basement walls

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123qaz

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just want to know what to have between cement wall and wooden studs in my basment
 
123qua; welcome to the site. The wood wall should be built 1" away from the concrete or have a seperater like plastic or tarpaper. Or you can put housewrap against the concrete but vapour barier want to be on the inside next to the drywall.
 
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Are you ABSOLUTELY SURE the basement wall is water-tight? Have you checked it with a moisture meter? Typical construction leaves the wall alone but does include a moisture barrier on the room-side of the stud wall. DO NOT plastic seal both the basement wall and the stud wall -- it will trap moisture and grow mold. Build the stud wall 1" from contact with the basement wall.

Also, remember to use pressure treated studs that are in contact with cement. Screw down the bottom plate with TAPCONs or shoot them with powder actuated nail gun.

You are gonna have FUN! :D
 
Villa, I agree with most of it, the green lumber on the floor is in case it gets wet, it will not rot. It will still help wick water thru the concrete and should have a vapour break like poly or tarpaper or sill gasket under it.
 
One thing to remember is that basement walls are not always straight in the horizontal direction, especially in older homes where the ground has pushed part of the wall inward. Take a string across the full length, find the point that sticks out the most and use that as your setting point for the stud wall spacing from the concrete.
 
Jim, Welcome to the site. There are easier ways to do these walls. If you're building a short wall to cover a half wall. Put a level line across the stud about 3 inches above the foundation a nail a 2x8 on flat across the wall, level down to the floor and attach the bottom 2x4 plate to the floor and cut studs to size between. That's fo a 2x6 outside wall and 8" foundation, with a 1" space from the foundation. If the wall goes to the ceiling put the 2x8 at the top against the top plate about the foundation. This one on top also gives you the required fire stop between the basement wall and the floor system.
 
No gap to insulation (convective loops), fire-blocking required every 10' horizontally, no poly on concrete unless an interior drain system (water will drain down, pool at frame wall plate, depends on location), no empty cavities (conv. loops), use foamboard thick enough per location (varies- to prevent condensation), foamboard (better than poly/sill sealer for thermal break)under bottom plate, poly or other, between studs/concrete wall (p.t. not required per code here), air-tight drywall (keep interior air from concrete), and no poly under drywall ( U.S. code dropped this due to mold- keeps cavity wet, though in very cold locations may work).

Gary
 
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