# My basement apartment reno



## Young mason (Oct 6, 2013)

Hi all!

I figured I would post a thread following me turning my basement into a basement income suite. 

I have already done the underpinning and I am now in the process of restoring the rubble stone foundation wall, I am semi detached and I will be leaving that stone exposed on that side. 

I removed all of the plaster and pressure washed the stone, I treated the wall with nmd80 and blasted it with hot water, pics are attached.

I am now in the process of choosing the right mortar color after removing all of the mortar joints with a hammer and chisel. I'm using a half type a half type n mix, as I don't see the need to point in a lime putty albeit my house was built in 1909.


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## CarpenterSFO (Dec 12, 2012)

Fair amount of work ahead of you. Do you have a very specific plan, or are you being flexible/seeing what happens?


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## Young mason (Oct 6, 2013)

CarpenterSFO said:


> Fair amount of work ahead of you. Do you have a very specific plan, or are you being flexible/seeing what happens?


Yes it is, I'm hoping to be done by March-April.

I am being flexible/ seeing what happens. I want to install a heated concrete floor and then apply an acid etch stain on it. Does anyone have experience installing the heated floor?


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## CarpenterSFO (Dec 12, 2012)

Young mason said:


> Yes it is, I'm hoping to be done by March-April.
> 
> I am being flexible/ seeing what happens. I want to install a heated concrete floor and then apply an acid etch stain on it. Does anyone have experience installing the heated floor?


I sure recommend thinking about changing that approach - it's the classic way to go over-budget and over-schedule. Put together a complete, budgeted plan; if it's an income property, focus on cost and feasibility. Make a schedule, and stick as close to it as you can. The experience of managing the project properly will be far more valuable to you than the experience of working with any particular finish.

There are a bunch of threads on C.T. about radiant heating in the floor; there's lots of good information, including about insulating underneath.


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## billgl (Dec 3, 2013)

How quickly are you looking to get people to move in there?


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## Young mason (Oct 6, 2013)

billgl said:


> How quickly are you looking to get people to move in there?[/QUOTE
> 
> 
> Hopefully by this coming march, why do you ask?


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## FramingPro (Jan 31, 2010)

Where in Toronto are ya?


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## Young mason (Oct 6, 2013)

FramingPro said:


> Where in Toronto are ya?


Downtown, do you live here too?


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## FramingPro (Jan 31, 2010)

Young mason said:


> Downtown, do you live here too?


If "here" is Toronto, then yes, yes i do live here :thumbup:


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## billgl (Dec 3, 2013)

Young mason said:


> billgl said:
> 
> 
> > How quickly are you looking to get people to move in there?[/QUOTE
> ...


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## jlsconstruction (Apr 26, 2011)

I love the foundation, all of our stone foundations look good for 2' on the outside then turn into a pile of rocks with sand shoved between them.


There ya go nick! Some weekend work for ya, seeing you have so much free time.


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## Young mason (Oct 6, 2013)

jlsconstruction said:


> I love the foundation, all of our stone foundations look good for 2' on the outside then turn into a pile of rocks with sand shoved between them. There ya go nick! Some weekend work for ya, seeing you have so much free time.


Thanks, I chipped off all of the ugly plaster and pressure washed it, just finished tuckpointing it today. After doing 6 different test patches I went with a white mortar joint.


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## jlsconstruction (Apr 26, 2011)

Young mason said:


> Thanks, I chipped off all of the ugly plaster and pressure washed it, just finished tuckpointing it today. After doing 6 different test patches I went with a white mortar joint.


 love it


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## mdfhrr (Apr 4, 2013)

great choice with the white mortar! It looks great!


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## Young mason (Oct 6, 2013)

Plumbing is in, back flow valve installed.

Waterproofing is on with 4in weeping tile connecting to a sump pump.

4 in of gravel down and graded.

2 in of ship lapped insulation with the seams tuck taped.

Today is rebar and running the hydronic heating, and tomorrow is concrete pour, hopefully I need to find a concrete finisher to make the floor look like glass, anyone know of anyone in toronto?


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## MTN REMODEL LLC (Sep 3, 2010)

Great.... Keep the pic's coming:thumbsup:


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## FramingPro (Jan 31, 2010)

Young mason said:


> Plumbing is in, back flow valve installed.
> 
> Waterproofing is on with 4in weeping tile connecting to a sump pump.
> 
> ...


You don't have a finisher


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## MTN REMODEL LLC (Sep 3, 2010)

How come you want a glass level finish....Your not using any flooring at all?


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## Young mason (Oct 6, 2013)

MTN REMODEL LLC said:


> How come you want a glass level finish....Your not using any flooring at all?


No sir, I will be leaving the concrete exposed and then staining it with some sort of material ( to be determined, advice is more than welcomed)


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## FramingPro (Jan 31, 2010)

Young mason said:


> No sir, I will be leaving the concrete exposed and then staining it with some sort of material ( to be determined, advice is more than welcomed)


Ill get you the number of the finisher we use... hes very good.


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## The Coastal Craftsman (Jun 29, 2009)

Young mason said:


> 4 loop heating manifold is in and the radiant pex lines are installed. We will be pouring the slab tomorrow BIG DAY!


 im curious if that installation is part of the install instructions on that pex line. I have never done them over here but done a lot in the UK but any metal to pex contact was a big no no under concrete. had to use plastic clips or plastic grids that the pipe popped into otherwise the pex could fail early on. I my self have seen a few failures where people used metal staples to hold pipe down to insulation after just a couple of years. here's some of the system we used.

I know its a bit late know even if it is wrong.


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## Young mason (Oct 6, 2013)

BCConstruction said:


> im curious if that installation is part of the install instructions on that pex line. I have never done them over here but done a lot in the UK but any metal to pex contact was a big no no under concrete. had to use plastic clips or plastic grids that the pipe popped into otherwise the pex could fail early on. I my self have seen a few failures where people used metal staples to hold pipe down to insulation after just a couple of years. here's some of the system we used. I know its a bit late know even if it is wrong.


Thanks, we used plastic zip ties so yes the pex
Is rubbing against the rebar, fingers crossed it doesn't fail


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## Inner10 (Mar 12, 2009)

BCConstruction said:


> im curious if that installation is part of the install instructions on that pex line. I have never done them over here but done a lot in the UK but any metal to pex contact was a big no no under concrete. had to use plastic clips or plastic grids that the pipe popped into otherwise the pex could fail early on. I my self have seen a few failures where people used metal staples to hold pipe down to insulation after just a couple of years. here's some of the system we used.
> 
> I know its a bit late know even if it is wrong.


Metal staples is the norm here.


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## Inner10 (Mar 12, 2009)

FramingPro said:


> Oh, i thought you meant 11" of dead space... you have only 7 1/2".
> You can either put a 2x8 batt in, or just a 2x6 with an airspace. Boom :thumbup:


Don't leave any airspace that could allow for convection.

If there is room behind the studs slide in batts behind then another layer inside the stud cavity.


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## Young mason (Oct 6, 2013)

Inner10 said:


> Don't leave any airspace that could allow for convection. If there is room behind the studs slide in batts behind then another layer inside the stud cavity.


What is convection and how worried should I be?


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## FramingPro (Jan 31, 2010)

Young mason said:


> What is convection and how worried should I be?


I too am curious :blink:


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## smalpierre (Jan 19, 2011)

http://www.propertiesofmatter.si.edu/images/L5/conv_cell_room_labeled.gif

Convection in a nutshell.


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## rotarex (Mar 31, 2008)

ideally your not suppose to have no airspace behind the insulation, hence why spray foam is superior or use foam boards. but foam boards cost more. 
as there is an airspace moister builds up and ends up coming down the wall and causing future issues


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## Young mason (Oct 6, 2013)

Thought I would update everyone that has been following this thread.

Turned a 6 ft cobweb and concrete basement into a pretty nifty apartment with 8 ft ceilings.

Thanks for everyone's guidance from this site, it really helped me to bounce ideas off of you and take wisdom where granted.

Here are some pics:


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## Chris G (May 17, 2006)

Well aren't you a little rock star. Sweet work.


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## FramingPro (Jan 31, 2010)

Young mason said:


> Thought I would update everyone that has been following this thread.
> 
> Turned a 6 ft cobweb and concrete basement into a pretty nifty apartment with 8 ft ceilings.
> 
> ...


That looks good :thumbup:


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## Inner10 (Mar 12, 2009)

That looks awesome.


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## B.D.R. (May 22, 2007)

Looks great. Nice job


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## shanekw1 (Mar 20, 2008)

Great job.:thumbsup:


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## superseal (Feb 4, 2009)

I remember when you started this job with the underpinning and I personally thought you were getting in over your head with some of the questions you were asking. 

I was proved wrong in the end as so goes life on occasion...Your due diligence, hard work and determination has really paid off :thumbup:

Hope you enjoy your new found, hard earned investment income for many years to come!


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## Steve57 (Feb 17, 2013)

Looks great!


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## Young mason (Oct 6, 2013)

Thanks everyone! Yes we finished the renovations march 30th and found new tenants who moved in April 1st! Someone up there must be looking out for me


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## SectorSecurity (Nov 26, 2013)

Young mason said:


> Thought I would update everyone that has been following this thread.
> 
> Turned a 6 ft cobweb and concrete basement into a pretty nifty apartment with 8 ft ceilings.
> 
> ...


This has me thinking I may not have to buy a stand up shower for my basement washroom when I can just tile one in. :thumbup:


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## Young mason (Oct 6, 2013)

SectorSecurity said:


> This has me thinking I may not have to buy a stand up shower for my basement washroom when I can just tile one in. :thumbup:


Yes,
Frame it, concrete board, pour a pad sloping to the drain, let cure, oatey membrane, pad on top sloped to drain, tile, fixtures, done.


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## Cnrhodes (Jun 23, 2013)

*Conc. Floor Finish*

To get your floor to look like glass you will need to grind and polish it. We have done it here on several projects and it really looks awesome. The cheapest guy in our area will polish to an 800 grit for around 6.50 sq ft.


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## 66 Shelby (Jan 11, 2009)

Looks great! I have an older house (1941) that had a 6ft tall basement. I (Gotta say WE - the wife helped A LOT) dug down half our basement 3 ft last year to get to an 8ft finished height. It was a s**tload of work, but now we have a huge play room, laundry room, storage, and office space for me. Under-grade construction is a different animal that's not in my comfort zone. It is now, though - unfortunately :laughing:


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