agallant80

In the next month or so I’m going to be converting a area of my friends house in his basement to a home office/man cave. The area is climate controlled into there is no seepage of water through the wall or on the floor it is a completely climate controlled dry space. Does anybody have any ideas on what I can do to the wall to make it look better besides just painting it I really don’t wanna put drywall over it and then put up wallpaperI would rather put some foam tiles or something like that directly over the cinderblocks. Let me know what your ideas are. Obviously this is a basement and there are utility lines that I will have to work around I understand that

agallant80

jlipsky14

Why don’t you want to drywall it? Too difficult to spackle and paint?
Another option would be to just frame a wall/fir it out and do a shiplap or wood material. Could probably do the whole thing in a day.

Thay also make fake wood/brick that comes on a 4x8 sheet which would be pretty easy to do.

Sixstring

For an office mancave i would drywall it.

1x2 furing strips, insulation board then drywall, mud and paint.

agallant80

If I did put drywall right over the blocks do I just glue it to the block or do I need to install 1/4 foam and attach it to that?

lurker25

This, fur it out and drywall it. Easy peasy.

Cobia 217

No moisture barrier?

1blueheron

LP smart side comes in pre-primed 4X8 sheets. Solid wood grain or vertical T&G siding look. Easy to put up and paint. Could also do lap siding. For and interesting look run on diagonals?

Onewolf

Why are you building your man cave in your friend's basement?

I would probably just paint it with something like Dry Lok and then paint.

IES99

That's what I would do. As you say it is dry and there is no seepage, there is nothing wrong with painting the block.

Little_Giant

Why are you opposed to adding furring? Would provide a place to route power and possibly network cabling for home office use. Typically a basement area is lacking in those.

On a side note, that looks like a gas meter inside. Odd to me, we can't install inside buildings at all here.

flcatcher1

I saw your statement that there is no seepage through the wall, but several seams in the picture sure look like they have moisture stains. At the very least I would seal those areas with some drylok. The powder that you mix with water goes on easily and is cheaper than the cans. You can also paint over the powdered product in 30 days if you wish to do so. Basements tend to be moister and darker than the upper levels of a house. And although also a bit cooler, they still constitute the most likely areas for mold growth. Reducing the moisture risk and you reduce the mold risk.

agallant80

if I use Drylok can I just liquid nail some drywall over it when it drys?

2LBI

If u glue drywall to the block and ever need to remove it for any reason your friend will no longer be...... your friend.
if you are against drywall why not put up furring strips or 2 x 4 on the flat and screw in 4 x 8 cement board to the boards which is easily painted. They come in various textures

Flot

Don’t do this. No one should ever do this.

WPBTH

I would look into "insofast" panels. You glue these to the walls, they have studs built in and chases for wires

gman5436

Definitely paint it with dry-lock then build 2x3 walls in front of the blocks then sheet rock. This will allow you to box out the meters, gives room to run wires too. Before you cover all the pipes and wires take pictures so you know where everything is Incase you need to repair something.
A lot of dust on that exercise bike....just saying

jlipsky14

I would frame a regular 2x4 wall to be able to cover the pipes and wires, plus it will be easier to finish than going around the holes. Metal studs may be easier for you to work with. Run the sheetrock vertically so it will be easier to finish, the ends are beveled so just tape and fill it flat for a decent finish. Much easier to do than feathering out butt joints. Use a thicker taping mud for the tape (dark green lid) and lightweight for finishing (Much easier to sand). Both will have to be thinned with either water or dish soap. Paint with a thick nap roller (3/4) to cover the imperfections.

Imo no need for a vapor barrier or insulation for what your doing, if you want to insulate use rockwool and not fiberglass as it wont mold

avenger79

I have done a few basements like that. I always frame the walls with 2x4 and than drywall them. it is work but when finished they look very good.

agallant80

Why?