While my basement walls are open..

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes to double checking everything is sealed (to avoid rodents). Also how is your waterproofing? If you don’t have a sump pump, do it now. I like an electric fireplace and would do a built in if you have room for an entertainment center/mantel area. No to wired speakers. The technology changes so quickly that it will become obsolete. When our basement flooded we re-did it and ripped out the old wired stuff the prior owners had put in and now we use wireless.

Also, if you have low ceilings you could consider leaving it exposed to make things seem taller. This is also the time to get rid of any awkward duct work or pipes that cause drop downs or otherwise are inconvenient for other reasons.

Thank you! Done with cleaning up ducts, wires and pipes and we will have exposed beams in rec room.

We haven’t done insulation. What’s recommended? Also no sump pump because we live on top a hill with good drainage and never had water issues.

We did foam board on the outside walls as a vapor barrier and then roxul on top, interior walls and ceiling for sound and insulation.

[Anonymous]

Skim coat or liquid rubber interior walls and where they meet the floor.

Spread borax around framing before insulation or drywalll.

Replace ductwork with insulated ducting.

Laundry chute (to code?).

Central vacuum.

Setup for exterior sprinkler or lighting.

Excavate basement floor for recessed heart shaped jacuzzi tub.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes to double checking everything is sealed (to avoid rodents). Also how is your waterproofing? If you don’t have a sump pump, do it now. I like an electric fireplace and would do a built in if you have room for an entertainment center/mantel area. No to wired speakers. The technology changes so quickly that it will become obsolete. When our basement flooded we re-did it and ripped out the old wired stuff the prior owners had put in and now we use wireless.

Also, if you have low ceilings you could consider leaving it exposed to make things seem taller. This is also the time to get rid of any awkward duct work or pipes that cause drop downs or otherwise are inconvenient for other reasons.

Thank you! Done with cleaning up ducts, wires and pipes and we will have exposed beams in rec room.

We haven’t done insulation. What’s recommended? Also no sump pump because we live on top a hill with good drainage and never had water issues.

Insulating a basement properly is very detail-oriented, even construction pros get it wrong all the time. I'd go to a site like Fine Homebuilding or Green Building Advisor and read their articles. If what your contractor suggests isn't along the lines of what is recommended, both sites have forums where members will gladly critique the plan.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP. I did update internet to fiber but I am unclear about the advantage of cat6 cables. We use WiFi for everything and never had issues with it. It’s so practical! Are the cables supposed to make the connection much faster?

With wiring you can put a WiFi repeater on each floor so that you're closer to the signal and less likely to have dead spots.

Devices that are stationary and receive and transmit a lot of data -- TV's and printers -- work better with a wired connection.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP. I did update internet to fiber but I am unclear about the advantage of cat6 cables. We use WiFi for everything and never had issues with it. It’s so practical! Are the cables supposed to make the connection much faster?

With wiring you can put a WiFi repeater on each floor so that you're closer to the signal and less likely to have dead spots.

Devices that are stationary and receive and transmit a lot of data -- TV's and printers -- work better with a wired connection.

This.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP. I did update internet to fiber but I am unclear about the advantage of cat6 cables. We use WiFi for everything and never had issues with it. It’s so practical! Are the cables supposed to make the connection much faster?

BTW my husband is an electrical engineer and he doesn’t think we need the cables.

I am an electrical engineer and I run most things hardwired. WiFi is for things that must be portable.

If you are desperate to do something add low voltage pvc flexible conduit.

[Anonymous]

DP. I am an EE and my older house has Cat-5 wiring in selected locations of the basement, ground, and 2nd floors.

Streaming TV and printers really work much better with wired Ethernet. We tie things together with a $50 Netgear 8-port Gigabit Ethernet switch in the basement (some service provider devices include several Ethernet ports, so that might not be needed for everyone).

We used the Cat-5 wiring to move the WiFi up and out of the basement, which improved wireless coverage tremendously. We only use wireless for portable things like iPads.

[Anonymous]

OP here. Thank you for the extra explanations about cabled connections. Who sets those up? My fiber installation was supposed to include an extender but the Verizon tech said there were no cables up there or something along those lines so he couldn’t do anything. I should call back and follow up on that..

[Anonymous]

Can you explain what are the basic steps to have those cat6 cables in the office and rec room? Are there specific companies to call? I am having a hard time wrapping my head around this kind of tech work 🤯

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Thank you for the extra explanations about cabled connections. Who sets those up? My fiber installation was supposed to include an extender but the Verizon tech said there were no cables up there or something along those lines so he couldn’t do anything. I should call back and follow up on that..

The verizon tech was talking about coax

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Can you explain what are the basic steps to have those cat6 cables in the office and rec room? Are there specific companies to call? I am having a hard time wrapping my head around this kind of tech work 🤯

HD and Lowes will sell Cat-6 wiring. So DIY is possible, but it is annoying.

The wires will need to be fished inside upper floor walls and down to basement, and then one puts a RJ-45 outlet in the upper floor wall. Within the open basement, its easier to pull the cables but still put an RJ-45 outlet in the drywall when the basement is closed up. Other end of each wire goes to the same spot in the basement near the Verizon fiber drop.

We hired ABEnetworks.com, which is a local company, and we were happy with the results.

They also will run coaxial cable (RG-6) for Over-the-air TV or Cable/Satellite TV if you want.

[Anonymous]

I would add lots of electrical outlets.
And I don't know if the wiring is different for ceiling fans with lights vs. just overhead lights, but if so, I would upgrade to have that option available.