Recent content by RyanBruner

Last year I "finished" my basement. (Well, put up insulation and actual walls with drywall, and new wiring throughout, etc.) This room is basically one big play room for the kids, with two smaller rooms as well (a utility/furnace room, and a small little office). I have in the main area...

Ah. That makes sense. This means that I'll have to move the fresh-air vent then, rather than simply close it off. A bit of a bummer, but it is what it is. I appreciate the help on understanding all this.

Um. Neither? There is a single metal vent that goes out from the furnace to the outside of the house out the wall. The water heater actually vents to this same outside vent. Is that what you are calling a "chimney"? Let me back up and explain this better. Our house has the main ducts...

But doesn't the cold air that comes in from the fresh-air intake that is attached to the cold-air return duct work lead directly to the furnace? It seems like it should suck in the cold air from there, which then leads to the furnace for combustion in addition to the cold air from the cold-air...

Two years ago, we moved into a brand new house. In the basement, there is a fresh-air pipe. It simply dumps air from the outside into the basement. In the infinite wisdom of the builders, they placed this vent on the complete opposite side of the furnace. As a result, the basement is...

Just a note. If you DO end up going to Lowe's or Home Depot, I suggest forgetting Lowe's. While framing my basement, I started out buying some lumber at Lowe's. Big mistake. Their lumber was terrible quality. By comparison, everything from Home Depot has been terrific quality (with an...

Thanks, all, for the input.

I'm debating between using recessed lighting in my basement versus the long fluorescent tubes. Recessed looks nicer, but provides less light. The primary use of my basement is a "kid hangout" and play room. Anyhow, if I go with recessed lighting, one issue I'm facing is the ceiling...

Anyone know what kind of door I can buy at Home Depot that I can cut down? My basement is only about 7'. After ceiling is put in, I have very little clearance, and an 80" door is too big. I'm thinking I need one about 75" for this little utility closet area. But all the doors at HD are...

Thanks. Anchoring directly into the wall didn't occur to me. (Duh!) I have Tapcons, which I'm using to attach the baseplate to the floor, so I can use the same in the walls. I wasn't planning on boxing in any ductwork or any ceiling work at all at this point until later, since I have decided...

Joe: I'm not sure I totally understand, but I'll study your pictures more and see if I can figure it out. Your last picture there looks closest to what I'm trying to accomplish in that there is a wall BELOW a bunch of stuff with nothing above it to nail into. In that picture, how are you...

Here. I'm attaching a picture that I whipped up to try to illustrate better. This is looking at the basement wall in question. The gray bit along the top is the duct work that is IN FRONT OF the plumping and wall, looking on from this direction. The green is the actual plumbing, but it is...

Hello, everyone. Thanks for the help in my previous question a while back. I've been working on framing walls, and making slow but steady progress. I'm a tad perplexed at how to handle the basement windows, but nothing major. Where I'm stuck, however, is along one wall. There is duct...

I read the links provided, so thanks there. I'm confused about a few things, though. I read on one site that talked about Fiberglass and how it does NOT wick moisture, which makes it ideal for use in basements. But you're saying the opposite. Turns out I was wrong about the sheathing...

I just did a bit of investigation in the area of insulation, and the price difference between batting, fiberglass, and just using foam sheathing is practically nil. For the wall area I have to cover (approximately 610 sq. ft), it all hovers in the $220-250 range (just for the insulation), no...