Footings and Paint Prep for a Basement Walkout Project in Herriman, Utah
Hi, Caleb Dansie here with Dansie Design Build. Today I want to give another update on our basement walkout and RV pad project. We recently finished pouring the footings and I want to show what they look like when the wall forms and the rebar grids have been set up.
Footings for the Stairs in a Basement Walkout
This is the basement walkout portion. Basically, this is the new wall that we’re putting in, the new footing that we’ve got. This part will tie in for the stairs. I have the stairs marked out on this wall, and the next step is to build another foundation wall on top of these footings.
What is a Rebar “J Bar”?
Over here you can see dead-men walls. If you remember from our other video, there’s a lot of rebar in here to reinforce this portion. We call this rebar “J-Bars” and they’re each 30 inches long. They bend 90 degrees inside the concrete with a six-inch L shaped tail. This L shaped bar ties the footing and the foundation wall together. They do not typically layout this close together. The engineering on this project requires them to lay out every 12 inches, so that is what we installed.
Laying out the Walls
We’ve snapped lines to indicate where the edge of the foundation wall will sit. The rebar is in the center of the wall, and the line is four inches off from center, which allows for an eight-inch-wide wall. That red line is exactly where the outside of the wall is going to be. Now that our footings are complete, we’re ready to begin installing the foundation rebar and the forming. I’ll make another video on that to show you guys that process.
Paint Prep for the Basement Interior
Now I’m inside the basement and I want to show you guys what the paint prep looks like. We plan to spray the trim and prime the casings with an oil-based primer to seal the wood from the rest of the layers of paint. The casings have a special kind of filler that doesn’t shrink after it’s sanded. When we complete the primer coat, these nail holes and imperfections will disappear.
Basement Walkout Finish Carpentry
The finish carpenters couldn’t get these corners to line up perfectly, so they sanded that part down and filled it in. That will look nice after we’re done painting. In worse situations as you see here, we can use Bondo.
The baseboard corners follow the same process as the casings. We’ve got some cracks here that were filled with Bondo and sanded down to the point that the factory primer is now gone. That oil-based primer is really going to help smooth all these faces together and create a seamless look and texture to the paint when it’s done.
What is Bondo?
Bondo is a two-part chemical that hardens when mixed. The finished result can be sanded smooth, allowing us to paint right on top of it with our primers and other paint coats, so the casing turns out well.
Basement Finishing Project Update in Herriman
Storage Room
The storage room paint finish will be a semi-gloss finish here as it provides more durability since storage rooms take a little bit more abuse. That will really help this room withstand the wear better.
Bathroom
The bathroom also gets a single tone of paint. This room creates a humid environment, so we add an additive to the paint. This additive is a mildew treatment. This helps us ensure that these walls will resist any mold or mildew when the steam and humidity come from the shower use. This paint is some cool stuff.
Bedroom
The bedroom receives a three-tone paint. The ceiling, walls, and trim all receive a different type of paint. We’re going to paint the ceiling a flat white, a very light gray on the walls, and a semi-gloss white on the trim and casings. The baseboards come in 16-foot lengths, which is standard. Occasionally, you’ll have a seam. Mark has done a great job smoothing this seem out with some Bondo so that it will be completely invisible after we complete the paint.
Closet
In the closet, we will paint a single-tone color. Getting crazy with painting the shelves a different color than the wall becomes messy and time-consuming. At the end of the day, it’s just a closet, and not a focal point worth throwing time and resources at.
Caulk Before Painting
Everything is caulked and ready to go. It is important to use a good caulk. We use a 45-year caulk. The caulk grading is based on the quality of the ingredients. To simplify, each caulk consists of clays, water, and latex. Latex allows the best flexibility as the building ages. The more latex in the caulk, the better the application, and the longer it’s going to last and look good. Some of the cheaper caulks out there contain mostly clay and very little latex.
The cheap tubes typically cost around $2, and these ones can cost up to $6 or $7 each tube. This does drive the cost up on the front end, but it’s going to last. You get what you pay for in this instance. Any quality paint products, which includes actual paint, primers, additives, etc., will set you up for a great paint job that will last a long time and maintain its beauty.
Painting the HVAC Run
This entire HVAC run that we’ve framed will have the same flat white paint as the ceiling. All three sides will be one color, to avoid drawing your eye to that little strip. Painting this chase that light gray color, along with the walls would look funny, so to avoid drawing attention to the HVAC ducts, we stick with the flat white ceiling color.
Basement Finishing in Herriman, Utah
This is our process in preparing for this paint job. It’s going to turn out nice and I’m excited to see the finished product. If you are looking to finish your basement, you can reach us at www.dansiedesignbuild.com. We do basement walkouts and basement finishing, remodeling, kitchen additions, and many other basement renovations. Again, check our website at www.dansiedesignbuild.com. We’re excited to speak with you and look forward to seeing how we can help you with your basement.
