My Basement Renovation » basement renovation

Using a Power Bridge

admin — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 17:29:08 +0000

When using a centralized power conditioner in an AV rack you need get the power from remote equipment like the screen, projector, subwoofer, back to the rack. A power bridge does this by essentially running a code-friendly extention cable through your walls/ceiling. I picked up a couple Power Pro Kits at monoprice for about 50 bucks a peice. They are pretty simple to install. Two faceplates at either end, and they connect to a standard single gang box. They have clamps, similar to the speakercraft speakers, that grip the drywall as you tighten the screws. Included is a heavy duty about 3-foot power cable that you attach to the end of the run via the “male” connection in that box. The two boxes are joined via romex (not supplied).

Shown below is the sub and the termination point for the sub and the TV. The same box is behind the screen.

Pro Power Kit/Power Bridge: As I took this photo I realized I had the sub plugged into the standard outlet - this was just a mistake and obviously defeats the purpose of the powerbridge!

Power Bridge at Sub

power bridge behind rack - TV & Sub.

Carpet Installed

admin — Sat, 30 May 2009 22:33:22 +0000

Basement Carpet Installed

middle atlantic rack w/ wood frame

Framed Recessed 58" Plasma

Basement carpet finally installed. Wood framing around the screen and rack also complete (still need to sink some nails)…

Installing Speakercraft AIM Wides in Ceiling

admin — Fri, 01 May 2009 14:51:14 +0000

The Speakercraft AIM Wides were chosen for their aimable dual tweeters/cones. They feature the same easy-install flip out drywall supports as the in-ceilings. They were a little heavier than expected which made installing a little tricky for one person, but I managed. Having banana plugs on the wires helped a lot here.

I aimed the tweeters/cones as follows, with the side surrounds going front to back and the rear surrounds going side to side:

Speakercraft AIM Wide Placement

The woofer in the AIM Wides is 8″, giving the total diameter close to a foot:

Speakercraft AIM Wide

Handy push spring connectors:

Speakercraft AIM Wide Connection

The drywall Support clamp in closed position, where it is when raised into the hole:

Speakercraft AIM Wide Support Clamp Closed

The AIM Wide’s drywall support in the open position, where it flips to after you start screwing ii in:

Speakercraft AIM Wide

Speakercraft AIM Wide Template:

Speakercraft AIM Wide Template

…and the hole!

Speakercraft AIM Wide Installation

Word of CAUTION: If you are using a power screwdriver/drill of sorts….which really helps with an above-head installation, be very careful and slow…the clamp sort of sneaks up on you and can damage teh drywall:

Speakercraft AIM wide installation

Cleaning Up HVAC Ducts

admin — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 17:56:26 +0000

As you can see the metal hvac ducts ran down the middle of the basement ceiling (actually off to the side a bit). They hung loosely, about two inches from the drywall ceiling.

Basement Ceiling Ducts

Given that headroom is high value in a low ceiling basement, I needed to address this wasted verticle space. The plan was to remove the drywall directly above the ducts, which was part of ripping down all the ceiling drywall. Then I would bend and re-drill the metal supports so the duct is snug up against the ceiling joists.

Finally, some wood trim is installed to clean up the look and cover where the supports are screwed into the joists. During finishing I used rustoleum metal primer (clean with degreaser first) on the ducts and painted them ceiling white.

It should be noted that when you try to remove drywall from above the ducts without taking down the whole duct, it makes it very difficult to rip out the drywall nails/screws over the duct. I had to get every last one out in order to push the ductwork snug up against the joists.

Gap between duct and ceiling drywall

Duct Snug up Against Joists and Trimmed

Ceiling Duct Primed

I thoroughly cleaned the duct with a grease cutting cleaner (409 commercial) before priming. I will use the same ceiling white paint for duct trim and the duct as used on the ceiling, helping make the duct dissapear.

Prior to raising the duct, it hung slighly lower than the support beam next to it.

Duct and Support Beam

From the angle it still looks lower but it actually dead even with the beam.

Basement HVAC Duct Complete

Drywall Complete

admin — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 13:32:07 +0000

The completion of the drywall allows me to concentrate on painting, rack installation and speakercraft in-wall/in-ceiling speaker installation.

recessed flat panel TV area

In the above picture you can see how the top part of the recessed tv area has a sloped to to help let heat from the panasonic plasma escape.

drywall cutout for middle atlantic rack

The top cutout will be the home of a custom middle atlantic rack system. A cabinet door will cover the bottom were PC and networking gear will be stored.

cutout cubby under basement sairs

looking back toward bathroom/closet

Basement remodel drywall complete

looking at front

Basement Drywall – Recessed TV

admin — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 18:48:53 +0000

In a previous post on my basement renovation I mentioned a nice architechtural detail that I found hidden behind a lousy old drywall job. The previous owner framed and boxed in the brick columns seen below. It was framed crooked, no corner bead, and basically the corner cutting that could be found everywhere down here when I moved in.

Basement Renovation: Brick Columns

I decided to to leave this section exposed and I’ll install dark wood shelving in between the columns. The depth is perfect for DVDs.

Basement Renovation: Brick Columns Exposed

The insulation for this basement renovation is R19 in the ceiling and R13 in the walls. I spent a lot of time making sure it was stuffed into every crack, nook, an cranny. I did not think about insulation when wiring the lights, however. I wish I did and used more romex by making the runs up and down between the joists nice and tight up against each joist. I had romex running every which way including diagnal. This made for a very itchy night of insulating, have to rip and cut and stuff many small peices.

Basement Renovation Drywall

Basement Remodel Drywall

The one thing I don’t do myself anymore is drywall. I’m outta that biz. I’m too slow, get too frustrated, and the end result is bad. I always hire a friend who does home improvements for a living to do it. It was very important to let them know about the in ceiling speaker cables. Four Speakercraft AIM wides will populate the back area. The side AIMs wile fire the dual tweeters front to back while the rear AIMs will fire left to right. More on the Speakercrafts to come.

recessed plasma wall

The recessed section was made about 2″ wider than the screen all around for venting. The Panasonic th-58 plasma has it’s fans running along the top back, facing upwards. I made the top part of the recessed tv area sloped upward from back to front to help with venting as well. The indide will be painting flat black, like the av rack cutout, and have the same dark stained poplar frame.

The Room Layout and Framing Begins

admin — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 17:13:36 +0000

After the removal of the old oil tank, the staircase, and widening an opening into the bathroom/storage space area, teh room is taking shape. The rough layout of this half of the basement looks something like this:

The area is roughly 20′ x 30′. The closet/bathroom area in the lower left is an exisiting closet (door into main room) and full bath (door facing storage area).

The area between the left brick column and the corner of the closet was widened from a 30″ doorway to about a 7′ walkway. The storage area will be closed off and a Middle Atlantic slide out rack is being installed there, immediately to the left of the brick column, along with a door to the left of it.

View toward screen wall with 11" build-out underway

Between the left column and the stairs will be a cutout for kids alcove and/or toy storage under the steps along with some built-in shelving. On the right of the floorplan picture, or straight forward in the above picture is the “screen wall” which is being built out about 11″ for a section. This will allow the plasma screen to be recessed into the wall along with the Speakercraft Cinema in-wall speakers.

Closer view of framing for the panasonic 58 inch.

On the long wall at the bottom of the basement floorplan picture I found a nice brick two-column support for the large soapstone fireplace that sits above it. This was a suprise since the old drywall just enclosed it as one section. I will install wooden shelving between the columns to make a nice built in section. The brick in this section will remain exposed.

AS you can see the old popcorn ceiling is torn down and the recessed lights are already installed. I used 14 4″ air tight/IC cans with 50w halogens.

Corner near the bottom of the new staircase

Here is the view from the screen side back toward the storage area were the Middle Atlantic equiptment rack will reside.

View toward back corner

I know, the room is a mess. The kids are still playing down there. Once the drywall starts that will all end. You can’t imagine how many times I’ve stepped on and tripped over toys.

Begining the Basement Renovation: Basement Stairs

admin — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 14:21:25 +0000

The number one issue that had to be addressed related to the basement renovation was the staircase. The old stairs to the basement were very steep, narrow, and uneven. Each step was a different size and the rise:run was about 10:7. Yes, that is the opposite of a what a staircase should be. The entry was to the basement staircase was about 2 feet wide and 5 feet tall. You had to duck down to the first step and then about second from the bottom a 6 foot person was face to face with the wall above and had to duct again to enter the room.

If you look at the white paint on the brick wall here (new stairs and support wall under construction) you can see the outline of the old stairs:

New Basement Staircase

Notice where the top of the old stairs meets the moulding from the floor above. At this point is where I had to cut out four additional floor joists (running perpindicular to the flow of the steps) in order to get a nice slope to the new basement stairs.I first built the new support wall (studs scene here) then toar down the old. That was easy since the old support wall was only 24″ from the brick wall and the new one is about 36″. The steps were built from scratch using three 2 x 12s. I bought a triangle square and made the cuts with a circular saw, finishing each cut witht eh jig saw. The risers to the new basement staircase were made from MDF. I had the local big box store (forget whether it was Lowes or HD) cut the 4′ x 8′ into strip the height of the rise and then just cut each one to length in the basement. The treads we bought at HD – I think they came in 36″ and I cut each one down to 32″. I used all screws and liquid nails between each joint were wood touches wood to prevent squeaks in the future.

Basement Staircase Attached to Floor Joist

Here is were the 2 x 12 runners attach into the floor joists fromt he first floor above. I used the typical stair braces, a good dose of heavy duty construction adhesive, and the galvanized joist nails. I added a few decking screws to make me feel better. This is the first, and probably last, staircase I’ve ever built.The new slope turned out to be about 37 degrees, which combined with the 11″ run makes a very comfortable staircase to traverse…with no more ducking!

Basement Staircase Support Framing

Here is a close-up of the stud structure that frames in the cubby/storage/kids hide-and-seek alcove. It also acts as additional support and immediately removed the subtle bounce the new basement staircase had prior to building this part. Another goes down near were the steps meet the floor.For sound containment purposes, all of this area will be well insulated.

The next shots are the completion of the finishing work and half-wall that needed to be built upstairs to accomidate the larger opening in the floor.

New Basement Steps – Looking Up:

New Basement Steps - Looking Up

The baby gate was a mandatory item throughout this project. I tried to time everything so that when I cut the floor joists out I had the time to frame in the short-wall and put up some temporary plywood to the youngster couldn’t fall through the new opening.
Before I actually cut the joists I made sure to complete the new support wall below and rip out the old steps. I also sealed up the old basement stairs opening with plywood in between work sessions.

Basement Steps - Short Wall

Basement Staircase - Looking Down

Here is a shot looking down with the electrical rough-in for the lighting on the inside of the newly built “short-wall”. Notice where the verticle wood color trim peice is on the right side about half way down the steps. That was the location of the old entry way to the steps.

Basement Staircase - Finished Looking Down