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My first home reno job, watching a lot of youtube, but need some advice.

My first home reno job, watching a lot of youtube, but need some advice.


  #1  
Old 11-17-18, 04:58 PM
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Red face My first home reno job, watching a lot of youtube, but need some advice.

This is my first big home reno job. I am redoing the basement. I am a software engineer with two left thumbs, but am enjoying my foray into home improvements. The house was built in 1948, as a result the basement is poured concrete with a deliberate gentle slope to the drain. The previous owners had put down linoleum and blocked up the drain, something I discovered was a bad idea when a water pipe connecting to the water heater blew and flooded the basement. Fortunately, my daughter discovered the mess before it got too deep. I have since cut a hole in the linoleum and exposed the drain.

I have just finished installing dricore 2*2 tiles. I have covered the entire floor after a few poor starts, and got it as level as I can. I have then added underlayment as a padding plus additional water / cold insulation. That was easy, you can cut it with big scissors. I am having a challenging time getting Swiftlock laminate boards down, the first row is easy, but the next requires some yoga to get them to connect when two edges have to fit together. Should I be doing the short edge first, or the long edge? I can find different youtube videos recommending one or the other, but it seems like I will break the edge if I force it.

Next, the ceiling. When I am done the floor, I have already pulled down the entire ceiling which was thin plywood. I am going to insulate with Rockwool Safe n Sound for sound suppression. And finally, add acoustic panels. That is question 2. I was originally going to go with these ones : Sonopan soundproof wood fibre panel. But then I found out they are designed to be added between the ceiling and drywall. That is not what I am looking for. The floating floor is stealing roughly 2 cm from headroom, acoustic panels under gypsum board will steal at least another two, if not more. Is there not a sound-suppressing solution which does not require 2 layers? It doesn't have to be soundproof, I just want to be able to watch a movie in the basement without bugging the kids sleeping on the second floor. I started with 210 cm of clearance, am down to 208 from dricore to joist. I wanted a drop-ceiling which was as close to the joists as I could make it to maximize headspace.

And lastly, I am going to hire an electrician to install lights. I would like to get recessed sockets so that lights are flush with the ceiling. Should I get the electrician now, when everything is open? Or after I have added insulation plus some sort of drop-ceiling? If I get an electrician now, how do I get the lights to be flush with whatever the ceiling will end up being? It seems to make sense to get one now, but then I don't really know how to go about finishing around the lights. I wanted Philips Hue lights so I could change the colour of the whole basement at once, do they make all-in-one-with-sockets, or just the bulbs?

Thanks!
MBH
 
  #2  
Old 11-17-18, 05:07 PM
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Get the electrician before you put the ceiling up but he/shes will do a better job knowing the final depth from the joists to the drywall depending on what layers you are putting in.
Why not just roxul, 1 layer drywall, acoustic caulk, then 1 more later drywall and that's it.
 
  #3  
Old 11-18-18, 04:58 AM
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OK. Am worried about how much ceiling I will use up. Down to 208 now, I guess going to 206 for 2 layers of drywall will be OK. I am 180 cm myself, but my son's friend who is over all the time is 198. That is getting pretty close to the ceiling.

Any recommendation on overhead lights I should buy? I wanted to add about 8 potlights, all with Philips Hue bulbs. Maybe I should just go for dimmable normal lights instead. I have Hue lights in my kid's rooms, but the light they give off when used as just a light (ie. white) isn't very bright. I was hoping putting in 8 would have a multiplier effect. I could put in potlights like we have in the kitchen, they get very bright off their dimmer switch, and then just use Hue behind the TV and the strips along the top of the wall. The room is for my kids, PS4 is down there, the computer, etc. So want to make it slick.
 
  #4  
Old 11-19-18, 12:51 AM
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I cant speak for Rolex but I did install 6" batts of Ultra Touch which is the blue jean material and it does an amazing job of noise suppression.

Kids are always having people over in our basement which is below our bedroom and it works!
 
  #5  
Old 11-19-18, 09:24 AM
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That looks like it is worthwhile. Ultratouch seems to have better sound suppression than Roxul. Having difficulty finding it in Canada though. Lowe's and Home Depot both list it in their US stores, but not found on Canadian site.
 
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Old 11-26-18, 05:08 AM
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Had to go with Roxul Safe and Sound. Ultratouch simply isn't sold anywhere here.
 
 

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