Any carpenters around?

[leetninja]

So, I am in a bit of a pickle at the moment.  So i need some work done but (and this is a big BUT) with my legal issue due to what I like to call "The Incident" - combined with my girl losing her employment (wonderful economy!  ) - i now have financial issues.  I also need this work done quite badly.  I was hoping to maybe make it through November and maybe even a bit of December without having to use much heat if any but that failed towards the end of the month when it was freezing and my girlfriend is home.

All of my heat (pellet stove) is being sucked up by my cement basement walls and wasted on essentially heating the earth around my home ... it sucks and its a waste of fuel.  The solution would be ... finish the basement. 

I don't need anything fancy.  It is a large box.  I estimate maybe $800 worth of wood and sheet rock + some labor to do my entire half of my basement and ceiling etc.  I renovated the rest of the house so I'm sure I can help/do the labor part.  I have never really worked with cement or framing out a basement though.  So, I wanted to see if maybe there were someone on here who could help me out. 

There is a small area around the stove, and steps that I believe if finished and insulated would prevent the heat from escaping into the earth.  That is by far more important and probably $2-400 of materials - again just wood, sheetrock, screws, nails, one normal sized door, potentially a ramset to get things fast and easy into the cement etc.  I would love to finish an entire half of my basement but I would need a few months (possibly more) at this point to make enough money to accomplish this feat.  It would give me the extra living space I need for an office workspace and just in general.  It is a want more than a need.  The need lies in the area around the steps 

So I guess what I am hoping for is a miracle - or perhaps the ability to make payments of some kind or barter something of mine that is of value?  I have a lot of random things you can have ... or maybe even bartering services?  I am a Sys Admin by "trade" i guess and I am also pretty good with mechanical things.  My buddy (who definitely owes me his life) is a full blown mechanic and will do my bidding (LOL) and my girlfriend is an incredible cook!  Cakes or food for the holidays maybe???

[leetninja]

got my hands on a semi auto cobra ramset - that should make life easier

[leetninja]

now i just need lumber ... found a few friends of mine that have actually done some framing work in basements. 

i need:
- one standard size door

- a bunch of 2x4 (doesnt have to be pressure treated) studding for the framework i havent done the exact count yet

- insulation (no idea what R rating is the best)

- enough sheet rock to cover at least one side of my walls.  basically it is a box that measures 10'x8' but about 3' of the 8' measurement is stairs so basically i have two 10' walls and then one 4' wall and another back wall which will be another 8'

I have a lot that I could barter with if anyone can help me with supplies.  even if someone gets a discount from Home Depot or Lowes it would be a big help.

[John Edward Mercier]

I'm sort of lost.
Your going to box the pellet stove into a small basement room?
How does the pellet stove heat your home? Is it simply convecting up the stairway, or does it have blower duct work?

[neggy]

the areas near the stove should be done in cement board IMHO, for fire retarding.

that includes the joists over the stove... insulate then cover with cement board.

[leetninja]

ok so basically i have the big stove in my basement.  the idea was since the house has great airflow that we would put it down there and heat the house and the basement so the piping wouldnt freeze etc.

problem is that all the cement in the basement is just absorbing heat before we can get much of it upstairs.  we have a fan going and it works allright but i did a small experiment which was taking a bunch of blankets and quilts etc hanging them around the box i am wanting to build and the house was MUCH better heated - like 20 degrees warmer better. 

the stairs are open and have no risers and all the air gets sucked right up into the house thanks to the hallway and foyer acting like a big vacuum with the help of a high cfm ceiling fan on the ceiling of second floor in the large open area.  so im going to ad risers to the lower portion and leave the top few open.  the box would basically be around the stairs keeping the majority of the heat within this insulated box and thus pushing it up and into the important part of our home. 

doing the whole basement would be great but its just not monetarily feasible at this point in time.  this would be very doable in a weekends worth or work especially with the ramset. 

the sheet rock/drywall im looking at would be fire retardant in general and they do have a specific fire board they sell but i was looking at just blueboard. 

[Toadstool]

well well well.
We have our self a deal to works out!

I have about 10-15 sheets of CONCRETE board.  I used it for a hot tub room, water proof and fire proof. 4 x 8 feet
Barter for it? / free
I also have about 6 or so 2x4's I bought for a wall I am gonna rip down.  10 footers cut down a few inches.


So you will need some insulation, and some plastic to keep moisture from ruining framing, You only need PT pressure treated on floor and concrete walls. crete eats KD kiln dried wood,  I was a framer for 10 years, now I am a wrench?  no I am a welder, nah I am, fuck i changed what I am so much I am CONFUSED! lol

I am in Hudson nh, so is the sheet rock.  I will be ripping down the wall soon too.  but havent yet.
lmk. via pm er something.  Its heavy and been outside, but free/ bartar is a price you cant pass up.

I will help all I can, and I know when I need you guys you'll be there? right?
Russ B.
Peace and warmth to you all.
If any one is looking for a wood stove too lmk! $40.