Walkout Basement Entrance Re-Do

[aczlan]

Thanks for the help Aaron :thumbsup:

No problem.

Aaron Z

 

[jrdepew]

That should be fine.









I would not do this. You are creating a bath tub to hold water around the wood.


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Good call! Thanks.

 

[jrdepew]

I am getting close to starting this project...I am building a second deck at the back of the house currently.

The more I think about it, the more I think I would like the look of "something" else around the door than T1-11 siding. I did some googling on stone veneer, and it looks easier than laying tile as lippage isn't really a concern as the thicknesses of the blocks aren't totally uniform. As the surrounding wall is concrete and painted gray, I think this could look pretty good. I really wish that this was designed as a walkout basement and not as a garage, as I would prefer poured concrete all the way to the door opening, but that ship sailed long ago. Since I plan on doing a retaining wall on the left hand side of the door in the future...maybe stone around the door would be a nice look as well.

Anyone got any good ideas for alternatives to T1-11 or vinyl siding around the door? Vinyl would just look too odd in that location.

I also considered building a wall, putting up plywood sheathing, then trimming everything in cedar and doing some cedar shake. I have cedar shake around the front door entrance and like the look, but I think I would need a gray stain around this basement door to look good.

Final thing going through my head is build wall, sheathing, then do stucco around the door to give the illusion that it is all one solid concrete wall. Problem with this is...I have never done stucco and I wouldn't know what to do at the door frame.

Decisions, decisions...I'm driving my fiance nuts with all these ideas :thumbsup:

Joe

 

[GLyford]

How about filling in that section of wall with blocks and mortar instead of a studwall? Then the only framing you would need would be at the door itself. You could paint it to match the foundation, or use decorator blocks, or set it back slightly and cover with the stone face you mention, or brick...?

 

[jrdepew]

Finally got this project done. I took 3 days off of work and was all dried in after the second day. Slow for some, but that is working lightning fast for me! I get "paralysis by analysis" regularly.

First thing I had to do was some concrete grinding to get the pad that is outside the basement door sloped away from the door, instead of being level. This didn't take too long with a 4.5" angle grinder and a cheap concrete grinding disk from HD (rigid brand). Then I knocked the wall out:



Instead of cutting a kerf in the concrete and dropping lead or copper into it like was suggested (I was very close to this, and almost did it in addition to what I ended up doing, but chickened out), I did some research and ended up buying some ThresTite from WeatherBlocSystems. It is basically a gasket that you put under your threshold/wall assembly to keep water out. I found some discussion of this on websites like Contractor Talk and decided to give it a try. I used the grinder some more to remove the concrete anchors and flatten/blend the concrete. Then I cleaned the area good and stuck the threshtite down after measuring and marking. The adhesive on this stuff is unreal...if you stick it down in the wrong spot...good luck.



The piece of aluminum you see in that picture was then bolted to the floor using 1/4" redheads, with nylon spacers and washers so that the steel didn't contact the aluminum at all. On top of that I built the floor. The bottom plate and studs that attach to the concrete wall are pressure treated. The aluminum was isolated from all PT wood with flashing tape. here is a view from outside...nice easy wall to build! I built it on the ground and stood it up, then slipped the second top plate in (by slipped I mean trimmed and hit with a hammer). I think drove lags up into the sill plate and red head to the floor, as well as the foundation wall. It was nice and sturdy.



From there I sheathed with OSB, the used 30# felt I had from a dog house project to cover the OSB and wrap around the door frame. The gap between felt paper and concrete on the sides was sealed with OSI quad sealant. I went with primed LP smartside and PVC trim. The smartside stops about 6" from the ground, and a PVC water-table was built to keep the siding high and dry. View of the door frame in, siding stopped before the ground:



Then the doors went in! Assembling the frame and hanging these doors by myself made me invent a few new cuss words...them doors are heavy!! I thought I could fit my drywall in between the door frame and the wall, as it is supposed to be built. However, it was awfully tight, so I made some strips of OSB and put them on the inside between the frame and the studs. That was nice and tight, frame was solid. I have since drywalled the inside and will trim around the metal frame so the OSB won't be seen.



From there it was all trim and finish work, as well as adding the threshold and sweeps. Here is the nearly complete project being modeled by my wife:



I have since done some weatherstripping and interior finish work and will paint when spring comes and it gets warm enough to do so.

Thanks for all the advice with this project! I really tried to think like water when sealing/lapping/weatherstripping. Hopefully this wall and door will last a long time and stay dry! The only thing that bugs me about this wall is the screws securing the siding on the outside of the door frame show! This was a mis-calculation on my part and shouldn't have happened. If it still bugs me after I paint, then I may wrap some trim around the steel door frame to cover them up.

In my opinion the soffit on the breezeway connected to the garage is a real eyesore...it was put up poorly, is beat up, and the garage is in poor shape to begin with. Someday the garage will come down and a 3-bay will take its place! Gotta re-do the kitchen first!!

Thanks for looking,
Joe

 

[Rustyferrious]

Joe, Great job on the entry! Wife looks happy. Happy wife, happy life.