I’ve had some people email me questions about my basement project. Specifically, how I decided to frame walls over a stone wall foundation. Well the project is not complete yet, but I have at least one room that is 95% finished. I wanted to post a couple pictures and explain what I did.  So far, I’m very pleased with the results. It took a long time, but it was primarily me doing all the work (occasional help from friends) when I could find time.

First off, when I bought the house the basement was a completely open chamber. It had a semi-finished ceiling, but otherwise no walls, outlets or anything. It was cold, dingy, and full of cobwebs. When we looked at the property, I saw through it – and knew I could make something of it.

Pic 1 (Above) – The basement just before we purchased. It’s a blurry picture (cam phone), but I think it gets across the basic feel and layout. The window in the near-center of the room is important, use that as reference.

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Nearly two years ago I wrote a post about “my attempt to finish a stone wall basement“. It was shortly after I purchased my first home and was overwhelmed with the desire to start some projects. Well, it didn’t really even get started until about two and half months ago, but the project is now underway. With our first child quickly approaching, I figured it was time to dive in and start the home-improvement basement project while I still had some free time.

It’s the biggest home project I’ve ever attempted, so I wanted to be sure and plan everything as well as I could. I’m not new to construction, but I didn’t want to half-ass it.

My basement is dry, but has a stone wall. That presented a number of unique challenges, and I was not sure of the best approach. I drew up some plans and talked to the local building inspector. He told all about the code requirements and limitations for the “proper” usage of the space. The ceiling was already finished, but is too low to actually declare the space additional “living space”. Instead, it’s going to be used as “storage space”. Granted, I want carpet, drywall, crown molding and an electric fireplace in my “storage” room – maybe I want my stuff to be comfortable.

One of my biggest concerns was the ability for the foundation to breath. I’m going to vapor barrier and drywall, so it’s not going to be very easy to get access to the stone if there is ever an issue or moisture problem. My solution was to build the walls about 3-6 inches from the stone. This allows for a cavity of air between the wall and the foundation. I’m then going to put a ventilation fan at one end of the basement to pull the air from that cavity and vent it outside. This way, I can occasionally turn a switch and change the air. Got stale air? Not me.

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