Finishing the basement

[apostolakisl]

Nonsense, any input is good, and I haven't moved much closer to implementing any of them. Good suggestions all, though I think a thick pad and carpet might seem a little out of place in my workshop.

Not really. This is what I put in my workshop area down in the basement:
well, I couldn't find the actual product, but I found a picture of the actual thing.
http://www.harborfreight.com/media/catalog...635_zzz_130.jpg

I also got it on a REALLY good deal. It was on sale at Harbor Freight for $9.99 each, and I had a 25% off coupon (for my entire order). So, I bought enough to cover the entire bottom floor. This is what I used for my pad. The wife and I put them down, then put throw rugs over it. Worked REALLY well. REALLY warmed up the place.

--Dan

Ahhhh, yes. Harbor freight, for the tool you use once. The magic smoke has escaped from more than one of my Harbor Freight purchases. One of my HF purchases actually had extra magic smoke, it wasn't until the third seance that it moved on to the land of spirits. Sometimes the prices are so low, however, that it still is cheaper than renting. They are like disposable tools. Now floor matts, those will probably do OK for a while.

 

[mdesmarais]

I've had a mixed bag at HF. Some stuff is fine, some stuff. . . well.. . . .

 

[beelzerob]

Can you back fill that area? If not...

Not really...the land is already too high up on the side of the house, so if I backfill, that will actually bring it up to the bottom of the siding. I think it's recommended to stay at least 6" below that, and I can think of a lot of reasons why that'd be a good idea.

Can you french trench away from the house in that area?

Well, I've already got a french drain (actually "forma"drain) around the entire house. That, and sealing, and gravel all on the outside. Gutters all go to sumps away from the house, and there is no downspout near that particular area anyway.

I still don't know what to think of that particular encounter with water. I found no evidence that it came from anywhere inside, and it hasn't happened again. *shrug*

 

[beelzerob]

You should consider having a dedicated HVAC intake from the workshop, if you do much wordworking, to keep the dust from blowing into other rooms in the basement. Right now, I have a single intake from the entire basement, in the kids playroom. I haven't done much to make dust, so it hasn't been an issue - yet. When I get a table saw, I'll prob get a dedicated return for the room. It will certainly be down the road for you, since you're not closing in the room yet.

Ya, I'm not sure yet what I'm going to do about hvac in there. There is one vent in the entire basement, and I'm not even sure there's a return air opening. I don't plan on putting a return air in the workshop. I may put an extra HVAC vent into that area, but then let any return air escape out under the door.

A whole room dust collector/filterer is in the plans at some point. Those don't seem to be too hard to build up yourself, mount to the ceiling, and let it filter the room air.

I think open studs in a workshop would be fine, for the near future, if you only need to hang stuff on the wall.
I'm eager for you to move into a discussion of lighting options, so I can learn from your mistakes.
Line voltage wiring will be another consideration - outlets in ceiling for power tools and air filter, 220V for saw/dust collector. I guess I should wait until you bring those items up, in your thread.

Heh..ya, those topics do need to come up at some point...I knew they would. You started it!

For lighting, I had just planned about 4 flourescent light fixtures. I had also planned to mount plywood on the ceiling and walls, and then paint it a whiteish color to spread the light around. I just hope I don't feel like needing sunglasses when I do that.

For outlets, I had figured an outlet near each power tool, or co-locate tools if it's convenient. I figured I'd put in a switch with the outlets so that I can cut power there instead of having to unplug the tool each time or when done working with them. Get one of those small led nights and plug it into the outlet so I"ll also know at a glance if it's on.

I don't have anything 220 v yet, but I hope I get good enough at this to warrant such an item. Which makes me wonder now if I should just run a 220v line over to the workshop area and put a box in there, and then power everything from that box? This workshop is across the other side of the basement from the panel. Are there special rules for mounting a disconnect/breaker box somewhere else in the house?

 

[KentDub]

I don't have anything 220 v yet, but I hope I get good enough at this to warrant such an item. Which makes me wonder now if I should just run a 220v line over to the workshop area and put a box in there, and then power everything from that box? This workshop is across the other side of the basement from the panel. Are there special rules for mounting a disconnect/breaker box somewhere else in the house?

It all depends on your local codes. Where I live, for example, you are only allowed one subpanel. Worse, the builders of my house put the mains out the outside and all of the breakers on the same wall but facing inside the garage. Apparently this counts as a subpanel so I wasn't too amused when my electrician said I couldn't install new new panel in my wiring closet.

 

[beelzerob]

well, I had talked to the local code enforcement out here last week, because I wanted to get his input on the best way to put insulation along the basement wall (he really didn't have much to say about that). But he said I would only need a permit if it involved changing the house support structure. So he said "you can completely gut the house, rewire it, and everything, and you won't need a permit". Sooo....I'm taking that to mean that it's ok to put another subpanel in there.

Are there any other considerations to have about putting in another subpanel? I mean, other than code? Is a subpanel overkill?

 

[apostolakisl]

well, I had talked to the local code enforcement out here last week, because I wanted to get his input on the best way to put insulation along the basement wall (he really didn't have much to say about that). But he said I would only need a permit if it involved changing the house support structure. So he said "you can completely gut the house, rewire it, and everything, and you won't need a permit". Sooo....I'm taking that to mean that it's ok to put another subpanel in there.

Are there any other considerations to have about putting in another subpanel? I mean, other than code? Is a subpanel overkill?

Not really. Just decide how many amps you want on your sub panel, buy a circuit breaker for your main box (hopefully you have open spots), look up what guage wire you need for the run length/amps and buy the wire. Decide home many breakers you want in your subpanel and buy the right size box with all of the breakers. If you are just running from one side of the basement to the other and you have open ceiling joists it won't be hard.

Along the same lines, if you are just running from one side of your basement to the other, it might be easier to skip the subpanel and just run everything out of the main panel. Again, it depends on how many circuits you want and how many open slots you have on your main box.

I would expect 50 amps of 220 to the subpanel with maybe 4 20 amp 110 breakers and a 30 amp 220 breaker should cover you.

An alternative approach would be to run a conduit across your ceiling from the main breaker box to your workshop. The bigger the better (2 inch is nice). Then you can always pull new wires even after the finish out. If you are going to do plywood walls, just leave the screws uncovered and anytime you want in the wall just take down the plywood. If you can get from your main box to your workshop without jumping across any ceiling joists conduit would be real easy and real cheap. A little trick, use a propane torch on the grey conduit and it turns nice and soft and you can bend it around all kinds of obstacles without having to glue up fittings. Its fast, easy, makes for less spots for a wire to hang when pulling, and very cheap. Buy the 90 elbows as needed but for the less severe turns, softening up the conduit works better.