Basement renovation

[Badfish740]

On the opposite side of the basement from where my ESW furnace lives was a finished area that was some sort of office with a closet. The previous owner of the house did a good job on framing the finished walls with a vapor barrier and fiberglass insulation, but the drywall work was so-so and there was never any carpeting installed. We decided to convert the area into a combination office and family room with a built in entertainment center. Here's what it looked like after I began tearing out the drywall around the closet enclosure. Part of the enclosure also hid the sump pump I decided to keep the basic framing and refined it. The sump pump will now be hidden by a built in bookshelf which will pull out of the wall if access to the pump is needed. Before everything is finished the pump will also get a battery backup.

Here is the same area after removing all of the demoed material and framing the entertainment center:

I need to run electrical outlets in the wall where the TV (I deliberately sized for a 52" wall mount ) will mount along with in the cabinets which will go below the TV to hide the cable boxes, etc... Other plans include wainscoting, a kegerator, a small bar, New Jersey Devils and New York Giants memorabilia, and some comfy couches.

 

[Bobbin]

You've been busy! it's going to be great, how're you going to heat the space? or are you planning on using copious amounts of refried beans on your half time nachos to do the job?

 

[Badfish740]

You've been busy! it's going to be great, how're you going to heat the space? or are you planning on using copious amounts of refried beans on your half time nachos to do the job?

Hehe-I actually get more than enough radiant heat from the add-on furnace to keep the basement very comfortable. There were actually vents tapped into the main trunk line that delivered hot air directly to the finished room from the oil furnace but I removed them and patched the holes with sheet metal and duct tape. Before that I brought my digital thermometer into the basement with the 1st floor of the house at 70 degrees-with the combination of heat radiating from the furnace and the hot air blowing from the vents the basement was 85! Needless to say it didn't make for a pleasant work environment during the demolition (hot dry room full of sheetrock dust...) so the vents were the first thing to go. Now even with the furnace going full blast it stays around 70-72.