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I live in Nashville, and my house is built on a slope. We have a poured wall foundation.
It is a two story house, and there is a crawlspace. However, the "crawlspace" is 11 feet tall, due to the slope the house is built on.
It is NOT a finished basement, or even a basement at all. There is no access from the inside of the living area. You have to go outside through the exterior door to the crawlspace.
HERE's my QUESTION: Currently, I am wanting to convert part of the "crawlspace" into storage. It is not damp at all, maintains a pretty consistent temperature (its like a cave almost).
I want to start hanging things on the walls, but since the walls are my foundation, I'm not sure I can without destroying the integrity of the walls. Can I drill into those walls and put anchors? Can I screw shelves into them using tapcons? I just want to create an extensive shelving system down there since its such a great space!
So bottom line - can I drill into the poured wall foundation and hang stuff on them? Thanks!
Short answer, yes, you can. I wouldn't. Concrete has inherent moisture and an alkaline condition. Metal will corrode and items near the wall will tend to develop mold from the cool air condensing out on the wall. Instead, I would put a layer of plastic near the wall but with a little airspace, and then use metal brackets to hang shelving from the floor joists. That way, the shelving isn't in contact with the (dirt?) floor or walls and moisture cannot migrate.
Well, I wouldn't be putting anything on the floor. But I would really like to hang some things on the walls. With the floor joists above being so high, that would require quite a bit of work to hang things from there.
If the screws don't go all the way through the foundation, would there still be a problem?
when you say hangers, what type are you referring to exactly? I don't want things to be wobble around - i'd like to have things pretty secure. Can you point me to a link or something that shows what you're suggesting? Thanks!!
The crawl space would make an excellent storage area. If fact, if it were my house I would find an area I could cut a hole through the floor and built a stairwell leading the crawl space.
Anyway, about the OP's question: what would do is to leave the foundations alone (don't drill holes on it), and take my time to pour-in a concrete floor, and then frame four 8' high walls, and later a suspended ceiling.
Floor: a layer of 4 or 6-mil Visqueen on the floor and folded all the way over the top edges of the foundations (all the seams sealed). On top of the visqueen a layer of 2" insulating foam blocks sealed to each other. Then some light rebar on top, followed by the concrete mix.
Oh, I would LOVE to put a stairway in and finish the whole thing - but I don't have any money! Plus, there's no real place on the first level to put a stairwell in without drastically reducing the square footage of the main level.
I would love to put in concrete, but the space I would like to put this in has a drain in it (its the lowest point of the "crawlspace". I don't really think I should cover that up.
I have limited know how - but why would you not drill any holes into the foundation? Will it destroy the integrity of the wall?
when you say hangers, what type are you referring to exactly? I don't want things to be wobble around - i'd like to have things pretty secure. Can you point me to a link or something that shows what you're suggesting? Thanks!!
Just wander down to Loes or HomeDespot and look near the concrete area for joist hangers and deck hangers. There are plenty of puppies that could be used for the task. Rigidity is easy with proper framing and bracing. No need to overthink this.
Oh, I would LOVE to put a stairway in and finish the whole thing - but I don't have any money! Plus, there's no real place on the first level to put a stairwell in without drastically reducing the square footage of the main level.
I would love to put in concrete, but the space I would like to put this in has a drain in it (its the lowest point of the "crawlspace". I don't really think I should cover that up.
I have limited know how - but why would you not drill any holes into the foundation? Will it destroy the integrity of the wall?
Well, you could always use a drill/hammer to drill holes on the foundation and drive some concrete wall screws, such as the ones called "Tapcon screws." These are usually blue color and found at Home Depot and Lowe's. But you have to match the screw to the correct drill bit size, and you have to use a drill with a hammer function. Otherwise rent a Hilti driver/hammer with the right bit-size for the screws.
But to me it's a lot easier to attach a few studs to the floor joists overhead, right next to the foundation, and hang things on the studs instead of drilling a bunch of holes on the foundation.
Another idea: drill two holes on the foundation, and drive one Tapcon screw through each end of a 2x4 (or a piece of 2x6 or something) into the foundation. That way you have a hanging board attached horizontally to the foundation. Now you drive as many regular screws or nails on this board as you want
Last edited by RayinAK; 01-28-2013 at 06:08 PM..
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