Q. My girlfriend and I have a partially finished basement. She wants me to divide part of the basement off for an office. What is the best wall/divider/partition I can use so she will have privacy from the rest of the basement? Is Drywall the only answer? What can I use for a nice ceiling as well with lighting? Thanks for your help, it really means a lot to us.

A. There are many ideas for dividing rooms. A wall is the best, but if you do not want that, you can use purchased office dividers (can be expensive), or bookshelves, or changing screen, or even a ceiling to floor curtain on a cable system. I like drywalled ceilings, but you can use a drop ceiling, or tiles. As for lighting..most basements have little natural light, so great lighting is necessary. Recessed lighting, track lighting both work well. If you do not like these then traditional lighting is suffice when portable lighting is added...table lamps, floor lights..even rope lighting in niches or shelving all add to the ambiance if that is the look you are going for. Brighter lighting is a must in the office section.

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Q. I am in the planning phase of finishing our basement, and wondered where the best place was to buy materials and supplies. I'm asking more about drywall, lumber, screws, etc. since this will be the most expensive part of the first phase. Are the Big Box stores (Lowes, Home Depot, etc.) the most cost effective choice, or is there a more cost effective alternative? The first poster brought up an interesting point. I'm located in the Kansas City area, so local options would be the best solution.

A. If your material costs are over $1,500 go to Home Depot contractor desk. Tell them you would like pricing form "the bid room". When you give them a material list, they run their regular pricings and then cut At least 8% off, and more if the order is substantial. Take a material list to multiple stores and get quotes. They are free. Then compare pricings line by line, and you can save some money by getting material from multiple sources. Hope this helps

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Q. The house was built in 1920; the walls are very damp and I'm sure there's mildew. I would really like to create a living space downstairs, and I was wondering how much it would cost to waterproof/refinish? Any ideas? Tips?

A. My tip/idea: You know, the easiest thing you can do is to call home remodelers in your area--or instead of calling, use the link below--and get Free estimates from them as to the cost involved in refinishing the basement. (Home remodelers usually do all trades in general related to your basement, etc.) This is the only true way of assessing the cost involved, as the cost of material and labor greatly varies by location; so what one person says on here does not get you any closer to understanding what costs are involved in this project without the use of local contractor estimates. Here is a handyman site I use often, which has a section devoted to home improvement articles, where you'll also find towards the far left bottom of the following home improvement page a bright, kind-of-orange home-guru Bob Villa-endorsed ad that offers up to four (4) Free estimates that can be given to you very fast from local remodeling contractors in your area (again, this free-estimate offer is towards the very left-bottom of the following linked page): http://yourhandymanzone.com/Your_Handyman_Zone_How_To_Pages_Home_Improvement_Zone.htm Like I said, get a hold of some local remodelers. In exchange for giving them work, you also might be able to get a good deal on the material from the remodeling contractor, since, usually, they have access to wholesale pricing on building material given the great amount of installations they do. That's the way to go. Good luck with your project!

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Q. Owens Corning is just to expensive are there and good competitors for the wall paneling system?

A. As an x employee I can tell you the Owens Corning system is intentionally over priced so the independent sales people can make money. You can get the system for 38% off list if you hold out until they recontact you after showing the sales person the door. However if you don't have any water issues which cause mold and mildew there are alternatives available.

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Q. I am remodeling my basement. The current exterior walls are 2x2 nailed to block and covered with sheetrock. I plan to add a 2x4 'bumpout' against the old 2x2 along the entire exterior walls that will be 36" high. The problem is if I do this the electrical wires in the the old boxes will not meet regulation of <=6" and <= 3" extending beyond the box. Can I abandon the old 15a electrical circuit (disconnect) and run a new circuit though the bumpout and new boxes I will install or can I not run electrical circuits through a partial wall?

A. As long as you plan to abandon the old, go ahead and wire up the new. Its fine.

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Q. I used 3 1/2" fiberglass paper backed insulation. Would water proof drywall be better? The basement walls have no leaks appears dry.

A. You've done everything right so far. Go ahead and hang green board while you are at this stage. It doesn't cost that much more and might save you down the road. Here are some links t5hat might help you...

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Q. Should I make it one open space that a buyer could use as a gym or game room, or make a closed-off bedroom and make the rest of the space as a living area? The basement has a separate half-bath and a walkout to the backyard. Thank you in advance

A. Check houses in your area. They will be your competition when it comes to selling. Also a real estate sales person can tell you the trends in your area. A half bath suggests a leisure space or maybe a guest room to me.

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Q. Because basements can sometimes get damp, i don't know if carpet is a good idea. But also for the same reason, would the wood shift if it became damp? What do you think works best both for practicality and also for future re-sale?

A. The best thing to do is to first check to see if you have an moisture in the basement. An easy way to do this is to get a 2'x2' piece of plastic and duct tape the edges on to the concrete floor. Leave it for 72 hours if you have no visible signs of moisture you can install almost any type of flooring. If you have moisture then I would either recommend sealing the basement or go with a vinyl tile that would look like wood. (they have some that look very real today). So that would be the safest choice. If you have no moisture problem you can install carpeting. I would recommend that it be made of synthetic product like nylon, polyester or olefin. Carpet is warmer & many people like that, however, it is not a feature item for resale, unless you install a branded product like CornCarpet or StainMaster recently. If you go with wood, I would recommend an engineered wood floor (like UA / Mirage) This can be installed by glued down or floating methods on concrete. These woods have a plywood construction of 5 to 7 layers. Small amounts of moisture can effect any wood but if you leave the expansion space and have no major flood your wood floor will last a long time. Also wood is always better for resale.

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