Basement Renovation Question

barnsng

I agree with AtlanticWBConst. Safety comes first

Brik

Describe better the cut you are trying to make. A rip cut is cutting a long board length wise. A cross cut is cutting a board across the narrow side.

What you are risking (a very serious risk) is something called kick back. I have seen pieces of wood thrown 10 feet away and stuck into drywall walls. I have personally had kickback and has a small piece of wood (about 1"x1"x2") come back and hit me in the gut causing a huge welt.

Describe the size of the piece and the size of the piece after the cut. I'm positive I can tell you how to do it safely without doing it freehand. What model saw do you have?

KUIPORNG

Hi Brik,

Thank you for your wellingless to help. Here is the information. I usuall don't cut or trim short piece of wood as there is little to grap for those... I usually make sure the piece of wood I am handling is at least 8 or 9" in length and prefer longer... I think the one I mention free hand here is for cross cut as you state... I know I can use the gate to adjust the angle so that I don't need to do free hand.... I sometimes still do freehand to try to save the trouble... but anyhow... I seems more comfortable with the tool now... and will keep safety in mind.... the model I have is :SEARS CRAFTSMAN 10" TABLE SAW MODEL# 137.218100

KUIPORNG

I have finished installing the hardwood stairs and 4 doors. here something to share:

- hard wood stairs really time consuming to install but I think it is a entertaining and worth project. I have 8 steps nose with finished nails and first 2 steps without nails at all.. the without nails nose seems be able to stand up strong... I don't want to nail them because of part of my curoristy seeing if nose without finish nailing can surivive like the instructions said...

- for doors, it is really piece of cake to install.. but one advice is: when doing rough opening, make sure you know what type of door you are going to install, whether those regular hinge type or sliding/byfold types... as the rough opening for them are different even for standard 30x80 size... the hinge types require 2" extra but the other type does not... this preplaning can save you expensive custom doors $$.

- for hinge door, those pre-hinged easy fit door is a beaty to install... so easy/fast, can be done in one hour for first time installer like me... this guy can really change the way door installation used to be so difficult and only professional can do it.... forget to mention... I do have a cutting edge tool though: Porter Cable Cordless Finish Nailers... gee.. holding this tool make me feel like holding the best gun in the cowboy movie...

I know I should post some pictures... but my wife took some pictures but unable to put them in the new Vista O/S from uncle Bill... anyhow... I become handicap with electronic equipment like the new sony camera my wife purchased reasonaly from US.... anyhow... I will start moulding very soon... after that.. for sure will post pictures ...

kevicoll

Friends,

Scanned your thread, did I miss discussion of fireblocks? I built in Rhode Island where they are very sensitive to this issue. Didn't learn about fireblocks until after the walls were up, would have been much easier if I did it first. Some good info:

http://www.hopkinsmn.com/inspections...eblocking.html

http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/dpwes/p...ts/details.pdf

Happy building.

mcvane

Since there was a lot of info regarding table saws/saws in general on this thread, can someone take a look at this link and suggest if this is a good deal?

I'm in Canada and the Canadian Tire has a sale on.

www.canadiantire.ca (it's under the TOOLS section on the bottom right)

Thanks.

KUIPORNG

I used Craftsman table saw for my laminate floor and hardwood stairs... and find it excellant.... the one in Canadian Tire is good price for sure. Except the brand is Mastercraft which is kind of a bit lower than Craftsman in terms of quality in general. However, if you are not making furniture... for just rough cutting... may be it is good enough... I spent $26 on a Table saw book (kind of a mistake, as I really don't need that much info)... for entertainment, I browse the book a bit and learn quite some knowledge regarding tablesaw.... the bottom line is, if you are kind of a home owner seldom use it... the one in Canadian Tire shoud do it... but if you are a die hard wood worker or intend to be... go for some better brand for confidence/image/presidge ..etc. reason... I do own an inexpensive master craft miter saw and it works great though...for my purposes may be...

KUIPORNG

I have finished the basement finally. final advices for baseboard installation:

- paintable caulking can perform magic to hide a lot of inperfections... that is why it is critical to use white baseboard as you can match the caulking easily....

- I even use caulking alone to attached short baseboards and avoid nailing/screws... (thanks for the tips from send_it_all)

- coping with angle grinder is nice but always leave black mark on the baseboard due to smoke/burn...master tape it before cutting is a good idea...

- use caulking and random nail the baseboard at few ponts seems the best way to attach the baseboard if you want to be quick and avoid stud finding...

Last night, I took some pictures but after my children mess up the play room... so will wait until my wife tidy up the basement to post as I promised....


Now I need to convince my wife to do ceiling moulding in the future... she still laugh at me when I mention it...

yummy mummy

Congratulations Kui****g!
You finished your basement yourself.

How do you plan to do the ceiling moulding?
I bet it will look really nice.

Tell your wife not to laugh.
She will love it.

I'm still framing. I only have one duct to frame in and then some electrical hook up, and then I will be ready for drywall.

I find it difficult to find the time to do it in the summer as opposed to winter.
There is too much to do outside, kids, etc.......
Parties to go to, BBQs, etc......

Great job.
I can't wait to see the pics.

send_it_all

What an honor to be in your closing credits.....you're very welcome

send_it_all

If your angle grinder is leavingskid marks on your base...you need a coarser sanding disk....like a 40 grit flap disk....no skid marks but watch your fingers, it removes material fast.

mcvane

Congratulations on your massive accomplishment Kui****g! This kind of work is not easy, especially for some of us who are non-professionals, but who like to try and learn.

I learned a lot just from this thread! By the way, is there going to be a sequel to this movie?

KUIPORNG

Here goes to the pictures of my basement

http://s201.photobucket.com/albums/aa178/kui****g/

the playroom is in use and kids and us has a lot of fun over there... it is actually bigger than it looks from the picture...

the entertaining room have a lot of stuff laying around because I need to renovate the cold room a bit to house my equipments and empty out the stuff over there for now... I hope one day I will be watching a big screen projector movie over there. It has exactly 12' depth, should work with projector.

For the sequent, if any, in my mind is the deck, I hope I can build a professionally looked deck. We still fear small animals will build nest underneath the deck though, need to do more research, may be project of next year..

yummy mummy

Kui****g:

AMAZING-
Excellent work kui****g.
You are now a "professional".

Enjoy it with your family.
And thanks for all of your advice and help that you have given me.
Now, I hope that you don't plan on disappearing from this forum as I still need your help and advice for a long time still.

Now you need to start another project?

yummy mummy

Is that some type of moulding that you put in the corners between ceiling and wall?