Raw basement wall cover

amother

Thu, Aug 11 2022, 10:31 am

Hi. My basement is unfinished. I'm looking to turn it into a play area. Not looking to spend much. I need ideas to cover the concrete walls. Anyone?

GLUE

Thu, Aug 11 2022, 11:54 am

paint- there is a type that is made for basement concrete walls, it is probably the cheapest thing to get.

I had a house were we covered the walls with Paneling, but we had to build a frame against the walls to hold the panels up

amother

Thu, Aug 11 2022, 6:16 pm

Paint won't really work. Some places have exposed insulation.

Debbig

Thu, Aug 11 2022, 6:52 pm

Drop cloths nailed or stapled to the wall or ceiling beams.
I’ve seen ppl use them as cheaper quick curtains. I think it can work to cover walls.

GLUE

Thu, Aug 11 2022, 6:52 pm

If you can do it yourself, go to the hardware store and look at what paneling is the cheapest.

You will need to build a frame to screw or staple it on, can you screw the frame to the ceiling?

If you know what you are doing it will only take a few hours.

GLUE

Thu, Aug 11 2022, 6:55 pm

Debbig wrote:

Drop cloths nailed or stapled to the wall or ceiling beams.
I’ve seen ppl use them as cheaper quick curtains. I think it can work to cover walls.

We tried that first and my kids had a field day ripping them down, if your kids are not like mine try it.

amother

Wandflower

Thu, Aug 11 2022, 6:58 pm

I just painted the cinder block. Didn't look too bad

amother

Thu, Aug 11 2022, 7:30 pm

Thanks all for the advice.

happy7

Thu, Aug 11 2022, 7:34 pm

Look up room divider kits on Amazon. You can put up tracks and curtains

amother

Mustard

Thu, Aug 11 2022, 8:51 pm

You could do padded walls, great for play spaces

amother

Ruby

Thu, Aug 11 2022, 9:08 pm

How about just sheetrock for now?
It's not cheap but if youre ever going to finish your basement you'll have the first step done.

amother

Lemon

Thu, Aug 11 2022, 9:24 pm

How about the scenic sukkah “walls”?

amother

Thu, Aug 11 2022, 9:48 pm

amother [ Mustard ] wrote:

You could do padded walls, great for play spaces

I considered it. But I don't feel like putting too much money and work into it since we're planning on doing it professionally in the next couple of years iyh. I hope.

amother

Thu, Aug 11 2022, 9:49 pm

amother [ Lemon ] wrote:

How about the scenic sukkah “walls”?

Ha. This is what I did on one wall. Had some extra pieces I got on Amazon years ago. It actually looks good. Adds some color to the drab walls.

amother

Thu, Aug 11 2022, 9:51 pm

amother [ Ruby ] wrote:

How about just sheetrock for now?
It's not cheap but if youre ever going to finish your basement you'll have the first step done.

I'm doing it all on my own right now. So I'm trying to keep it as easy and simple as possible. Hoping to do it professionally some day soon.

amother

Thu, Aug 11 2022, 9:52 pm

happy7 wrote:

Look up room divider kits on Amazon. You can put up tracks and curtains

I looked into it. I might do it if the tapestry thing doesn't work out. Although I'm not sure what the tracks would attach too. The ceiling is raw insulation.

GLUE

Fri, Aug 12 2022, 12:55 am

amother [ OP ] wrote:

I looked into it. I might do it if the tapestry thing doesn't work out. Although I'm not sure what the tracks would attach too. The ceiling is raw insulation.

You don't have beams under the insulation that you could attach the tracks to?

amother

Fri, Aug 12 2022, 1:24 am

GLUE wrote:

You don't have beams under the insulation that you could attach the tracks to?

I guess... feels complicated though.