Incredible DIY Basement Renovation Time Lapse (I saved $30,000 by doing EVERYTHING myself!)

This DIY Basement Renovation Time Lapse shows the entire process of renovating a basement from start to finish. This basement remodel took me nearly two months to complete since I was doing all of the work myself on nights and weekends. Although renovating the basement was a lot of work, I learned a lot of DIY and home renovation skills process of finishing my basement.

This basement renovation started with demolishing the existing walls, drywall, etc. Next, I installed rigid foam insulation on the exterior walls of the basement. Rigid foam insulation is waterproof and a great option for basement exterior wall insulation. To install the basement walls, I framed them using 2"x4" lumber. I used pressure treated lumber for the bottom plate for the basement walls. Basement insulation consisted of batt insulation in the walls and sound proofing insulation in ceiling to reduce the sounds of footsteps above. I installed drywall in the basement and then finished it using joint compound and drywall tape. Finishing the drywall was my least favorite part of the entire basement remodel. Next, I installed Luxury Vinyl Plank (LVP) flooring on the basement floor. LVP is a great flooding option for basements since it is waterproof, durable, and easy to install. Instead of installing drywall on my basement ceiling, I decided to install a drop ceiling. The basement drop ceiling installation was a bit involved, but I wanted to allow for access to the plumbing and electrical cable in the ceiling. To complete the basement remodel, I painted the basement walls and installed trim around each basement room. Let me know what you think of the final result!

To complete a DIY Basement Renovation, you are going to need quite a few tools. Here are some of the most important tools to have when remodeling a basement:

Below are some of the Products that I installed in my basement (electric fireplace, coffee table legs, etc.)

- Coffee Table Items

This DIY Basement Renovation and Remodel was made up of many individual projects. I have detailed videos on every step of the basement renovation process below:

How to Remodel Basement Stairs:

How to Install Rigid Foam Insulation

How to Frame Basement Walls

How to run electrical in a basement

How to Frame around HVAC and Pipes in a Basement

How to Replace and Trim Out Basement Windows

How to Drywall a Basement

How to Install LVP Flooring in a Basement

How to Install a Drop Ceiling in a Basement

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Thank you so much for watching!

*All content on the Andrew Thron Improvements YouTube channel reflects my own opinions. Please seek out guidance of professionally trained and licensed individuals before making any decisions. Links in the description may be affiliate links.

[zorvie]

A possible suggestion for future time lapse videos would be to voiceover your commentary instead of typing it, and maybe slow down the speed of the clips. Maybe I'm just a slow reader, but I kept having to pause the video to read the caption before it jumped to a different clip, and I didn't want to miss anything. The basement looked phenomenal when finished, Overall 10/10 great work and video!

[deest]

Those panels you used for that drop ceiling has completely changed my disdain for them - that ceiling was awesome! Great work!

[jayprimo]

You got a thumbs up the moment you crowned your studs. I'm 39, and have never heard anyone other than my 40 year Master Carpenter Father, rest his soul, talk about crowning studs and "moons down" for flooring lol.
That's some old world knowledge brother. Good on you for doing things RIGHT 👏🏻

[Rosk]

Saved 30k and the result is better than what a contractor would have done. Crazy how that works!

[bellagirlgirl]

That's the best-looking drop ceiling I've ever seen! The whole project is amazing!!

[tylerwillems]

As someone who does a lot of DIY stuff at home, I have huge respect for you dude. This must have taken a ton of work, research, and planning. Looks incredible, I hope my DIY skills improve to this level some day.

[onlyme]

Not a fan of basement renovation unless I know water isn't coming in in the future. I used to install basement systems for water remediation. And have torn alot of these wonderfully built sculpted basements apart just to solve water issues. So a tip is to make sure exterior grading is perfect for water remediation and even having one inside before making these wonderful upgrades. You did such a wonderful project thumbs up to to the result.

[davidhall]

You got it bud..every guy needs to do this...if you mess up hell just fix it..the satisfaction of doing something like this is priceless!..

[justinhc]

Great work, man. Looks terrific. For anyone else doing this work, I would personally put down roofing felt on the concrete before the LVP. I know most of your LVP claims to have a built in moisture barrier, but I still think another one isn’t a bad idea. much moisture will be coming out of that slab on grade that a dedicated barrier will help in my humble opinion.

[felixpeterman]

I love the mold home surround you installed, if someone wants to contain mold inside their house and breathe black or white mold that's perfect for it putting it between the wall and the foam what an excellent breeding ground for mold

[jragonwriter]

I thought I didn't like drop ceilings but yours looks terrific! I especially like how the light panels match the non-lighted ones!

[BaconIsNotBiceps]

As a guy who's never had any interest in doing this sort of work I have also admired and respected those who do. This is absolutely mind-blowing, Andrew. That there are guys like you with skill like this is just so damn righteous. What an amazing transformation this was. I couldn't wait for the finished product, and you delivered and then some. Be proud my man, be very proud. 💪

[aintmanyofusleft]

Done this for my living for 45+ job, it's a lot of work and money.

[izznice]

Well done, I did the same thing in my basement. Some of the things that I noticed when I did mine is the tuck tape eventually loses its stickiness and comes off in places, so I ended up putting three layers of tape just for the extra protection. I also used foam gasket under the pressure treated to keep it away from the concrete.

[MrStatic]

In Jersey we’ve had this one inspector come out to inspect our jobs and while he was there say “you didn’t get a permit for this basement” and they didn’t. People had to rip em out. Thankfully that inspector retired and the new guy isn’t nearly as bad as him. Beautiful job man.

[Warkive]

You took a video I would normally have skimmed through and likely jumped to the finished product, and condensed it to the perfect level for viewing. Nice work, both on the reno and the video.

[chrisvallianos]

30 year guy here, one thing I wish I would have taken seriously from day one - the knee pads! You do good work and you want to keep doing good work, spend good money on good knee pads today! Keep at it bro!

[MakhtarNdiaye-ukeq]

You have my sincere admiration, Andrew. It is simply so very righteous that there are men with this level of skill, like you. What a remarkable change this was.

[anaximander]

As someone who just bought a home with a dungeon basement, and zero construction skills, all I can do is dream of a day when I can afford to have someone do this for me. That said I'm impressed and happy for you that you can enjoy your talent and craftsmanship. Hope you've been enjoying your new living space and thanks for this video!

[LenoraHughes-it]

What a captivating time-lapse transformation! The money-saving approach and hands-on tips make it seem achievable for someone like me who's considering a home renovation but hesitant about the costs.