Basement Walls

[rlepore]

Need help! Few questions to an experience contractor:

1. when building walls in a basement with semi moisture is it important to use treated wood? or can i use douglas fur & treat it myself?

2. is it necessary to use wood fillers in between each stud for support & to avoid the 2 x 4's to twist? i think it's also referred to as catting?

3. is it necessary to double up the floor studs with pressure treated 2 x 4?

Thank you in advance

[Pilot Dane]

1. Any wood touching masonry (cement, bricks, stone...) should be pressure treated (the store bought type).

2. Generally you don't need anything between wall studs. Quite often they do twist and bracing can help prevent it. It's up to you if you want the extra work/expense.

3. Usually a single pressure treated 2x4 is used along the floor. The 2x4's are doubled up at the top to help carry the load when a floor joist is not directly above the stud (ex: when the floor joist falls between the studs in the wall below it).

[lockpicker]

Now if this was my basement::

I would first seal coat the Inside walls with a concrete sealer prior to doing anything..
especially if there is a moisture Issue.....

Cause you dont want to do all this work and then find out you Have "Black-Mold" growing behind you newely finished walls....


then I would Seal the Floor as-well with a concrete sealer to prevent moisture from comming up through the ground and slab......

Depending on the Basement I would personally shoot Hat channel onto the block walls then frame with Metal studs..

Insulating with the Foam foil faced Insulation....

[rlepore]

thank you both..very helpful.

my biggest fear is mildew & mold. i don't want to have any problems. i'll install a couple of dehumidifiers to help. if you have any other thoughts about taking humidity out of the basement it would be greatly appreciated. i read in another forum that one used bathroom ventilation system & ran the duck to the outside like one would a regular bathroom. any thoughts about this?? do you think a bathroom vent will help? if it will i would consider installing 4 or 5 to my basement.

[Stevetra]

My 2 cents.....
Seal the walls and the floor with concrete sealer.
as far as moisture is concerned "balance" is what you are looking for.
Dehumidifiers will pull moisture out....but then more moisture will be pulled in from the Block...even with the Dryloc....and actually cause more trouble than it solves.
The only way to go is with a 1" dead air gap.

Seal the concrete
Provide a dead airspace
vapor barrier between the studs and drywall.

You then have provided a vapor seal on the Block...and one on the Studs...the dead airspace will provide a area where the 2 worlds can colide and disipate the moisture naturally without causing mold and mildew.