My basement Rec Room / Wet Bar build

[pg_rider]

Well, the framers started yesterday so I thought I'd document the major steps of the process. My personal focus of course is on the audio/visual side of the build, while my wife... well she's looking at it from a more holistic approach lol.

Here's the rough floorplan:

And here's a 360° view of the basement as it sat empty this morning:
https://www.google.com/maps/views/view/114718376148802228328/gphoto/6051297224811281570?gl=us&heading=169&pitch=90&fovy=75


The electrical / AV cabling goes in Thursday so I'll show some detail there, and sheetrock goes in next Tuesday. Wish me luck!

 

[pg_rider]

Framing done! Here's the 360° view:

https://www.google.com/maps/views/view/114718376148802228328/gphoto/6051685844271586242?gl=us&heading=151&pitch=66&fovy=75


Here's the blocking they added for the TV and center channel mount. Maybe more than necessary, but at least I know I'll hit wood when I drill for the mounts!

And here's the built-in audio cabinet that will have full rear access via the storage area behind it. 24"W x 48"H, starting 18" off the floor:

 

[ImcLoud]

Looks awesome so far, keep the pics coming, I like the layout a lot, seems very well thought out...

Framing looks good, is that a layer of PT laying rite onto pt laying onto of the cement?

Are you going to insulate them ceilings?

 

[Bryceo]

Layout is fantastic.


Sent via magic for sorcery

 

[Matt34]

Let me know what contracting company you are using and how you like them. I want to get my basement finished in the next couple of years.

 

[pg_rider]

Looks awesome so far, keep the pics coming, I like the layout a lot, seems very well thought out...

Framing looks good, is that a layer of PT laying rite onto pt laying onto of the cement?

Are you going to insulate them ceilings?

Not sure I follow your question about PT... what is PT? The cement floor is just that -- plain cement.

As for the ceiling, I'm putting basic R-19 fiberglass in the cavity then doing resilient channels to decouple the sheetrock from the joists.

 

[pg_rider]

Let me know what contracting company you are using and how you like them. I want to get my basement finished in the next couple of years.

Craftsman Basement Finish (Matt Gowler). Super guy, top notch work. I got three bids, all of which were within ~$1000 of each other.

 

[ImcLoud]

Not sure I follow your question about PT... what is PT? The cement floor is just that -- plain cement.

As for the ceiling, I'm putting basic R-19 fiberglass in the cavity then doing resilient channels to decouple the sheetrock from the joists.

PT is Pressure Treated, around here we had some code discrepancies about how to fasten upright studs for walls to cement floors and walls. Some guys use a first layer of pt 2x's some use a vapor underlayment then regular 2x's, I was just curios to how it works in other places...

Looks like they are doing a very good job, I always go on the calls where we are doing HVAC for basement finishings. We did one about 4 months ago with a basic heat cool hydro air system, the couple did such a nice job in their basement, contracted it out themselves, the bothroom they put down there was all natural stone, built into a corner of their basement with a custom glass door, they did a full bar with 4 taps, coffee machine, sink, soda machine and ice machine. No theater but a nice tv on the wall with a nice couch, I went back to fasten on the final registers and do the hvac finish, mount the t-stat, run everything check it all out and it looked fantastic, they did around 1100 sq feet of their 2200sq ft basement {single level ranch, full basement} and it cost them around $60K, but it looked first rate, very very nice work...

I am saving this thread, can't wait to see the progress, very exciting stuff...

 

[macddmac]

Subscribed- what are you planning on for display, pre-pro,amp, speakers/ subs ?
Hardwire for streaming signal if possible since wireless is still not quite there.
Consider putting as much insulation in your joist cavities as you can- I did r-29 and I'm glad I did- also insulated every wall with r-15 regardless of sound considerations. Very tight and worthwhile.
Wire for any imaginable scenario- it's cheap!
lighting matters, cans are inexpensive
have fun!
Signed, lessons learned in Parker

 

[pg_rider]

PT is Pressure Treated, around here we had some code discrepancies about how to fasten upright studs for walls to cement floors and walls. Some guys use a first layer of pt 2x's some use a vapor underlayment then regular 2x's, I was just curios to how it works in other places...

Looks like they are doing a very good job, I always go on the calls where we are doing HVAC for basement finishings. We did one about 4 months ago with a basic heat cool hydro air system, the couple did such a nice job in their basement, contracted it out themselves, the bothroom they put down there was all natural stone, built into a corner of their basement with a custom glass door, they did a full bar with 4 taps, coffee machine, sink, soda machine and ice machine. No theater but a nice tv on the wall with a nice couch, I went back to fasten on the final registers and do the hvac finish, mount the t-stat, run everything check it all out and it looked fantastic, they did around 1100 sq feet of their 2200sq ft basement {single level ranch, full basement} and it cost them around $60K, but it looked first rate, very very nice work...

I am saving this thread, can't wait to see the progress, very exciting stuff...

Gotcha. No pressure treated here. Just basic floating walls.

We're doing an upgraded carpet and the wet bar, otherwise pretty standard finishes. May do a tile wall for the TV wall. We're around $35k without the tile wall....

 

[pg_rider]

Subscribed- what are you planning on for display, pre-pro,amp, speakers/ subs ?
Hardwire for streaming signal if possible since wireless is still not quite there.
Consider putting as much insulation in your joist cavities as you can- I did r-29 and I'm glad I did- also insulated every wall with r-15 regardless of sound considerations. Very tight and worthwhile.
Wire for any imaginable scenario- it's cheap!
lighting matters, cans are inexpensive
have fun!
Signed, lessons learned in Parker

Going with a new Samsung UN75HU8550 display. The audio equipment will be what I currently run -- Denon AVR-X4000, Adcom GFA-6000, LSA speakers, and dual Hsu VTF-3 subs.

Cat 5 where needed -- no wifi for me . Wiring for 7.2 even though I only have 5.2-worth of equipment for now.

 

[TheWarrior]

Gotcha. No pressure treated here. Just basic floating walls.

We're doing an upgraded carpet and the wet bar, otherwise pretty standard finishes. May do a tile wall for the TV wall. We're around $35k without the tile wall....

Um, Imcloud is a contractor I think, but as a remodeler, for $35k I'd be upset to see plain wood on cement. Even if your basement never floods, the cement will still transfer moisture to that wood and a sealed wall cavity is a prime place mold. At LEAST make sure they use the 'green' (moisture resistant) dry wall around the floor.

As for the layout and other choices so far, looks fantastic! With a bedroom behind it, you may end up moving down there!

 

[pg_rider]

I asked my GC about not using PT for the base plates and he said that because of the extreme dry climate here in Colorado it's not necessary. And of course it's obviously not required by code ore else he'd have done it.

I hear ya on being a smart thing to do, although I wonder if PT lumber in an enclosed space might cause odor or other issues? I haven't worked much with PT so I'm not real familiar with its use inside a house...

 

[TheWarrior]

Wow, I never imagined any part of CO being dry! Thanks for the follow up!

 

[ImcLoud]

I asked my GC about not using PT for the base plates and he said that because of the extreme dry climate here in Colorado it's not necessary. And of course it's obviously not required by code ore else he'd have done it.

I hear ya on being a smart thing to do, although I wonder if PT lumber in an enclosed space might cause odor or other issues? I haven't worked much with PT so I'm not real familiar with its use inside a house...

Around here we have to do it, I can not count how many houses I have been in {and I bought a few} that had rotted foot board because they were regular 2x's, anything that touches cement here has to be PT... There is no odor, for example I bet the plates that your house sits on that sit on your foundation are pt, or they are rotted... They get buried in a wall and forgotten about, I always tell my customers to use PT because its a few dollars more but will last forever...

But if its not needed out there then great, he is the pro out there, I am on the east coast where we need them...

Warrior I am a contractor, I have built houses from the ground up, I turned property from a wooded lot into a 60 unit condo, lol... It may be different there, I don't know, but I know it was fought to get it into code here because of the issues its created not having the pt touching the cement... I was taught putting wood on cement would create moisture no matter what, because of the different temps, cold cement and warm walls equals condensation at the contact point, condensation equals moisture, moisture and non treated wood equals rot, bug magnets, mold, mildew, ect ect ect ...

I wouldn't worry about it much , the walls are in they look great and this guy is your local pro so he knows the deal, I am sure if you ask the inspector when they come they will say the same thing as him, or they will have him ripping them out and redoing it, lol...

 

[macddmac]

Rim joist plates are pt here. Basements are dry here unless you're downhill from the neighbors and are poorly graded :0

 

[pg_rider]

All the 7.2 cabling and electrical is done! No pics yet as the power in the basement is out and it was too dark. Looking good so far though. Drywall should start going up tomorrow. In the meantime, I picked up the fridge for the wet bar

 

[macddmac]

Need one of these too

 

[pg_rider]

Here's a few shots showing some of the electrical/audio cabling as well as the ceiling insulation. If you look close you can see that they didn't follow my directions for where to locate the left and right speaker drops -- they mounted them adjacent to the electrical outlets! That got corrected this morning.

Sheetrock is staged but won't start going up until tomorrow.

 

[panteragstk]

Looks good so far.