Basement finishing dilemma!!!?

Question

Just bought a house and was expecting to finish the basement. Some problems I have found while planning this. Window sills are too high for code. Floor is not level. Unsure if space between floor and ceiling is enough for code. On the plus side, there is no moisture on the walls. Basement is completly under ground exept for about 2 feet for windows. Any comments would be appreciated.

Answer 1

Don't worry about the code. It's not like you're going to get inspected, and you can always say, "It was like that when I bought the place."

Answer 2

Finishing basements is tough. Apart from moisture issues there are certainly code issues, which unless you are getting building permit to do the work, really isn't an issue because there will be no inspector to look at your work because he doesn't know there was any work done. But you should still be careful in doing covert work like that because it can come back around to bite you when you go to sell the house, and the house you are selling is different then the house that is in the records in the town's building department.

If you are unsure about code issues, go to your local town hall and ask to see the residential section of the building code. The building code is a very long and boring book full of construction legal-ese that a lot of times doesn't make sense. But, thankfully, the things you are interested in are fairly easy to find. The window information should be located in a section about secondary egress and the ceiling height (I think a nationally adopted standard is 7'6" as a minimum height), would be in an area regarding building planning. I am guessing that the windows that are in your basement are the common basement sash windows that are up high in the wall and are about 14" x 30". So, no these will not meet code The minimum window size requirement is there for three reasons: light, ventilation, and egress. If your ceiling height is enough, and you really want to make a nice safe living space in your basement, you might consider cutting a hole big enough to have a set of french doors put in and some nice stairs out to the yard. This will create problems with water filling the stair well, so make sure there is enough drainage.

The ceiling height issue, in my opinion, is the biggest one, and it is related to your not level floor. To do the project right you will want to make the floor level. To do that, i would suggest finding the highest point, and then laying down pressure treated (PT) "sleepers" that will be of varying heights to make a level floor. Secure the PT sleepers (I am assuming the floor is a concrete) to the slab with "Tapcon" concrete screws or an easier way would be getting your hands on a "Ramset" nail gun (these use powder charges to drive the nails).

VERY IMPORTANT: make sure whatever system you decide to use to fasten the PT sleepers to the slab is of a material that is compatible with PT wood. There are nasty chemicals that will eat away metals other than hot dipped galvanized or certain grades of stainless steel.

Since you now have sleepers on the slab spaced a 16" o.c., you might as well throw some rigid insulation on the floor to help a little.

Back to the ceiling issue: Since you have now put down sleepers, you have reduced the height of the ceiling by a minimum of 2.5" - 3" depending on what you choose for you finish floor material (at least 1.5" for the sleepers, .75" for the subfloor, and whatever the thickness of the actual floor). Assuming there is a 4" concrete slab, a standard 8' foundation wall leaves about 7'6" from the slab to the bottom of the framing (an 8' wall is generally only poured to about 7'10"). Now you have already lost about 3" building up the floor to make it level and a 1/2" at the ceiling for the drywall. So now, your ceiling is 7'2-1/2" above the floor. That is a little low and will be uncomfortable considering there are only 2 small windows.

If you do end up proceeding with this project after everything you find out, you will want to cover the walls. Here again, use pressure treated 2x4 studs fastened to the foundation walls with the appropriate fasteners. Lay the studs to the wall so they are "on the flat" at 16" on center. between the studs, insert rigid insulation (there may already be insulation on the exterior of the foundation, but this will just give you more). Apply a sheet of 6 mil poly over the studs and insulation. If your finish wall material is going to be drywall, make sure you use the moisture resistant "Green board". You said the basement is dry, but in the end it is still a basement and the most likely place for dampness and mold.

So lets recap:
The windows as they are will not meet code and unless you add more windows the amount of natural light will be rather low.

Cutting a door in to the wall will solve you secondary exit problems and create nice light, but will add drainage issues

Chances are that the ceiling height won't meet code and more importantly will make an uncomfortably low ceiling.

The not level floor is fixable but will impact the already possibly too low ceiling.

Any wood you use in contact with the concrete will need to be pressure treated and any fasteners will need to be compatible with the pressure treated wood.

Hope this helps and good luck with the project. Seeing work you have done on your own house is a very rewarding experience

Answer 3

I am not a carpenter I am a electrician. You have to have egress windows if it is going to be a bedroom . In other words you have to have two ways out of your bedroom, either door or window. You may have to dig a deeper hole around your windows they have special window wells you can use. Bad news you have to put in a bigger window, ( and thats work) If you can't get the windows then the rest of it might not matter.
Hope that helps.

Answer 4

Holy crap Crispy Critter! Spin the mouse and you're still yakking! Then you recap. Are you on TV? They do a lot of recapping on the boob tube. LOL
I think if you put a family room down there, the windows should be ok. My cousin is a volunteer firefighter and said "they haven't lost a basement yet!"

Answer 5

cover the windows and try to avoid making more noise than you have to. dont work after 9 o'clock pm or before 8 o'clock am