So the fun begins on my Basement Renovation

[TDIGUY]

Electrical questions to start,
Currently the main panel for the house is a 200A box in the far cornet of the garage, from there There is a 100A sub panel in the house and a 60A sub-panel in my workshop
Powered directly from this panel are the pool, the garage power plus 2 rooms in the house.

The 100A panel in the basement is maxed out with 24 slots and I need some additional space for the new circuits in the basement.

My options are to replace the sub-panel with a new 100A panel with 30 slots
Or add a second sub-panel and use that for my basement reno.
I think the previous owner was already thinking that as they have a 6GA wire running from the main panel to the electrical area and a 50A breaker in the main panel ready to go.

Any recommendations or code rules for the proper way to do this before i get started. The new sub-panel would be the easiest as I can run everything fresh out a the new panel then do the final hook-ups after inspection and I don't need to touch the main panel. plus I gain a few slots there when I pull out the existing circuits for what is already in the basement.

Don't mind the mess around the main panel, that was before I bought the house and the Previous Owners stuff.

[TDIGUY]

And here are some progress pics from this weekend.
Lots of demolition happened over the weekend and also found a few more questionable items.

[TDIGUY]

More Electrical Fun

These were above a finished drywall ceiling.

[TDIGUY]

This is the center beam of the house.
There was originally a post in the center of the room to support the triple 2x12 ( think 12" I didn't measure) So they installed an I-beam along side of it and removed the post.

When I got the ceiling open I noticed that around where the post was they are tying to support the beam with blocks of wood wedged into the I-beam.

Am I correct in assuming those should not be necessary as the I-beam would take the load and the main beam would just be suspended by the floor at that point.

Above this on the main floor is a wide open room so the full length of this I-beam is just an open room above with a wall sitting on top of one end of the beam the rest is just supporting the open floor space.

Also the bulkhead was built using 2x2's, strips of plywood and wire to support the center. this will be getting re-built as well as there was a lot of wasted headroom, I should be able to raise it about 3" if I build it properly.

[TDIGUY]

For the rest of the week, I am working to finish tearing out the rest of the bathroom and 2 remaining drywall walls then I can start pulling the old electrical and removing the non load-bearing walls to get a better feel for the space and finish tweaking the final floor plan.

So far i have almost filled a 16 yard dumpster, hoping to fit the rest in and have it picked up by the end of the week. I should have got the bigger bin as I have a lot more stuff i was planning to get rid of while I had it bit I don't think it is going to fit.

[good2know]

Great progress. You have some interesting things there.

Re electrical panel options: I would bounce the options off your local esa people first and do it the way they prefer. You have a big benefit that you can shut off the house from the garage.

In a good better best scenario, I would replace the house panel I trhink. That said, I cant think of any reason a second house panel direct to the garage main panel wouldnt be fully acceptable.

I'd like to see a pic or two of the inside of the house panel just to see how untidy that might be.

Structural stuff: Very surprising to see the steel beside the triple 2 x whatever. I wonder how they installed that if it came as a second stage. Depends on beam size, but the max span on a steel beam is 12 feet.

The little blocks are not holding anything. What exactly is holding up the steel" Are there beam pockets into the concrete? Are the floor joists from both sides sitting on the steel beam?

Are the joints staggered over where the post was?

When you redo the bulkhead, leave an inch or so space to the plenum. Two reasons - avoid heat on wood, and you dont want the metal ducts flexing and rubbing against the wood causing some noise every time the furnace runs.

If you pull all the walls, recommend you install the new walls on the subfloor so any moisture can travel unrestricted to the floor drain.

Electrical tip for the design: If you run all the basement lights separate from any plugs, you can eliminate the device count restriction. Rather its based on 80% of breaker capacity calculated by adding up the power consumption of whatever light you use.

Great job so far. Oh can you tell yet of the plumbing all meets code?

Oh and HVAC requirements: Now would be a good time to increase the return air flow capacity to the furnace from the basement and add some new vents for each of the rooms.

[good2know]

Originally Posted by TDIGUY

More Electrical Fun

These were above a finished drywall ceiling.

Whats the expression - you cant fix stupid? Im wondering if you have any recourse with the previous owner for all the hacker shortcuts?

[good2know]

I love basement do overs haha

There is a rule - neither the dumpster or the original budget is big enough lol

[BartBandy]

Structurally, that ain't right, but you probably know that.

You can't load a steel beam like that.

Is the steel beam engaging the joists above? Joists seem to come from both sides of the 3-2x12 built-up wood beam, so I assume the steel beam is, at best, engaging only one set of joists.

The way I would do it is first check that the steel beam is up to the job, and is properly supported itself. If all that checks out, then I would build up blocking between the wood beam and the web of the steel beam and laminate them together with through bolts to prevent twisting of either. You want them deflecting together and operating as a system, not individually. And not with stupid little block on top of the bottom flange.

[good2know]

Suggestion: If you have a Lowes nearby, ask them for a contractor account. That will get you a 5% always and sometime as much as %15 discount on everything and reduced shipping charges.

The discount is applied at checkout and you get a monthly invoice. Payment is monthly.

I did this a fews years back and they were happy to do it. When there is a large scope of work, a 5 % discount to get the whole contract is worth it to them.