What do you use your basements for?

[ramairthree]

I have some work area, storage, and a home gym.

Either bare floor, or rubber interlocking flooring dependng on the area.

What is a good vapor barrier paint for basement walls?

 

[nehog]

Machine shop... No moisture problems at all, probably about 20 x 25 ft square. I also have a fully finished office (14 x 24), laundry and storage down here.

 

[ramairthree]

cool. I think hand tools, car tools, wood working, etc. are the "gateway" tools to having a full machine shop.


I am good to go on moisture too,
except for a 8 x 6 area of wall in one spot of the whole basement.
Get some mold growth there.

 

[Sr. WiNdTeCh]

I use to use it as a work shop but I just finished my garage and moved everything out there, so now in the basement I have my reloading equipment, Gun cleaning station, electronics equipment (soldering and such), A gaming center(tv, surround, ps3) laundry room and a Pool table, also storage

 

[Alchymist]

Mine holds the house up.

 

[ramairthree]

I have all tools, etc. in the garage now

but room is limited,
so a lot of other hand work stuff plus the gym is in the basement.
plus a lot of storage for stuff
(limited attic, roof design no ammenable to finishing attic for storarge)

mainly interested in the best paints/vapor barrier primer, etc. for a basement.
will not be finishing,
but want most functional paint ideas of the cinder block walls

 

[NUTTSGT]

I'd cal lmine a cellar and not a basement. It's an old country home, part basement and part crawl space. Well pump, furnace, fuel oil tank, water softner and water heater reside down there.

 

[gtivr4]

Right now its mostly storage, but I have a workbench and a small lathe down there. Its HUGE (1900 sq ft, same as the upstairs), and underutilized. I'd like to create a decent sized machine shop down there, but would need to do a lot of work soundproofing it. Any thoughts on keeping sound downstairs and not having it travel up?

 

[hang glider]

Garage, no basements around here (SC). Lathe, drill press, work bench, kayak, hang glider, home brewing equipment.

 

[Aklass]

Mine was converted to a living space, but i keep my fish down there and some of dad's tools are sitting down there after he filled up one of the bays in the garage

 

[DCarr]

1/2 of ours is finished and used as a Family / Rec room and the other half is a garage.

 

[ishiboo]

I'd cal lmine a cellar and not a basement. It's an old country home, part basement and part crawl space. Well pump, furnace, fuel oil tank, water softner and water heater reside down there.

Same. Damp and the presence of 7' ceilings (before utilities!) means there isn't much of a use for it.

On the list this year (only bought it in November) are gutters and improving grading around the house, which will hopefully dry things out pretty well and make a nice storage area.

 

[saabman]

I have a partitioned basement: Storage; Laundry; Machine Shop

 

[madstat]

Laundry and Storage, including a lot of tools. One day I'll get around to posting picks of my garage and then you will see why I keep my tools in the basement. If I ever get around to it, I'd like to put an office in the basement. Just a place isolated from the rest of the house so I can actually get some work done.

 

[ishiboo]

Same. Damp and the presence of 7' ceilings (before utilities!) means there isn't much of a use for it.

On the list this year (only bought it in November) are gutters and improving grading around the house, which will hopefully dry things out pretty well and make a nice storage area.

Also, having 3 layers of brick there doesn't appear to be a cost-effective way to put a new foundation under it so I'm stuck with what I have

 

[mmb617]

It's shall we say "rustic", but my buddies and I have been using it for 30 years.

 

[Cougar]

I have all tools, etc. in the garage now

but room is limited,
so a lot of other hand work stuff plus the gym is in the basement.
plus a lot of storage for stuff
(limited attic, roof design no ammenable to finishing attic for storarge)

mainly interested in the best paints/vapor barrier primer, etc. for a basement.
will not be finishing,
but want most functional paint ideas of the cinder block walls

Nice
What kind of cabinets are those, they look expensive.

 

[Cougar]

Built a nice work bench and put my table saw down there.
Used to putz down there a lot.

Now the whole basement seems to collect stuff, it's a mess.
It's on my list to start getting rid of some stuff.

And we have a radon problem so have to get that taken care of.

 

[jeffk14]

It's shall we say "rustic", but my buddies and I have been using it for 30 years.

Nuthin' like havin' your very own dungeon! Here's mine:

 

[premierplayer]

Home office.
Craft room.
Extra bedroom.
Laundry room with walk-in cedar closet.
Full bath.

 

[crs1414]

I have all tools, etc. in the garage now

but room is limited,
so a lot of other hand work stuff plus the gym is in the basement.
plus a lot of storage for stuff
(limited attic, roof design no ammenable to finishing attic for storarge)

mainly interested in the best paints/vapor barrier primer, etc. for a basement.
will not be finishing,
but want most functional paint ideas of the cinder block walls

One of your better options for painting/primer cinder block walls in a basement would be something like DRYLOCK. It is a water proofer that will seal back moisture and also has a grit in it to fill the pores in block walls(block filler). You can put a paint on top if desired for a more finished look,like a semi-gloss mildew resistant enamal.

 

[metal1313]

my basement is used only for storage of non-vital items. the ceiling is low, and the basement is damp. the house is around 140 years old, and the brick is failing as well as the floor being aweful. eventually if i win the lotto its getting dug out 3ft or more deeper.

as of now..its the dungen and looks that way

 

[crewchief888]

One of your better options for painting/primer cinder block walls in a basement would be something like DRYLOCK. It is a water proofer that will seal back moisture

i just did drylock on approx 1/2 of my basement walls.

oh the joy of painting with stuff thats the consistancy of warm peanut butter.

3/4 of my basement is living quarters for my mom.
she has macular degeneration in both eyes, not able to drive or work, and with only her SS she can no longer live on her own.
the other 1/3rd of the basement has my 12x20 reloading/hobby room, laundry/boiler room, and bathroom.
we store decorations under the stairs, camping gear is in another small room with the water softener.
just about everything else we had stored down there is getting garage sale'd next month

 

[JCQuick]

whats a basement? here you dig down 6 ft you got a swiming pool

 

[LennyTheLizard]

I've been calling my new shop (yet to be built) the man cave. But really, the basement is the man cave. We have a home theater, cool lizard terrarium that my wife and I built together and a bar room. No bar yet, but there is a pool table there. Seems every room area of our house has an unfinished project. My kids have taken over the man cave. It's the great hangout spot when our teenagers have friends over, and our six year old uses the 104" projection screen to play Wii games for as long as we will allow him to.

 

[Cuda]

Mines a septic tank I guess. Full of my wifes ****!
Thats gotta change soon!!

 

[nate379]

Don't have one. Not all that common here.

 

[Boyd Who]

Laundry, storage, furnace room, TV room and home office. The house is 101 years old and having a fully usable basement is a major plus. It's nice and dry down there, too.

 

[hobie1dog]

I'm just dreaming of owning a house with a basement. These idiots here in NC don't know how to put in a basement properly.

 

[stok2]

Family room and my very own bar......plus a storage area. But I like the bar part the best.

 

[SuperSocket]

It's shall we say "rustic", but my buddies and I have been using it for 30 years.

 

[bochnak]

Just remodeled mine. Took me 1yr start to finish working weekends and some nights here and there. I only farmed out some of the work where friends or family members do this for a living.

I had to gut everything, fix 3 foundation hairline cracks, relocate bathroom, all new electrical & plumbing, replace windows, insulate walls and cieling....you get the picture.



After:

Before:

 

[KCarGuy]

When both my Kids were still living at home, as well as my Nephew and My Father were all living here...My Basement was set up with 2 more Bedrooms, a full bathroom, a living room and the Original entire Kitchen from before the upgrade to new cabinets, sink, etc.
(so it was a full working downstairs kitchen).

My Father has since Passed, my nephew finished college and is married, both kids are moved out and on their own, So...
My Basement now has a Full Wet Bar, Living Area with Entertainment area, Pool Table, Seperate laundry Room, Utility room with work bench, Full Bathroom (the Man Bathroom), and Storage Room.

Great Spot for family Get togethers. Most of the time the Ladies stay upstairs and chat in the dining room while all the guys hang out downstairs by the bar and/or play pool!

I grew up with a basement, and would have a hard time living with-out one.

 

[canuckian]

in mine there's a rec room/home theater room which is also my office (it's a fair sized room) and there's an unfinished 12x12 room that houses the freezers and some storage. there's also a full bathroom and a utility room.

 

[Cuda]

Hey Bochnak, very nice job.
What kind if ceiling is that you put in? Suspended?

 

[gabedad]

Storing Dirt - my house is on a slab!

 

[TAftw]

Our is divided up into 4 rooms, 1 main room and 3 smaller ones plus a bathroom.

In the main room I have my drums and my sister has her keyboard, and we have a TV, couch, coffee table, record collection, bean bag chair, etc.

One room is for my mom's sewing stuff and rolls of fabric. The other is a catch-all for more ****.

The last one is my dad's work shop where he build model planes and trains.

 

[dirttracker18]

I completely gutted our basement when we bought the house.

The PO had built walls with pnk batts right to the floor and covered the walls with OSB. He then had a small flood. Pink batts and OSB means a giant sponge for a basement. Some of the sills were completely rotted and the batts were still full of water.

A complete reno is coming up in the next couple of years. Rec room with wet bar, one bedroom and a bathroom (already roughed in) and open office/storage area.

 

[Strouty]

Mine is lined with old mattresses, that way no one can hear the gunshots when I finally kill my victims. Really mine *****, I can't stand up in it, but that makes a good excuse for me to not do laundry!

 

[bochnak]

Hey Bochnak, very nice job.
What kind if ceiling is that you put in? Suspended?

Yes, and the tiles are .013"THK PVC:

http://www.ceilume.com/ceilingtile_..._Tiles-size.2'_x_2'-color.White-productID.900