Half-finished basement... (Interior wall)

[Ropust]

I have just become a property owner - I have acquired a villa with everything that it entails. I have been "lurking" on this forum since the deal was finalized, and I am impressed by the power of having this forum for support with certain considerations.

I have looked around the forum for topics that concern the well-known dilemma of "insulating interior walls in the basement."

The house I acquired has a "half-finished" basement regarding interior walls, ceiling, and floor.

The outer wall has a drainage mat, not extra insulated to my knowledge.

Metal studs are mounted in the ceiling and floor - flush against the outer wall - insulation is in place in the compartments throughout the basement. Not "drywalled over" or anything, the insulation is visible.

My dilemma consists of the following - should I complete what has been started? Drywall over the walls...

My conclusion after reading numerous recommendations regarding basement walls is that the optimal is to have an air gap between the outer wall and the inner wall's framework. (if one is to insulate the interior basement wall) - How does one then handle the insulation? Does it hang in the air between the studs, or does one place a board on the outer part of the outer wall's metal studs to fix the insulation? And then drywall on top.

But since the work is practically finished, in theory, I could just drywall, putty, and paint. But I don't want to create a problem for myself...

I vacillate between tearing down everything the previous owner has done or plastering the basement wall and painting it. Then laying a Nivell floor or equivalent to get rid of the icy cold floor.

If you were in my shoes, how would you proceed? Please motivate your recommendation

//

Ropus

 

[Herr Hysteres]

Welcome to Byggahus and congratulations on your house purchase!

I have been working quite a bit in my basement over the past year. The basement level of my house is a split-level floor and has both rooms where the exterior wall borders the earth and rooms where the foundation wall is exposed. Additionally, my basement has underfloor heating, and the house is located at the highest point in the terrain, meaning rainwater drains away from the house.

When I was looking to make the basement more habitable, I initially had the same idea as you, i.e., to use metal studs, insulate, and drywall. Despite practically having good foundational conditions for not having moisture problems, I ultimately chose to consistently adhere to the principle on this floor of not having any spaces where moisture could even theoretically remain without being ventilated away. The reasons I used for myself were:

(i) A basement is a basement, and it has much more contact with the solid surroundings than the rest of the house. Consequently, it is a good fundamental principle not to actively create any conditions for moisture traps.
(ii) My house was originally built in 1902, and at that time, people were not in the basement more than necessary. Consequently, the fundamental construction of my basement is likely not made to be either tight or used as a permanent living or social space.
(iii) The basement maintains a more even temperature throughout the year than other parts of the house, so I wasn't sure I needed the insulation. In my case, the underfloor heating helps, but the basic principle holds true in most places.
(iv) A basement is a basement, and it's difficult to trick the observer into thinking they're somewhere else without having 2.60 ceiling height and full-sized windows even down there.

In the end, my choice was to focus more on attractive surfaces with the right color and then reduce the hardness in sound and appearance with textiles. For example, I spent quite a bit of time removing existing paint of questionable quality to instead paint all stone and plaster, including exterior walls, with diffusion-open silicate paint. In rooms that have become guest rooms, etc., I've increased the coziness factor with ceiling-mounted curtain rods for wide curtains from floor to ceiling. Pleasant to look at, sound-deadening, and reduces drafts/cold air from the walls.

So, should you remove what's already been done? I don't want to advise you in that regard. If it were my house, I would likely follow the same fundamental principle as I have in the one I currently live in for the reasons mentioned above.

Also, check out this thread that's up now; it discusses floor coverings in rooms similar to yours.

 

[Ropust]

Welcome to Byggahus and congratulations on the house purchase!

I have done quite a bit in my basement over the past year. The basement level in my house is a hillside floor and has both rooms where the outer wall borders the soil and rooms where the foundation wall is free outward. Additionally, my basement has underfloor heating and the house is located on the highest point in the terrain, meaning rainwater drains away from the house.

When I wanted to make the basement more livable, I initially had the same idea as you, i.e., use metal studs, insulate, and plasterboard. Despite having good basic conditions in practice to avoid moisture problems, I ultimately chose to consistently follow the principle that there should be no areas in this floor where moisture could even theoretically remain without being ventilated away. The reasons I used for myself were:

(i) A basement is a basement and it has much more contact with the solid surroundings than the rest of the house. Consequently, it is a good basic principle not to actively create any conditions for moisture traps.
(ii) My house was originally built in 1902, and at that time people didn't spend more time in the basement than necessary. Consequently, the basic construction of my basement is probably not made to be either sealed or used as permanent living or social space.
(iii) The basement maintains a more even temperature throughout the year than other parts of the house, so I wasn't sure I needed the insulation. Now, in my case, this is helped by the underfloor heating, but the basic principle holds true in most places.
(iv) A basement is a basement, and it's hard to fool the observer into thinking they are somewhere else unless you have a 2.6-meter ceiling height and full-size windows even down there.

In the end, my choice was to focus more on attractive surface layers with the right color and then reduce the hardness in sound and appearance with textiles. For example, I spent quite a bit of time removing existing paint of questionable quality to instead paint all stone and plaster including the outer walls with diffusion-open silicate paint. In the rooms that have become guest rooms, etc., I have increased the comfort factor with ceiling-mounted curtain rods with wide panels from ceiling to floor. Pleasant to look at, sound dampening, and reducing draft/cold air from the walls.

So, should you remove what has already been done? I don't want to advise you in that regard. If it were my house, I would probably follow the same basic principle as I have done in the one I now live in for the reasons mentioned above.

Also, check out this thread that is active now, they are discussing floor coverings in rooms similar to yours.

Thank you for your response and for the welcome!

The house was built in '97, so it is "fairly" new. It's also a hillside floor. The basement lacks underfloor heating, which makes the environment quite "raw" in terms of temperature. However, there are radiators that aren't connected.

I haven't moved in yet, I'll provide more info as soon as I gain access.

The foundation walls are completely untreated on the inside. They look like stone insulation, before they can be painted they need plastering, or I'll have to continue the previous owner's approach. Metal studs and plasterboard, with an air gap.

I'll return with pictures as soon as I've gained access.