Want to do it yourself? I suggest you begin by evicting the dust bunnies! Next, we need to finish the basement walls. Easy, right? Just slap up some drywall and tape! Wrong. Here's how to do it correctly:

1. Look at the amount of moisture in your basement. Are the walls moist? Are there mushrooms growing in the corner? Is there standing water in any part of the area? (If you make the kids wear lifejackets when they go downstairs, you may have a water problem). You should call a professional for ideas on how to get rid of water seepage. It will be money well spent and will prevent many problems later.

2. Estimate the amount of drywall and furring strips (long, thin wood strips which enable you to attach the drywall to the concrete face) you will need. For every 4 feet of wall, you will need one sheet of drywall (we are assuming that your ceiling is less than 8 feet!) and 4 furring strips.

3. Screw the furring strips to the wall leaving a space of approximately ? inch from the bottom of the strip to the floor in case water seeps in. Make sure the strips are plumb (use your handy-dandy level) and drill holes about 16 inches apart into the wall (use a masonry bit). Drive in hardened concrete screws with your even-handier-dandy drill.

4. Install drywall Shim the furring strips to create a flat plane for the dry wall. (Is this the point where the author makes a bad pun about doing the shimmy?) Start with the strip nearest the corner and use a long level to see if it's plumb. Use a shim, if needed, to bring it level. Repeat the process to make certain all the strips are plumb with the first.

At least an inch or two of XPS or unfaced EPS between the furring and the concrete would make sense for at least half the US, without taking it all the way to a high-R foundation. IECC 2009 code requires at least some foundation wall insulation. for new construction in most US climate zones.

For US climate zones 1-3 1-2 inches of foam on furring does it, and 2" of XPS would still meet the IECC min for zone 5. But R15-R20 using 1-2" of foam sandwiched between a unfaced-batt studwall and the concrete is still economic for US zones 4 or higher. (See case 4 for climate zone 4, case 8 for zones 5 & 6.)

http://www.buildingscience.com/documents/reports/rr-1003-building-america-high-r-foundations-case-study-analysis

Thanks a lot for sharing the information, a great effort well done....

A useful tips & ideas to finish the basement walls by Do it yourself!

Greetings,

Use a single layer RB insulation instead of foam. Much higher insulation value and also is a VB. Not subject to moisture degradation as is the foam. Foam in basements are subject to mold, RBs are not.

I used 1x2s on my walls with a single layer and drywall. Worked great. Also suggest that a vinyl "J" channel be fitted to the bottom of the drywall to help prevent moisture absorption by the drywall.

Another very good method, if you don't want to frame is to mix ceramic insulation beads with paint and just paint the walls. Go to: koolcoat.com

Vapor barriers on foundation walls are a BAD idea, since it raises the moisture content of the foundation putting the foundation sills at risk of rot. If the only path to drying becomes the above-grade exterior there can be efflorescence & spalling of the concrete as well (but at least that could be mitigated with a sacrificial parge.) If the foundation is built with a good capillary break between the footing and wall, is well waterproofed below grade on the exterior, and there's a good capillary break between the top of the foundation wall and the foundation sill you can get away with an interior VB, but otherwise you'd be taking some risk to do so. Semi-permeable foam allows the foundation to dry any ground moisture toward the interior, with very low risk of sill-rot or efflorescence. Holding the lower limit to 1 perm is very safe. Below 0.5 perms is the risk of creating issues rises rapidly.

There is no credible evidence of that ceramic bead paint additives reduce heating & cooling loads in any building application. The effectiveness of radiant barrier at the delta-Ts seen in basements is also miniscule, but if going that route, use perforated high-permeance goods.

We install InSoFast insulation systems on concrete walls. I believe it is generally the best way to finish concrete walls. Check it out.

Brad, regarding InSoFast - it really gets glued to the concrete, and then you can screw drywall to a glued foamboard?  I am surprised that works, or meets code.  I'm not saying it doesnt, it just doesnt sound like something I would ever trust to stay up long term, especially on a wall that could see a lot of moisture.

Thanks for your good and helpful suggestions. I am very apprise on your ideas.