Does anyone have step by step proceedures to finish a basement?

Question

I just bought my 1st house, and I need help.

Answer 1

We are in the process of finishing our basement family room, should be done next week. Been working on it since last November, hopefully you can finish it a lot faster than us.

1. Insulate the walls with insulation.
2. Install drywall, use drywall screws and a drill.
3. Tape the drywall joints (where the two pieces of drywall meet, ceiling/wall edges), we used sticky drywall mesh tape. Plaster the joints and screws with drywall compound.
4. Once the plaster drys you will have to sand it. You can use sandpaper, drywall sponge, or rent a drywall sanding machine that has a vacuum in it. You will probably have to apply a 2nd or 3rd coat of plaster. Be sure to feather it out so that it blends in with the drywall.
5. Once all the sanding is done, you need to prime the drywall.
6. Paint the drywall.
7. Install new light fixtures if necessary.
8. Install flooring.
10. Install baseboard molding, door and window molding, crown molding if you want.

Answer 2

I did a basement and had never did it before , but I went to a construction site where new homes were being built and looked at how they used 2x4 to frame the rooms(if its going to be wet or to frame a bathroom use treated 2x4 ,make sure you measure and decide how many rooms you are going to have,check your newspaper for dry wall sales and mud,you need lots of mud,
some construction site have scraps that they are not using ,you might even find a door or 2 that may have a small hold in it ,can be fix with a little wood pudy,its lots of fun,I did it 2 rooms in basement 1 was for day care and 1 a bed room ,I even put in a bathroom (with help)I had never did that before . I was 50 something then,and feel like I would do it again at 62 and great grand ma,if unsure go get DVD on finishing a basement , Have Fun,I did

Answer 3

Pretty much what the previous person said, except at the very beginning I would add....

Get a permit. No renovations can be done legally without the proper permits and inspections. Some people skip this process, but when it comes time to sell, they may find that they are liable for all future problems caused by their uninspected renovations.

Frame along all outside concrete walls with at least a 2 X 6 framing. (This is not necessary by building code, but will help keep your future room warm and dry.) Use R30 insulation in the outside walls for the same reason.

Put up a proper VAPOR BARRIER. Because more than half of a basement wall is underground, the differences in temperature often cause condensation. You do not want future problems with mold and mildew because you failed to make provision for it.

The rest as above.