I need "HELP" with my miniature football room

[NEW CASTLE HiTMEN]

Guys I need your help. I am not very handy and the only thing I get when I use a hammer is a sore thumb. The pictures are of my basement. The walls and floor will be painted. There were water issues when it was being built. Thats how the water stains on the walls got there. The furnace and hot water tank were placed under the steps to allow for more room. Everything in the picture except weights and of course my MF stuff will be romoved. I will have plenty of space for at least six to seven tables. My house is 2 story 1900 square feet and the basement runs the entire width and length of the house. Its about 950 square feet. I want to know what kind of lighting would work best? Florescent or track lighting? Should I use the fake grass stuff as carpeting? What is the best paint-water sealer to use for walls and floor? Hopefully I will have it done by the end of August. Thanks!

[Cookie]

Hi,
I beleive you allready used a air dehumidifier but this won´t be the only choice to make sure that there are no mold spores anymore.
If you´re only paint a blocker on top of it you won´t be to happy in the close future.
To be a 100% sure to have no more spore forming there is a spore killing paste that will be pressed in holes that will be drilled in a calculated interval covering the waterspots.
A friend had the same problem here in Germany last winter and only overpainted it. 3 month later the mold worked his way through the cover.
Further is to make sure that the isolation from outside of the wall is intact.
Fake gras seems cool if based underneath with foam for a realistic feeling.
If you wan´t to use the right light your choice should be lamps that simulate a certain light spectrum and are execessively low- current.
Therefor I would ask in you local lighting store.
I use a lot of lamps for different large monitors I keep.
Experts talk about how much red, blue or white proportional should be in it.
For example there are T5 neon tubes added to a power supply unit that will make exellent light and your electricity bill won´t explode.
Hopefully I could help a bit?!

[NEW CASTLE HiTMEN]

No mold spores. Just stain marks.

[Cookie]

Okay if only stains to be covered than you need a base coat that isolates. Something that will dry fast, won´t outgas to much and keep the stains from breaking through and keeps further moist off.
We have stuff over here that called Molto (available at ebay) but I am not quiet sure if you can get it over there.

[roller]

I have been involved with several renovation projects that made basements just like yours into great spaces.

I would definitely install track lights running in-between the floor joists. The joists will block the glare and they won't take up any head room. The lights can be placed to take advantage of how you would want to arrange your gametables.

Next, I would recommend painting the exposed "ceiling" white. Hire a painting crew to spray it out (shouldn't cost very much at all). After the ceiling has been done, the entire room will be brighter and it will appear taller.

The astroturf on the floor sounds like a fun idea. However, I might recommend placing it under the table areas as mats/area rugs rather than doing the whole room. Basements are notorious for water and for being really dusty/dirty over time. The astroturf can get really dusty/dirty quickly and would be more difficult to clean in place as opposed to a removable area rug.

If you're planning to screen off the mechanical equipment, just make sure to follow the applicable building codes. You really don't want to introduce a fire risk. My friend here at work is an expert architect in dealing with building code issues if you need some advice.

I can't wait to see it in person. I'm jealous!!!!

[NEW CASTLE HiTMEN]

Thanks Dave. The furnace and Hot water tank can not be enclosed or covered in any way according to our building codes. The house is kinda new (5 years) so I am up with the building codes. If I completely finished the basement (enclosed ceilling) it would be considered living space. Therefore my local government would tax me on the extra square footage. Good idea about the carpet. Probably will be less expensive. There is wiring between the floor boards so I am going to buy the light strips with moveably fixtures and attach to outside of boards. I had the builder put an extra course of block to make it higher. From floor to ceiling is 8 1/2 feet. From air ducts to floor is 7 1/2 feet.

[jeff]

I have no tips on how or what to do with your basement . All I have to say is keep working on it , because every minute you are working on it , you are not practicing

[ChrisStacey]

HitMan,
Google "KILS" and see if that will help your
water-stain problem.It's a paint made for
things like this.

SEMPER FI,
Chris Stacey
Hampton,VA

[the french guy]

for gaming and good pictures, I' d use fluorecent tubes. Never use only one, because of the stroboscopic effect of it. ALways use 2, 3 or more.

On my slot racing room, I've got 3 35watt tubes. Economic and lightfull.


by the way, since you've got plenty of room, put a slot racing track too in your basement

[jwm8592]

At my previous house I had water issues during the building process and the builder said it was handled, well after about 5 yrs or so we had small leaks in a few areas after heavy rains. Bottom line, if a basement leaked once it will usually leak again.... that would need addressed first. At my current house I used a waterproof paint on the basement walls (not sure if it was Kilz or not), I just looked for the can/bucket and couldn't find it. But I can tell you it was pretty easy to put on/spread, knowing that some of those waterproof products are awfully hard almost impossible to spread. I had to put (2) coats on, that's the only way the warranty would go into effect, but the second coat was even easier than the first, looks great & no issues. Its gonna take at least a week to complete.