Finally my turn, roughly 1,000 gal plywood build

[predatorkeeper87]

Thats the plan, at least behind the tank and on the sides of it. Rest of the basement I'll probably just go with regular drywall.


So I started pulling down paneling last night, this is going to be a big project just to remove it all. The drop ceiling is mounted over the paneling, so it makes it much more difficult to remove it all. I'm tempted to just cut it out at the ceiling height and mount green board up to that point, but I'm undecided now.

I have a couple pics, I can post them tonight of the progress, but it really doesn't show much. This weekend I will get much more into the panel removal. Hopefully by Monday I'll have all of it removed, at least where the tank is going.

two things.

1. I had the same issue in my living room-paneling above a drop ceiling....got fed up trying to cut it and just ripped the entire ceiling down lol.

2. green board is now blue board in most places, just a heads up lol I'm sure you'd have seen that either way. I used it in my laundry room, if I had painted it with drylok that room would be water tight, great stuff.

 

[fishguy306]

Oh lord man, don't tempt me. I've considered pulling it all down, especially as it wasn't done very well, but that makes this project sooooo much bigger. Plus with the way the heat ducts are down there I suspect I would just be putting a new drop ceiling right back up once everything is in place.

Good to know about the change, thanks! I know I've seen it at Lowe's, I don't remember what they were calling it though.

 

[fishguy306]

So, P predatorkeeper87 was right. As much as I didn't want to, drop ceiling is coming down, mostly down at this point. I'm a couple days late with the update, but hopefully this will be a decent one for you guys. What started as a tank build has turned into a full basement refinishing. So, time until we have water will be much longer but overall I think I'll be much happier with the space. So onto the update!

I started just trying to take the paneling down


It went ok, however I discovered the ceiling was mounted to the paneling-


Sooo, that was a pain in the ass. I figured I'd try cutting the paneling out, leave the top and just butt the drywall up against it, so I got myself some new tools, as well as a drink-


It ended up cutting like crap, it would have taken me days to do it all-


So I decided to start tearing them down again like I was before, I'd figure out the edge again in the future




At this point I decided screw it, I'll remodel the basement because the studs they had up were not proper studs. They are 2x2s and not properly mounted to the cement. So that means ceiling is coming down too!

Moved my pile of tank wood into the bar for now




Started moving tiles and discovered this lovely. Who installs duct work like this? Idiots, that is who.



And tiles coming down!







And time for the supports to come down




I am going to need to move some electrical before I mount drywall to the ceiling but it shouldn't be too bad. Next I remove some more wood panels and then start pulling down the current framing. Hopefully by next weekend I'm putting up studs again!

 

[predatorkeeper87]

that looks identical to how my living room went hahaha. you'll be happier in the long run, I know I was at least.

that duct work is amazing lol...the unnecessary bends really add flair lol

 

[monkeybike]

I did something similar with my basement, ended up drywalling the ceiling after tucking everything up into the studs. Had to relocate a water line. It was worth it for the headroom gained.

 

[HumanBean]

That duct work is phenomenal. Insane

 

[fishguy306]

that looks identical to how my living room went hahaha. you'll be happier in the long run, I know I was at least.

that duct work is amazing lol...the unnecessary bends really add flair lol

I'm thinking the same. I hate how the basement looked. I wanted to remodel eventually, I just figured it was a couple years in the future. But, I think with a huge tank and a bit of a man cave it should be pretty damn good when finished.

As for the duct, I really like how they squeezed it under a rafter cutting the size in half!

I did something similar with my basement, ended up drywalling the ceiling after tucking everything up into the studs. Had to relocate a water line. It was worth it for the headroom gained.

I'm thinking the same thing. It will be a pain to move a few electric boxes and some wiring but I'll be gaining 5 or 6 inches overall. Plus the drop ceiling was wavy and poorly installed. I think if I do a nice job on it the room should turn out pretty well.

That duct work is phenomenal. Insane

Right? That is how a lot of my house has been done I have discovered. Previous owner seemed to know enough to do some work on their own but not enough to do it properly. Oh well, guess it gives me reason to do it how I like.

 

[Ihsnshaik]

I love this thread. Started from a fish tank build to a complete renovation on the basement. You're doing it the right way doing everything proper and not half doing things. I didn't see any windows or anything in the basement. Will humidity be an issue with your 1000 gallon tank? My father had a big pond in his basement but it was a koi pond so no heaters or anything in there just room temps maybe 50s in the winters.

 

[fishguy306]

There are two small windows on the unfinished side of the basement, however they do not open. I've been contemplating the humidity issue. I will be keeping the tank and sump well covered, however I am trying to figure out what other measures I am going to need to take.

I've considered two options. First is to make a good hood for the tank and some sort of vent system right in the hood to put the extra moisture right outside. Or I've seen the air exchangers, from what I understand they are supposed to be good at lowering humidity without loosing too much heat. I'm open to suggestions however I'm hoping keeping the tank well covered I won't need to worry too much.

 

[fishguy306]

Sorry for the double post, I just thought of two things I wanted to ask you pros.

1st, would you guys bother with insulation between studs behind the drywall? This is a townhouse, so two of the walls are butted up against my neighbors. I'm thinking about doing it, just since I'm at that stage anyway but not sure if it is really needed.

2nd, What sort of flooring would you guys do down here? Right now the plan is the self sticking tiles, however I'm wondering if I'm crazy for considering a dark laminate. I know some are more water resistant now. That said not sure how it would handle a 1000 gal tank on it. Any thoughts?