I’ve only personally used wood. A friend of mine at work (who is also an engineer and definitely not a construction pro) used metal when he did his basement. I asked him how difficult the metal studs were to deal with and he said they weren’t difficult at all. So that’s where my recommendation that either metal or wood is fine comes from.
And as for how difficult it is, my opinion is that if a couple of idiot engineers like us can do it then anyone who is reasonably handy should be able to do it.
I don’t know if this is really a problem, but I’d be worried that the metal studs would transmit the cold from the unfinished basement wall to the drywall, making cold lines up the walls.
I’d echo pretty much everything TheBori said, particularly the bolded portion. Mine took about 3 weeks several years ago, but I was between jobs at the time and worked on it about 10 hours a day. However, I put in a drywall ceiling instead of drop. Mudding & taping overhead is a royal pain in the ass, so when I finish the basement in my current house, it’s drop all the way.
I used fiberglass batt roll insulation between studs in the walls & between joists in the ceiling. Also, if you’re putting in a new wall parallel to and in front of the existing exterior block wall, I’d suggest attaching a couple 3" PVC pipes to the back of the stud wall, one high & one low, in case in the future you ever want to run a cable to the other side of the room (CATV, speaker wire, etc). It’ll be much easier than fishing it back there once it’s completed.
Check your local codes but you can probably save a bunch of money by using 2x3’s instead of 2x4’s. The walls aren’t load-bearing and they’re much easier to work with. For the floor, run furring strips with 1/2" polystyrene insulation panels in between and top with plywood. Carpet that and you’ll have a nice, warm floor.
I agree with the flooring idea but id use the squares that come with plastic dimples like this http://www.dricore.com/en/eIndex.aspx easy to install. I helped a buddy and it went pretty smooth. Keeps the floor dry and warm. it pretty much feels like the living room floor instead of freezing your feet. At least up here in Canada the winters get cold. I Second the drop ceiling esp if you need to get in there to do plumbing etc. And i dont know why you would need a pro to bust the concrete and dig a trench. $30 bucks for a electric jackhammer and a shovel, no trouble at all. good luck
I think a lot of you are forgetting that the OP has no experience with this kind of renos. Jim and I know just enough to know what we can and can’t handle (and both of us have construction experience). Most of renovating a basement isn’t hard, but it is something that you have to learn how to do.
Crafter_Man seems to have gotten some good info, so I’ll risk a slight hijack:
For those of us contemplating a project like his, what book or books would you recommend as guides? I know Time-Life did a series of books on Plumbing, Wiring, Framing, etc. a long time ago (I may still have those somewhere…) but perhaps there are better choices now. Home Depot and Lowes has a ton of books, but I’ve heard some chatter that some of them may not be especially trustworthy.
well not books but experience. when i knew i was going to build my own garage i helped a neighbor build his. I learned a lot that just wasnt obvious. Like framing the walls so that the plywood actually falls on the MIDDLE of the stud… The beer was good too
PS I saved $15k over my other neighbor. Paid for a lot of tools…
I think you need to take a step or two back and think about why you want to finsh the basement.
I can think of a bunch of reasons that might lead you to plan your renovations differently. Do you want to be able to rent it out as an apartment? Do you want a game room? gyest bedroom? A workshop of some kind? Are you looking to increase the resale value of the house?
Me, I would start with a bathroom if there’s not one down there already. Because you’ll find it useful while you do the rest of your renovating.
I fixed up half of the basement. The portion I fixed up consists of two areas. One area is a home theater, and the other is a wet bar. It’s not completely finished, though. I’d estimate it’s 95% finished.
When it’s completely done, I’ll post links to before-and-after pictures.
FYI, I learned a LOT of things about home improvement during the course of the work. Here are few general things I learned:
It takes a lot more money than you think. I am going to be paying on this for a few years.
If you do most (or all) the work yourself, it will take a ***lot ***more time than you think.
You need LOTS of patience. If you rush the jobs, it will turn out crappy.
It is a lot of work. I’d recommend the powder actuated gun for attaching to the walls and floor. You have to frame around the windows and doors, leave access panels to utilities, and plan for the floor treatment, wiring, and pipes as you frame. Then you have to install the walls, floors, ceiling, outlets, switches, doors, and light fixtures. It will certainly occupy your time. If it was me, I’d frame the whole thing first. Get my lumber and tools, and keep doing the same thing until it was all done. Then do all the wiring, then the all the walls, etc. But that’s just the way I like to do things.
