Finishing Your Basement Walls: At Home with Furring, Shims and Plumb

In the past, many homes were built with unfinished basements
and the homeowner used those dark, bare, usually damp spaces
for storage, laundry, or large collections of spider webs and
dust bunnies. You may have bought one yourself and now, with
the high price of new housing, you are looking to expand your
current house to meet your family's needs (do your covenants
really allow 10 story ranch houses?). That unused basement
seems be the answer!

Want to do it yourself? I suggest you begin by evicting the
dust bunnies! Next, we need to finish the basement walls. Easy,
right? Just slap up some drywall and tape! Wrong. Here's how
to do it correctly:

1. Look at the amount of moisture in your basement. Are the
walls moist? Are there mushrooms growing in the corner? Is
there standing water in any part of the area? (If you make
the kids wear lifejackets when they go downstairs, you may
have a water problem). You should call a professional for
ideas on how to get rid of water seepage. It will be money
well spent and will prevent many problems later.

2. Estimate the amount of drywall and furring strips (long,
thin wood strips which enable you to attach the drywall to
the concrete face) you will need. For every 4 feet of wall,
you will need one sheet of drywall (we are assuming that
your ceiling is less than 8 feet!) and 4 furring strips.

3. Screw the furring strips to the wall leaving a space of
approximately ½ inch from the bottom of the strip to the
floor in case water seeps in. Make sure the strips are
plumb (use your handy-dandy level) and drill holes about
16 inches apart into the wall (use a masonry bit). Drive
in hardened concrete screws with your even-handier-dandy
drill.

4. Shim the furring strips to create a flat plane for the dry
wall. (Is this the point where the author makes a bad pun
about doing the shimmy?) Start with the strip nearest the
corner and use a long level to see if it's plumb. Use a
shim, if needed, to bring it level. Repeat the process to
make certain all the strips are plumb with the first.

5. Add insulation and a vapor barrier. Both are available at
your local home improvement store. Placing insulation panels
between the strips increases the R-value of the basement.
The R-value measures the basement's resistance to heat loss.
All you have to do is cut the insulation panel to size and
press it between the strips. The plastic vapor barrier will
help minimize moisture penetration. Staple the barrier to
the strips, but try not to get overly enthusiastic with the
stapler and breaking the surface of the barrier. The more
holes are in the barrier, the more moisture will penetrate.

6. Cut the drywall. Drywall should also be placed ½ in off
the floor in case the floor gets wet. Use a straightedge or
a T-square to mark the cut line on the drywall face. If you
don't have a straightedge or a T-square, use the edge of a
furring strip. Drywall is easy to cut using a utility knife.
Just cut through the paper facing. The piece to be cut off
is then snapped toward the back of the panel. You can then
cut through the paper backing with the utility knife. Easy,
huh?

7. Screw the drywall to the furring strips. The best way to
measure where you need to screw is to snap a chalk line
along the drywall at each furring strip (do you remember
how far apart you placed them?) Use 1 ¼ inch drywall screws
and be careful not to screw so deep that you break the
surface of the face paper.

8. Finishing the wall. Ok, now for a bit of artistry! You can
make the wall look really good - or really, really bad!
Apply a layer of drywall compound in the cracks between the
dry wall sheets. The layer should be about 3 inches wide,
more or less. Then apply a strip of drywall tape and apply
another thin layer of compound over the tape. Then fill in
all the screw holes with compound. Try to make the surface
and smooth as possible (easier said than done!). After the
first layer dries (usually 24-36 hours,) scrape off any
uneven ridges or lumps and apply a thin layer of compound
with a wide putty knife. Sand smooth and you are ready paint!

You now have a blank palette ready for a wide range of
decorating options: bedroom, play room, den, family room, game
room, bonus room, office, gym, workshop or bowling alley. The
choice is yours! The style is yours! Have fun!

Pamela Cole Harris is an editor and writer with 35 years experience. Visit her website, http://www.homeandgardenmakeover.com, for a free newsletter with remodeling, home improvement and decorating ideas for the financially challenged, creatively deficient and technologically illiterate.