Basement finishing

[photon]

I had in floor heating in a Condo and that was the only source of heat. Mind you I guess that's a condo building but still the only source of heat for the entire building was in floor heating (ie there were no radiators).

[Mr. Ski]

Just a head's-up for those wiring for Home Theatre, I found this site a real asset. I'd love to buy some of their speakers some day too....

http://www.axiomaudio.com/home_theater_layout.html

I've only got an older Dolby Digital 5.1 system at the moment, but did the wiring in my basement based on the DD EX / Dolby ProLogic IIx 7.1 schematic on the link to future-proof it a bit. At this point it only cost me about $20 more for the extra speaker wire and wall plates.



(image from www.axiomaudio.com)

I ran power and line-level leads for a second Subwoofer too, incase I ever go really overboard.

[ken0042]

You mean you didn't pre-wire it for 8.1 sound?

[Indi]

Originally Posted by Shazam

You've gotta get that checked out.

Yeah, putting in a cold air return in the basement at ground level is a huge PITA. But if he wants a really comfortable basement, he should follow code, as that code is there to provide a comfort space for the residents.

Bathrooms should have an external vent. Again, I don't think it's required but it certainly makes the room more comfortable. Most dens I've seen have cold air returns, even if code doesn't require it.

If you're looking for comfort, you have to have to cold air returns, no matter what the heating system. And in Calgary, there's no way in-floor heating would provide enough heat to warm a room.

If the heating system is infloor and/or radiators, there is no forced air furnace, therefore no where to return cold air.....as the cold air returns are routed into the furnace fan suction line. I agree putting cold air returns in dens and bathrooms are a good idea, simply not required by code, since we were talking about the HVAC code

[Mr. Ski]

Originally Posted by ken0042

You mean you didn't pre-wire it for 8.1 sound?

Doh!

Nope, but it's technically 7.2!

Beyond that the WAF really starts to fall off.

[Shazam]

I hate to bring up an ancient thread, but if anyone is looking to spray foam their basement or what not, I did some digging and found a company called "Canadian Industrial Distributors" here in town that sells DIY spray foam kits. A 200 boardfeet kit costs $600 + GST. These are kits that are essentially the same as a professional service, just on a much smaller scale.

Oops, forgot to add that the name of the product is Dow Froth-Pak:

http://www.dow.com/buildingproducts/.../fp_180kit.htm

[MacDougalbry]

How does it compare to this:

http://www.touch-n-seal.com/twocomp.htm

[Flames_Gimp]

Originally Posted by photon

Does anyone know of someone who does that spray in foam insulation? I want as warm a basement as possible and I've read that the R value for that stuff is a lot higher than the standard pink.

http://www.sheafoams.ca/

and

Atomik Interiors Inc.

they both supply/install Icynene foam insulation.

The quote I got (can't remember which installer it was) was $0.50 per sq. ft per inch. so $1.50 sq. ft for 2x4 walls.

[Titan]

Originally Posted by Indi

I agree putting cold air returns in dens and bathrooms are a good idea, simply not required by code, since we were talking about the HVAC code

I understand from Holmes on Homes that the bathroom vent is to remove condensation from showers/baths.

As to in floor heating, my parents have it throught their whole house in Red Deer and it is very comfortable. It also reduces dust extensively as there is not a furnace blowing it around. Also, the floor is warm, very nice in the bathroom.

My uncle is in this business as well. He has a commercial unit in his house and ran lines under his sidewalks and driveway. No Shovelling!! It is the same system used to keep driveways going into below ground praking garages from icing up.

The unit is so big he can actually fill his outdoor pool with hot water!! It is huge though!!

[ken0042]

Originally Posted by Titan

I understand from Holmes on Homes that the bathroom vent is to remove condensation from showers/baths.

The bathroom exhaust fan and a cold air return are two very different things though.

[shane_c]

Will finishing the basement add much value to a home when sold?

[photon]

Originally Posted by shane_c

Will finishing the basement add much value to a home when sold?

Not usually, though sometimes it may if the circumstances are right. If you do it yourself at a much cheaper cost per sqft than paying someone to do it you can make some if it's in an area where most are finished and people expect it.

About that foam insulation, is it that much better that it's worth taking down existing pink insulation in an unfinished basement when the time comes to finish it?

[MacDougalbry]

Originally Posted by photon

Not usually, though sometimes it may if the circumstances are right. If you do it yourself at a much cheaper cost per sqft than paying someone to do it you can make some if it's in an area where most are finished and people expect it.

About that foam insulation, is it that much better that it's worth taking down existing pink insulation in an unfinished basement when the time comes to finish it?

As I understand it, it's worthwhile to sprayfoam the rimjoists in a basement, which are nearly impossible to get a sealed vapour barrier on, but as for the walls sprayfoam is a pretty expensive form of insulation.

[MacDougalbry]

As for whether or not it adds value to finish your basement, I have read that it is worthwhile if you don't already have a family room in your house, but not so much otherwise.

[photon]

Hm, would it be cost effective to get someone to come out just to do the rimjoists? And how much of a difference would doing just those make? EDIT: And can you even do it after construction?

[Rhettzky]

Originally Posted by MacDougalbry

As for whether or not it adds value to finish your basement, I have read that it is worthwhile if you don't already have a family room in your house, but not so much otherwise.

I'm pretty sure it does impact the value of your house a bit. Not extensively and not enough to even come close to evening out the cost of doing the renovation but when we looked in Somerset last summer it was a $15-25,000 difference between resonably compared square footage houses that had undeveloped basements and developed ones. Of course the developments that had the largest impact on price were the ones that had a full bathroom and bedroom area's, or ones that were walk-out basements.

[ken0042]

The other thing when doing the basement as far as resale is concerned; once you have a bathroom down there you can add that bathroom to the total listed in the house. (ie going from 1.5 baths to 2.5 baths can really help a listing.)

Plus if you have a smaller house it can significantly add to the useable living space.

[Shazam]

Originally Posted by photon

Hm, would it be cost effective to get someone to come out just to do the rimjoists? And how much of a difference would doing just those make? EDIT: And can you even do it after construction?

Very little chance they'll come out to do just your rimjoists. I tried both companies above (again) to see if they would do a 30 sq ft job and they both refused.

Atomik uses Icylene, which isn't much better than fiberglass (properly installed) in terms of R value, actually.

My rim joists are four inches deep, and the builder did a terrible job of insulating them in the basement, so I bought 1/2 inch expanded polystyrene and 3 1/2 inch Roxul to fill them up. That makes an R value of 17. Using polyurethane spray foam (what Shea Foam uses) would result in an R value of 28.

I'm using the DIY kit to insulate the area underneath the floor that extends into the garage that my builder kindly forgot to do, which will result in an R value there of 70.

[Flames_Gimp]

Originally Posted by photon

Not usually, though sometimes it may if the circumstances are right. If you do it yourself at a much cheaper cost per sqft than paying someone to do it you can make some if it's in an area where most are finished and people expect it.

About that foam insulation, is it that much better that it's worth taking down existing pink insulation in an unfinished basement when the time comes to finish it?

......

[Flames_Gimp]

Originally Posted by photon

Hm, would it be cost effective to get someone to come out just to do the rimjoists? And how much of a difference would doing just those make? EDIT: And can you even do it after construction?

do it all man..it's especially good for basements..

it's an airtight seal, no vapour barrier needed... $.50 per sq. ft. per inch.