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Should I finish my basement

Moved in to a new house....one of the main selling points was a concrete basement; walls and floor slab.
The dimensions are perfect for my setup and I will finish the ceiling and do sound treatment as necessary but really wonder if I should also put up sheet-rock ?
As of now wall are painted with water-seal paint, and I have a large carpet on the floor.
I can just hang few drapes on the walls, do some sound treatment and leave it as is...
The looks are OK either way for me - no bearing on my decision.

Just want to hear if some of you have experience with such a "dilemma" (finished vs cement walls) and what would be recommended?

PS: I would NOT want to do any sound treatment under the sheet-rock...as a matter of fact I would only mount aluminium rails to the walls and then attach 1/2inch sheet-rock
ether
schubert
7,386 posts
 
Ejlif, how right you are.
For decades I have lined the wall in back of my listening spot with tall bookcases filed with hardback books, the one directly behind my head is 7 ft tall with all leather bound top to bottom.
As the cable guys says it "gets 'er done."
paladin's avatar
paladin
227 posts
 
YES! I would finish it & ENJOY!
I think as long as you do not add a bedroom, kitchen or bathroom - the tax man has no say.
I live in NY (mid state) & finished my walk out basement 6 years ago & have not heard a knock on my door.
The difference between a finished basement & a unfinished basement is like night & day.
Sheet rock, suspended ceilings & floor coverings are just the beginning.
You will need outlets, switches, lighting, heating & will probably want dedicated lines for your rig.
You may want to re-think your flooring - I opted for cork flooring & could not be happier as it is soft, warm & will last for 20+ years.
sounds_real_audio
1,019 posts
 
Sounds like you live in the south where you may not need insulated walls. Even so I would not want to spend much time in a basement with concrete walls. Throw some wood studs on the walls and insulate and sheet rock texture and paint. Live a little.
mulveling's avatar
mulveling
1,953 posts
 
As everyone else also realizes, Ejlif is totally and insanely correct. Don't set yourself up for a (steep) uphill acoustic battle by installing drywall, of all things! That's one of the best things about my current setup -- minimal drywall. In fact, that trumps the poor L/R symmetry. And slab floor is a big plus as well (though rugs/carpets on top are good). The old all-drywall, suspended-floor apartment I used to live in sounded like garbage.
lindisfarne
511 posts
 
My father, an engineer (PE), warned me about finishing a basement. As every good son does, he didn't listen to his beloved dad. We spent $25K and finished the basement. A month after we finished the space, we experienced one of the biggest storms the NE had ever experienced. We had almost 2 feet of water in our basement which destroyed my dream-room. Proceed with great caution.
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