How To Wallboard A Poured Concrete Basement Wall,, Cement Board?

[CADplans]

I have a basement room, with two exterior walls, I would like to insulate, and put up some type of "wallboard"

The room is kinda a mini shop for tinkering, and home tool storage, but, it is big enough to add an exercise machine.

Here in Virginia, I think 2" polystyrene foam insulation should be good enough,,
the real question has to do with what type of board to cover the foam with,,

In 1985, Roanoke had a "flood" we received 11 inches of rain in under 8 hours,,
that was enough to cause the gutters to overflow, and we got water in the basement.

That was the last time we got water,, but, it proved that water in the basement could happen.

I would like a wall that is stronger than typical drywall, but, I would prefer not to install ceramic tile,,

Can I use 1/2" cement board, then finish the cement board with something like textured paint?
Should I use exterior T111,, or something else,,??

I can help welding a trailer back together, but, when it comes to a nail and wood,,, I am ignorant!!

Please help,,,

Oh, yea, How do I attach the 1x3 firing strips to the polystyrene/concrete?
This Old House said use "spring spikes" ,, but, that looked like a LOT of drilling,,,

Signed,,, Clueless!!

 

[RustyA]

I used 2x4 studs flat with construction adhesive and 4 tapcons per 8 ft board. Then glued 1.5" closed cell foam between studs. In my case finished with pine tongue and groove. Bottom I started with 2x4 horizontal first to have a nailer for base trim. Really warmed our laundry room up.

 

[CADplans]

I guess another question pertaining to the "nails"
Could I simply use Liquid Nails adhesive to bond the polystyrene to the concrete,,,
then,,
use Liquid Nails again to attach the wallboard, (whatever it ends up being) directly to the polystyrene without any nails being used?

 

[RustyA]

Think you will find pink or blue rigid foam easier to work with less crumbly. Also has higher r value and resists mold. Cut it a hair fatter and use scrap lumber and mallet to tap it into place.

 

[Roadworthy]

If you wish to attach wood firring strips to concrete you may use a Ramset device. This allows you to anchor nails directly into concrete, no drilling required. You should be able to rent the device at a tool rental outlet rather than purchasing. There are manual methods of anchoring in concrete but you can also use a special .22 blank to set the nail. These are special hardened nails.

 

[WoodDuck]

I guess another question pertaining to the "nails"
Could I simply use Liquid Nails adhesive to bond the polystyrene to the concrete,,,
then,,
use Liquid Nails again to attach the wallboard, (whatever it ends up being) directly to the polystyrene without any nails being used?

I don't see why not? It would be cheaper than framing in a stud wall too. As RustyA mentioned, I would use the thick pink or blue foam for higher R-value. If water intrusion is a possibility, the cement board would be ok, but it's fairly heavy stuff to try and glue up to a foam wall in my opinion. Wouldn't be my first choice for ease of install. I would instead use some plastic "shower surround" wall board. Its maybe 1/8" thick, comes in 4x8 sheets, is already textured, is light and easy to work with, and is already white in color- no painting required unless you just wanted a different color. I prefer white walls and ceilings for working areas, to make the space brighter with a given amount of light.

 

[Aquamoose]

Such walls are commonly spaced away from concrete walls to leave an air gap intentionally. Have you considered that?

 

[spitter]

It all depends on the condition of the basements walls either block or poured concrete sometimes they don't realy care about striking joins on block or sometimes they cope the bottom of the wall where it meets the floor. If the wall is realitively flat then then you could furr it out my choice would 20 g metal z bar shot to wall 16" wide extruded poly styrene no need to glue inso z bar holds it If wall is not realitively flat then you would have to frame out weither you use metal or wood studs is up to you. T 111 is a great choice for those who can't or don't wan't to spackle . If you go with T 111 you would probably want to go with wood frameing or furring. If you rock it use metal . Don't rely on just glue I have seen lots of glue jobs let go from either moisture or climate change over the years. As a carpenter of 40 years I have done more basements than I would like to count. Rock in a shop area sucks cause you are always looking to hange stuff up or put in shelves and rock don't hold screws.:drink:

 

[turnkey4099]

If you wish to attach wood firring strips to concrete you may use a Ramset device. This allows you to anchor nails directly into concrete, no drilling required. You should be able to rent the device at a tool rental outlet rather than purchasing. There are manual methods of anchoring in concrete but you can also use a special .22 blank to set the nail. These are special hardened nails.

Ram set is what I uised. 2x2 firing strips fastened with those nales, closed cell foam board, finished with moisture resistant wallboard.

 

[Steppenwolfe]

Easy peasy... use what we call "half studs", 1 5/8" 20 gauge metal. You can buy them whatever length you need, 8,10 ft, etc. Track top and bottom and away you go. They are also galvanized. Add insulation and hang purple or green drywall. Oh... you can also shoot hat channel to the block and glue your insulation boards onto the block in between.