvek Tape
• This video is an excellent tutorial on how to install rigid foam insulation. It is pretty straightforward.

We moved the 2x4s downstairs in preparation for the work. Okay, now the stage was set.