Even for a "professional ", sometimes lolThanks Sean - I've heard from several contractors who have a tough time understanding why some of the very basics of finishing a basement need an explanation. Good question. There's is a lot more to building a wall than you might think. Just double check the rough opening specs and make sure you don't put a light switch in the way.

Downloaded last night just in time...The guy at the lumber yard suggested I start my wall about a half inch out from the wall for some dead air space (like extra insulation of sorts). College try? If you do end up using it, be sure to come back and let us know what you thought of it.

Good luck, hope that helps!

Determine the Stud Locations I would like to keep the cost down. The Best Vines Recommended for you.

It really seems like a pretty clever way of keeping any water out of the basement but kind of puzzles me about working around it to put up exterior walls. You have any tips or experience on doing this?

Keep up the great work.This was great information for starting on finishing our basement, but I'm really apprehensive about attaching the bottom plate.

The difficult part here is its 20' high and 40' wide. Also, build it at the lowest end first.While excavating, cut straight down with the shovel to avoid disturbing the surrounding soil.To cut a block in half, mark a line around the middle with a brick chisel. To avoid mistakes, lay out a staggered pattern of blocks ahead of time, then assemble them again using adhesive when you’re sure you have it right. Done several basements for friends and family. What I did first was to try and cut the stud so it just a touch longer than it needed to be - this way it was already snug in it's place before I went to nail it.

You’ll need to make sure your wall is higher than the highest point reached by … The old timers did this with "toe nails" which is difficult to do and maintain alignment esp on the top plate. Then if it was not plumb I could just knock it with my foot or sledgehammer to line it up.Which books at your store have the stick by stick method discussed?Which of the books at your Amazon store have info about stick by stick framing? I highly recommend using screws instead of nails, especially for newbies. I don't agree that it is faster. I have done a couple of basement remodels and have framed walls both ways, pre framed built on the floor and stick built. A new wall can make better use of your space or give you an entirely new room. Does that help?

Hard to not have the wall to work against. Looking at it now, I'm thinking it looks like a challenge.

I’ve built several garages for friends and family. I'm hoping to add some articles in the near future on this topic.

I can't make a continuous string line to ensure straightness at the ceiling, but I understand I should install that beam first. We are building a house ourselves, with help in areas we just can't do it from contractors, but a lot of the stuff we are doing ourselves! And lastly I think there’s a much greater margin for error. Once the wall is up, I will use a few shims if needed and then I put in the blocking at the height of the drywall if running parallel with the floor. I'm looking to finish my basement by mid-2013.

One book I am reading says to use furring strips against the foundation walls, not 2x4s. I'm using your recommended stick by stick method. I do know there are some hard and fast don nots. It seems like Dricore recommends putting the floor down first, but I want to make sure I do it right the first time.

These days those are installed outside of the foundation, not inside.

It's not related to basements 2.

I would also set it back a .25 inch or so from vertical - knowing that it would move just a bit once it nailed it in place.

I have a half basement which is partially finished . I would like to touch on your mention of needing to use shims and that building on the floor is slower. When you say a "plate" you are just referring specifically to the board at the top of the wall or the bottom of the wall - versus the vertical boards (or studs) that are in between the top and bottom boards.

If you live in an area with expansive soil, you MUST install a float joint in the wall to isolate the slab from the wall framing.