Walls and Ceilings - How do I drywall cement walls

I am getting reading to drywall my basement and I'm not sure how preceed. The basement has cement walls and I'm not sure how to do this. I was told the best way was to drill holes in the cement and then use cement nails to hold the 2 by 4 studs against the cement wall. I've tried doing thsi, but it's almost imposible to drill into the cement, even with cement drill bits.

Is there a better way to do this?

Thanks

The very best way to do it is to build stud walls an inch or two out from the concrete. This allows for insulation and a moisture barrier to be installed in the wall and also lets you put electrical plugs, etc.

Now if you don't want to approach the project in this manner, I would suggest buying or renting a Hilti or similiar type fastening tool. This type of tool uses a special blank .22 caliber charge to fire a fastener (called a pin) into concrete or steel. There are several brands and makes of this type of tool available, you can purchase a hand fired style of this tools which is fired by striking the firing pin with a hammer, for under $40, other styles use a CO2 cartridge to fire and you simply pull a trigger to fire it, this type will run you around $100 or so and are also available for rent at tool rental yards.

Hope that helps, post back if you have more questions on you basement project.

awesomedell,

I tried the tool with the 22 cal. shot and it doesn't work very well going through a 2 by 4. Is there any tool for drilling in concrete?

You can drill concrete easy with a 1/2" hammer drill. They require special drill bits so rent those with the drill itself.

zachamo,

I've used my hilti on 2"x4" many times w/o problems, now the old hand type remington I used to have had that problem with.

The 1/2" drill will help & make the job quicker, but a good titanium masonry bit will eat thru concrete just fine with a smaller drill as well. But really, the 1/2" drill is a better tool and you can get a home owner's model for under $100, money well spent & you can never have too many tools :D Good bits ain't cheap either, but you gets what you pay for! ;)

Take a look here and see if it inspires you to do it the easy way. You can use 1 5/8 studs if you want to save space. Screw in the top track and glue down the bottom one. If you want to insulate with batts use 3 1/2 inch studs.

scroll down to metal wall framing. If the movie won't play you need to install the movie player when asked to.

http://www.bobvila.com/VideoLibrary/Location/Basement/

Just build the stud wall and put it up. You dont want to fasten any wood to a basement wall are drill into it.

ED ;)