Starting the basement remodel with a little epoxy and a lot of paint

Last year our family finished adding two bedrooms to the basement in our home. The dream is to have a nice and cozy movie and recreation area built in the basement. When we first bought the house in 2019, I immediately fell in love with the house, but the basement completely sealed my wish to live in the house with our family. However, before Starting the Basement remodel, there are many important projects that need to be done first. I am so glad to bring you along on this journey with us as we are working on it now!

Monica and Tyler Starting the basement before paint

Disclosure
Published October 4, 2022
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Many apologies

Recently I got a new phone, and these phones settings were set to save images in a different format. Thus, leading to me frantically trying to find them in a setting that doesn’t leave the images as “unformatted”, or “empty”. Because of this, most of these images were inserted in a “thumbnail” version, instead of jpeg. This is not only annoying to me, but also leaves the images just slightly blurry. And for that, I am so sorry!

Cost to Starting the Basement

The cost to start this project was not cheap. However, when you think about remodeling, the cost is never cheap. In total, we had 3-gallons of paint, epoxy, lumber and the I-beam.

Last year, before we did the concrete patio, Tyler bought another epoxy and filled it then. We had originally bought two when we began the concrete and had one waiting to use. So this project did not need to add the cost of the epoxy.

The lumber and other wood materials came to $457.35
3-gallons of Waterproof paint $37.99 X3
1 paint tray liner $1.59
Gloves $4.59
I-beam, 118 pounds $45.37

The total cost for the beginning of this job was $622.87
The cost for the “other materials” includes all of the wood studs, green treated for the bottoms, wood for shoring up the I-beam, electric boxes, nails, heavy adhesive and insulation.

Once all of the walls are studded and insulated, we will need to buy drywall to completely finish the walls.

Materials Needed in Starting the Basement

Paint Tray and liner
Gloves
Roller
Waterproof Sealer Paint
Green treated wood
Outlet boxes
Unfaced insulation
Concrete Epoxy

all the materials to starting the basement and to paint the walls

Starting the Basement important first Steps

The first and most important step to this basement remodel is to make sure the existing crack that is there is filled in and dealt with. Tyler has a Concrete Epoxy that is specific to filling in cracks in basement walls.

using duct tape to fill the crack in the wall

Tyler was a rockstar at figuring out how to use this Concrete Epoxy! With a vertical wall, adding a fluid gets tricky. Thanks to his work training, he used duct tape and made pockets at various intervals to then fill the crack with the epoxy.

Tyler filling the crack with epoxy in starting the basement remodel

Remove the duct tape and make sure the wall is cleaned from any debris before beginning the painting.

the crack filled and cleaned in starting the basement

For this wall we used a Basement Masonry Waterproof paint. This helps keep mold, mildew and moisture away from the walls. And as we are going to finish these walls, keeping any water away is quite important. As the epoxy needed 24-hours to dry, I was able to start painting and just had to avoid the crack.

After a week, I did paint over the wall and did the second coat. If you do use this paint, just make sure to do 2-3 coats and the end result should have no holes in the masonry with voids in the paint. The point of this paint is to create a watertight lock.

Shore up the Wall

Another important part of starting this basement remodel is to shore up the wall by the crack. Even though Tyler worked SO hard on the exterior when we did the concrete patio, we still wanted 100% peace of mind knowing this wall will never move again. To do this, he found an I-beam and cut it to size.

I-beam

Then, using a welder, he welded footplates on the bottom so the I-beam will be structurally integrated into the wall. With is career, Tyler is certified in welding, and was a pro at doing this!

Tyler welding

The next step was to install the I-beam and to then shore the beam up so it will never move on the wall.

shoring up the I-beam with wood in starting the basement

Time to Buy Materials

Finally, with the paint done and the I-beam installed, we were able to crunch the numbers and go to the store and get materials.

adding wood materials to trailer

And then, one stack at a time, bringing the wood supplies into the basement so Tyler can start building walls.

wood stacked in basement to starting the basement

Starting the stud installation

To start the walls, the bases needed to be lined up so that the walls are straight. No one wants to go drywall with a wonky wall!
The bases, against the floor are used with green treated 2 X 4’s. To brace them in the floor, they needed to be also braced using a concrete drill and specific concrete screws, which are typically a cute blue! Once the bases were done, Tyler then put the 2 X 4’s in around the ceiling where the top of the walls will be. Between these two pieces of wood are where the vertical studs will go.

wood studs added to starting the basement

To get an eye for the space, the first wall that has been studded out, so we can place the doors for the future utility room. The biggest thing Tyler and I had to decide was if we wanted to keep the corner or cut it to a 45-degree angle. We did decide to keep the corner at a 90-degree angle to match the two bedrooms built a few years ago. To check out the bedroom build, click here or click the link below!

Planning the next steps for the basement

As it is, this is as far as we have gotten on our starting the basement remodel. The main part was to get the walls painted with an important waterproof membrane before any walls were done. Please stay tuned for updates as we get the work done! We are all so excited to have our recreation and movie watching area to get done!

Plus, we have so many ideas for decoration and design that I cannot wait to share with you all. Thanks, and I hope you enjoyed this dive into how we are finishing our basement!
~Monica

Copyright: All content and photos on Monica’s Scratch Kitchen are copyright protected. Please do not use them without written permission. Thank you.

Published by Monica's Scratch Kitchen

I have not always had the skills to cook and bake from scratch. As a young wife, I bought every meal frozen or boxed and presented it to my husband with a flourish, believing myself a decadent cook. As our budget shrunk, and our family grew, I looked for ways to stretch our money to nourish our kids with the best for their hungry appetites. Hoping to find recipes and meals that they would love to eat. Through the last 5 years, I have learned so many cooking and baking lessons, and experienced many wins and failures. Come along with me on this journey as I share my recipes that work, how to make them on the cheap, and my tips and tricks to get my kids to eat homemade deliciousness! I will also share updates to our house that we have done in the last year since our move. With one income, we do most of the work ourselves and with amazing family and friends to help out, cutting costs but keeping style and money in the bank! I am a wife and mother of 3 boys and 1 princess. When I was a kid, I remember being asked what I wanted to be or do when I grew up. My response was, "a mom", and I am proud to grow up and be a mom to 4 amazing kids! Samuel is 11, Matthew is 8, Levi is 4, and Elliana is almost 2. We have been blessed to have kids who love to explore foods, to try new recipes, and enjoy helping us around the house. With 4 kids, you better believe they help clean! My husband Tyler and I have been married almost 13 years. We love our kids, we love outdoors, camping, canoeing, grilling, watching movies, and just hanging out making memories. A few years ago I gifted Tyler with his own "menu" book, where we write meals and foods we have loved to eat. Weekly our family decides what our meals will be and I make up a grocery list with what we need. It literally is my favorite chore! I love to shop, so shopping for food on a budget is my biggest win! Thank you for taking the time and visiting my site, Subscribe so you do not miss a post! Keep coming back to hear about new recipes, updates on our home, fun times with our kids, and how to make homemade deliciousness! ~Monica

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