Customer Reviews

Complete Basements (Stanley Complete)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is better than many books I have looked at, but if you are moderately functional DIYer who is contemplating remodeling the basement (like me) I would recommend that this not be your sole source. They skip a lot of the little details and tips that you need to really do things properly. On the other hand, they do provide ideas and suggestions that I didn't find elsewhere. I bought this book along with "Remodeling a Basement (Build Like A Pro)" by Roger German. German's book is really great, lot's of detail and DIY tips. If I could only have one book, it would be German's.

I'm usually a fan of the Stanley Complete series, because of the detail they offer. However this one lacks a little in that department. It will provide a good overview of the tasks involved, but it does not provide enough detail to complete most of them. I've had to go to other books for things like framing, drywall, and electrical. The most helpful sections of this book deal with elements that are specific to basements like slabs and foundation walls.

The following sections are pretty good, but vary in depth of coverage:
Finishing Floors
Installing a New Bathroom
Finishing Walls and Ceilings
Preparation and Demolition
Plumbing
Cabinets and Storage

The following sections are lacking:
Framing
Wiring
Lights and Heaters

You might get some useful ideas for this book, but do not use it as your only guide.

This book is good for telling you how to do specific jobs in the basement, but it doesn't "fit all the pieces together" well as far as planning a whole remodeling project. Also, there is precious little included in this book on HVAC work- a crucial step to any basement remodeling project. Don't rely only on this book to take on your whole basement remodeling endeavor.

I would recommend looking into Roger German's "Remodeling a Basement" for a book that gives a good overview of the whole remodeling experience. Then, you can buy books like this to drill down on specific tasks.

It's an O.K. book, but the chapters on framing and insulation come up short.

For insulating and framing your basement walls, go to [..] and read all the articles. Basically, you want to install one to two inches of Extruded Polystyrene insulated sheathing (a.k.a. XPS and DOW "Blue Board") directly onto the bare concrete walls using an adhesive approved for Styrofoam or using furring strips and concrete screws. Then install your 2X4 framed walls directly against the XPS, and install fiberglass insulation (without vapor barrier) between the studs. Finally, install paperless drywall onto the studs. The wall's baseboard should be pressure-treated. Note that you do not want to put a thin, poly/plastic vapor barrier anywhere in the walls, as this will make things worse. See [..] for more info. Trust me, this is the way to go. If you are paying to have it done, don't let a contractor lead you astray... many are stuck doing things the "old way," and the old way will cause major moisture and mold problems. Do your own research, read [...], and tell your contractor the *correct* way to do it.

As for floors, use pre-engineered "squares" such as DRIcore, or large "rolled" material such as Delta-FL or Platon. Then install wood sheeting on top of the DRIcore or Delta-FL/Platon. For sheeting, you can use OSB (mediocre choice), plywood (better), or Advantech (the best). I plan on using Delta-FL and Advantech sheeting. A few other tips:

1) If your basement walls and/or floor are wet or damp, or your basement floods on occasion, you must fix this before you even think about installing walls and flooring. Do ***NOT*** install any kind of walls or flooring until you fix moisture problems.

2) If your basement is relatively dry, and you plan on installing walls and/or flooring, there is no advantage to "sealing" the walls or floor with a waterproof paint (e.g. DryLok). At the very least you are wasting your money. At worse you could be causing more pressure to be put on your walls and floor. The theory is that you should not try to prevent water vapor from going through your walls and floor... let it come through, "route" the water vapor through a channel, and then let your basement's dehumidifier take care of it. For the walls, the water vapor is routed up or down inside the concrete. (The XPS is also a vapor barrier.) For the floors, the water vapor is routed horizontally between the concrete floor and DRIcore (or Delta-FL or Platon), and then up and out the floor (into the room) along the perimeter of the room. Your basement's dehumidifier will then suck it up.

3) Before you install the DRIcore or Delta-FL or Platon, you should put down a high quality landscape fabric; this fabric goes between the bare concrete floor and the DRIcore or Delta-FL or Platon. If you do not do this, there is a chance there will be an audible "clicking" sound as you walk across some places of the floor. This is because there may be certain places where the plastic pylons are not touching the concrete floor, and they will make a "clicking" sound as they touch the floor when you walk on it. The landscape fabric acts as a soft barrier to eliminate this.

4) If you use Delta-Fl or Platon, screw the sheeting into the concrete floor using 1/4" x 2-1/4" Tapcon screws. Just before drilling, dip each screw in caulking. This will help seal the hole you are making in the Delta-Fl or Platon. Use approximately 15 screws per 4' x 8' sheet of sheeting. Pre-drill the sheeting. Rent a Hilti drill when installing the Tapcon screws... don't try to use your $30 masonry drill.

5) There are other products you may want to look at besides DRIcore, Delta-FL and Platon, such as Barricade, Thermal Dry, and Superseal All-in-One.

I've left out some small details. Just make sure you carefully read the instructions for installing the DRIcore or Delta-FL or Platon (or whatever).

Michael
Saint Paris, OH
magcraft@windstream.net

This book gives you explicit, detailed info on just about anything you want to improve about your basement. Very informative. Lists the supplies you'll need, and step-by-step instructions. Highly recommend!

This book provides a general overview of potential projects, but no details or "best practice tips" for any of them. It hasn't done me any good at all. I still had to seek out other references for specific projects.

Book covers a broad range of topics, but it is not detailed enough. Not a step by step guide and no discussion of pros/cons to certain techniques.

I bought this book for help with my basement remodel. However, I found that the contents were surprisingly similar to my Complete Bathrooms book, also by Stanley. Many topics are covered which could be applied to a basement remodel, such as plumbing, drywall, and electrical skills, but other more specific topics were skipped completely. There was very little mention of proper insulation techniques (very important for a basement) and only a brief mention of basement stairs. I had to seek other resources for advise on building my basement stairs (don't all basements have stairs?). Also excluded were details on adding or replacing basement windows. I had to consult other resources for this area as well.
Overall, this book contains good general knowledge but if you are looking to finish your basement from start to finish you will need to look elsewhere.

I was looking for a book that gave a lot of nitty gritty information regarding basements. Ideas for separating utility from living, etc. This book gives you lots of general building information. If you know how to frame, drywall, etc then this book isn't for you. If you are looking for a good general overview of those topics than it will work. I feel it went too much into basic construction as opposed to really dealing with the basement itself.

I bought about 10 books off Amazon to plan for my basement remodeling. This was one of the top 2. Definately worth it.