Basement room
Building a spare room in a basement is a great way to partition the basement space. Dividing up space makes it possible for the basement to host diverse activities: workrooms, music rooms and entertainment rooms, among other options. Building a spare room increases the usability of the basement.
Instructions
1. Plan the spare room. Measure the area, recording the width, length and height of the spare room you're planning. Take the floor plans and measurements to your building supply dealer, who can make suggestions and help you with the latest information on building materials.
Think about installing built-in shelving for storage. Take any sketches of shelving or additional room partitions to your building supply dealer also.
2. Measure out the walls on your floor and ceiling and mark carefully where you intend to place the walls. Build the wall by nailing 2-by-4s along the floor to form the bottom of the wall. Nail 2-by-4s to the ceiling, directly above the floor plates. Measure carefully to get it right.
Nail 2-by-4 studs to connect the floor and ceiling plates. Use a level to check that the studs are perpendicular to the plates. It may be easier to construct the wall on the floor--then stand the wall up and nail the floor and ceiling plates to the original floor and ceiling.
Make sure to account for doors and windows. You'll need horizontal plates wherever you're going to place openings in the wall--along the tops of doors and the around the window.
3. Place the studs 2 feet apart. You'll be nailing the wall surfacing material to the studs. Because most wall panels are cut 4 feet by 8 feet, placing the studs 2 feet apart makes your job a lot easier. Feel free to adjust the distance of the studs depending on the size of the wall panels you select, however.
4. Check corners and angles to ensure that you've provided a nailing surface before starting to affix the wallboards to the studs.
Attach the wallboards to the studs with drywall screws. If using drywall, you'll need to patch the screw holes and cover the seams where the edges of the wall panels meet.
5. Consider the ceiling. Most original basements do not have a ceiling. If that's the case you'll need to build the ceiling. Use tight-fitting and fire-resistant materials that will slow the spread of possible basement fires to the above-ground structure and retard smoke damage.
Look for openings where fire might find a way to the floors above and fire-stop them.
Use non-combustible materials for firestopping, such as plaster, concrete or gypsum block. Support the firestopping with wire mesh or with wood strips 2 inches thick or less.
6. Protect any material within 2 inches of a furnace or boiler or within 1 foot of a smoke pipe. Fit a metal shield loosely around boiler furnace or smoke pipe, providing 1 to 2 inches of air space. Use small blocks of non-combustible material between the metal shield and the wooden 2-by-4. Basically, nothing that gets hot should be in contact with anything wooden.
7. Use ceiling tiles, plywood, hardboard or gypsum-board for your ceiling material. Consider soundproofing the ceiling, particularly if you plan to use power tools or musical instruments in the room. Soundproofing will make the lives of household members above-ground more pleasant.
8. Choose a type of flooring. If the basement has a concrete floor in decent shape, there are a number of basement floor paints available that look very attractive when waxed.
If the spare room will be a work room or play room, think about getting a strong flooring material that can handle heavy use. Many home-repair professionals recommend strong tile. Tile is good because it stands up to dampness, a common risk in basements. Wood floors will work for houses in drier climate but are not advisable for houses in humid locales.
Follow manufacturer's instructions carefully when installing the floor, regardless of the flooring material you choose.
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