Open up area in basement

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My basement has 3 sections. At the bottom of the stairs is an area with the washing machine and dryer, next to that is a somewhat finished room (that I am renovating) for an office and then there is an opening that goes to the other part of the basement with the furnace, water tank, electrical panel, etc.

In renovating this office, I have been thinking about taking down the walls that separate the laundry area from the office and make it one big area. I am thinking this would be nice to allow natural light from both of the windows to really brighten the area during the day. Also, these walls are making these areas seem small. The only thing I am thinking is how to transition from a studded and dry walled wall to the concrete basement wall. Below I drew a little picture. I want to take out the walls with the "X". My thoughts are to also laminate the rest of the floor. Maybe a header where the old wall used to be.

[Linked Image from i.imgur.com]
 
No true knowledge of the construction of your home but from drawing I'd ask if you have a steel girder or are there lolly columns buried in your current walls. If no girder you can still remove the walls but probably have to keep the lollies in place (you can just wall them each individually).
 
Originally Posted by BISCUT
No true knowledge of the construction of your home but from drawing I'd ask if you have a steel girder or are there lolly columns buried in your current walls. If no girder you can still remove the walls but probably have to keep the lollies in place (you can just wall them each individually).



I am not sure but I would just wall any lollies I find.
 
I have yet to see a basement that had a studded wall as a load bearing wall. Its either an I-beam or lolly columns. The wall could be hiding lolly columns.

I would stud and insulate the basement concrete walls.
 
Originally Posted by Donald
I have yet to see a basement that had a studded wall as a load bearing wall. Its either an I-beam or lolly columns. The wall could be hiding lolly columns.

I would stud and insulate the basement concrete walls.


Yep before doing anything else you need to know where the structural supports, if any, are placed.
 
Originally Posted by redhat
My basement has 3 sections. At the bottom of the stairs is an area with the washing machine and dryer, next to that is a somewhat finished room (that I am renovating) for an office and then there is an opening that goes to the other part of the basement with the furnace, water tank, electrical panel, etc.

In renovating this office, I have been thinking about taking down the walls that separate the laundry area from the office and make it one big area. I am thinking this would be nice to allow natural light from both of the windows to really brighten the area during the day. Also, these walls are making these areas seem small. The only thing I am thinking is how to transition from a studded and dry walled wall to the concrete basement wall. Below I drew a little picture. I want to take out the walls with the "X". My thoughts are to also laminate the rest of the floor. Maybe a header where the old wall used to be.

[Linked Image from i.imgur.com]



If you wish to have dry wall where there is currently only bare concrete , it is common to attach studs ( either wood or metal studs ) to the concrete to provide a space for electrical , plumbing and insulation . Then nail / screw the dry wall to the face of the studs .

To provide future access , i would install a 2' x 4' lay in ceiling + insulation .
 
I'd say the load bearing wall is the one separating the has the opening to the other half of the basement
 
Originally Posted by Donald
I have yet to see a basement that had a studded wall as a load bearing wall. Its either an I-beam or lolly columns. The wall could be hiding lolly columns.

I would stud and insulate the basement concrete walls.




I mentioned this because it might be the case that a previous owner may have taken out supporting joists and beams and put in a stud wall as a replacement.
 
I would worry about someone who removed lolly columns and installed a stud wall unless an engineer was involved in the design. I do not think a plain stud wall can carry the weight. Maybe if it was an overbuilt stud wall.
 
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Anyone in this thread who mentions a load bearing wall in a basement in this thread has never swung a hammer. Basements use posts for support, not walls.

There are probably posts in the current partition wall, you can just enclose them with drywall. As mentioned above, you have to frame or strap the exterior walls of the basement to accept drywall. If you want insulation, frame them. If you just want to get some drywall on them so they will match just get some 1x, 2x or metal stud furring strips and screw them to the wall with tapcons or framing spikes/construction screws and wire. The hard part will be making sure those strips are level and even enough that you can hang drywall from them. You might be better off with a 2x2 framed wall over straps if they walls are really out of whack. I would vapor barrier even if you don't insulate to protect the drywall from moisture damage, and I would prefer metal studs for the same reason.

I would also enclose the utility area and insulate the walls for sound. You could reuse your old office door there.
 
I could extend the drywall down and encase the rest of the newly opened up larger room, but I was trying to get ideas for leaving the 2/3 remaining finished walls and tying them in with the unfinished concrete in a way that looks good.
 
"Anyone in this thread who mentions a load bearing wall in a basement in this thread has never swung a hammer. Basements use posts for support, not walls."


I have been in a basement where the posts were removed and the area was walled off. It was one of those shake your head moments.

Anything is possible.
 
Originally Posted by PimTac
"Anyone in this thread who mentions a load bearing wall in a basement in this thread has never swung a hammer. Basements use posts for support, not walls."


I have been in a basement where the posts were removed and the area was walled off. It was one of those shake your head moments.

Anything is possible.
I've been in basements like that too, a beam was being installed to remove the posts and the walls were temporary. I didn't say it was not possible. I said basements use posts for support, not walls.
Originally Posted by redhat
I could extend the drywall down and encase the rest of the newly opened up larger room, but I was trying to get ideas for leaving the 2/3 remaining finished walls and tying them in with the unfinished concrete in a way that looks good.
If you are OK with a drywall to concrete finish, just frame in that header that you mentioned earlier and drywall it.

You could do something similar to a door casing with a piece of trim on the edge of the drywall, a plain piece at right angle to that to cover the difference in depth of the drywall to the concrete, and then another piece of trim on the concrete itself.

If the gap is smaller you could try to get away with a single piece of trim to cover the gap similar to quarter round or shoe mould.

It's hard to recommend anything without actually seeing it. The severity of the transition between the concrete will determine what needs to be done but I like your header idea.
 
Originally Posted by PimTac
"Anyone in this thread who mentions a load bearing wall in a basement in this thread has never swung a hammer. Basements use posts for support, not walls."


I have been in a basement where the posts were removed and the area was walled off. It was one of those shake your head moments.

Anything is possible.


My home has a couple of 6x6 posts that appear to be supporting a steel I-beam. Were there before I bought the house and are still there. Building inspector was in the basement looking at some plumbing and sad nothing.

So maybe prior homeowner thought they would be a good idea or they added on a story to original house. I would think lolly columns would required if the I-beam was not strong enough without support. Lolly columns are placed over a footing under the floor. Not just on the floor.
 
Originally Posted by Donald
So maybe prior homeowner thought they would be a good idea or they added on a story to original house. I would think lolly columns would required if the I-beam was not strong enough without support. Lolly columns are placed over a footing under the floor. Not just on the floor.

Indeed, and that's why you don't make load-bearing walls in a basement.

FWIW in this discussion it is "Lally" column, not lolly. Capitalized since it is the name of the designer.
 
Originally Posted by maxdustington
Anyone in this thread who mentions a load bearing wall in a basement in this thread has never swung a hammer. Basements use posts for support, not walls.



People have been known to build walls away from the posts and use the studded wall as support instead removing those posts. I think people mentioning load bearing walls are far more experienced in what happens especially if the wall was built DIY by a previous homeowner or their contracted hack.
 
If you plan to put drywall over the inside of the block walls, use metal sleepers and put them on OVER plastic sheeting which will act as a vapor barrier. Why? I once owned a house where they used wood sleepers right on the concrete block walls to attach drywall and termites got up into the sleepers and ate them like they were a plate of fries with gravy. I redid the room as I described above. A much more solid and long lasting solution.
 
Originally Posted by madRiver
Originally Posted by maxdustington
Anyone in this thread who mentions a load bearing wall in a basement in this thread has never swung a hammer. Basements use posts for support, not walls.



People have been known to build walls away from the posts and use the studded wall as support instead removing those posts. I think people mentioning load bearing walls are far more experienced in what happens especially if the wall was built DIY by a previous homeowner or their contracted hack.
No they are not. They just don't understand how houses are built because they don't build or renovate houses. They throw around buzzwords to make it seem like they know something about construction because they watch This Old House, but they don't know the first thing about how a house is framed. I'm a professional "contracted hack", btw.
 
Redhat,

How large is the office room now and how large would it be with the wall removed? What other things do you want improved?

Are you concerned about noise from the washer and drying running if you are using the office or is that not an issue?

If it were to me, I would put the laundry room into a smaller room, you can leave that window. I would try to get another window installed by cutting out the cinder blocks or poured cement walls and going with larger windows. It would make a huge difference. If you are doing all of the other work yourself, then it wouldn't break the budget.

Since you are in WNY, I'm sure it's cold in winter. In my basement I put 2" thick rigid foam glued to all the exterior walls. Then I framed and insulated with Roxul. I first put down Dri-core panels before framing and framed on top of them. If you have forced air heating, I would also tape all the duct work with foil tape or seal with duct mastic and then insulated each duct to keep the heat in. You will save on your heating bills and the basement won't be as damp. If I run the dehumifier run in the summer it hardly picks up any moisture in the basement.

If you want to do it your way, then I would paint the cement walls to match the drywall color so it doesn't look that obvious of a transition between drywall and cement.
 
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