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Basement Storage Room
Building A Basement Storage Room
The basement storage room project is coming along nicely. I recently wrote a couple of posts, Finished Basement – Step 1 Insulation and Basement Framing and Insulation Update, about how to properly insulate a concrete foundation wall in a basement. Now that the walls are insulated I’ve started finishing off our new storage room. I’ve decided to put 1/4″ luan on the walls and ceiling in this room to keep the costs and labor to a minimum. Plus the room really is only for storage so it’s not like it needs to be super nice. One MAJOR disclaimer though is about using the luan in this application. The fiberglass insulation is kraft faced and it really should be protected against fire with drywall. However, seeing this is a storage room and I have no real source of fire I’m willing to take the risk.
Storage Room Shelving
For this project I’m planning on building two sets of 24″ deep shelves along two of the walls. Along at least one of the other walls I’ll build some book shelves for the hundreds of books my wife and I have accumulated. The shelves are pretty simple. I’m using a 2×3 along the wall and front edge of the shelves. I’ve used 1/2″ cdx plywood for the shelf and a 2×4 vertical column support at mid-span.
As you can see I’ve also divided up the wall height into thirds which gives me about 30 
inches between each level of shelving. This room should give us most of the storage we need for items which we use seasonally. For long term storage we have a full attic in the new house that we can store things in.
Todd,
Good post about basement storage. What a lot of people forget to do is insulate their basements. Heat loss through the basement can be significant if the basement is not properly insulated or sealed.
I am looking forward to working on my basement after we mitigate the water problem.
Paul,
Thanks. Basements are a real challenge when it comes to finishing them properly. The biggest gamble is always the water issue as you already know. I think the method I used will work really well and help keep moisture at bay.
[...] behind a framed wall that’s insulated with fiberglass. You can read more about how I insulated basement walls in our storage room. This is a good example of using a combination of foam board and [...]
[...] fine to use fiberglass or cellulose in this step. See Insulating A Basement with Cellulose and Basement Storage Room for more [...]
Todd,
I insulated the concrete walls with polystyrene as you recommended and have a good jump on the framing. I’m using standard 2×4 walls for electrical reasons. My only question is why do you use faced fiberglass over unfaced? Doesn’t the polystyrene act as the vapor barrier due to the 3 mil plastic on either side? I guess I’m concerned with having two vapor barriers and potentially trapping moisture in the wall.
@ Josh – The vapor barrier is an issue that isn’t really definitive. Here’s the scoop. Warm moist air wants to condensate on a cool surface. Let’s say you only install 1″ of foam board. You’ve not completely insulated the concrete to prevent that cool surface from condensating warm moist air coming from the finished space. So, some folks recommend the vapor barrier at the finished surface from letting that moisture into the framing.
The foam board should be stopping all moisture from coming from the concrete side. If that’s true then there shouldn’t be moisture traveling out towards the finished space. All of this is pretty subjective. It’s a coin toss in my opinion. All I can say is I’ve done it this way successfully.
[...] fine to use fiberglass or cellulose in this step. See Insulating A Basement with Cellulose and Basement Storage Room for more [...]
[...] you can use wet sprayed cellulose insulation or you could use spray foam insulation. I insulated my basement walls with fiberglass insulation. For this house we’ll be using wet sprayed cellulose insulation. I’ll be sure to write [...]
[...] written several posts about how to insulate basements, How To Insulate Basement Walls and Basement Insulation. One of the best ways I know how to insulate a basement is using a combination of polystyrene foam [...]
if you use the foam on the foundation walls, do you still want a vapor barrior between the fiberglass insulation and the drywall?
@ Joel – There is no perfect answer to that question. It really depends on how thick the foam is and if you feel it has created a sufficient vapor barrier. If you feel it is too thin then you should definitely use a vapor barrier.