DIY Basement Workout Room Step 3: Electricity and Ceiling the Messy Way

With the wall insulation installed, it was now time for me to figure out the electricity for the basement workout room. I’m definitely NOT an electrician, so this posting isn’t going to give you any details on how to run circuits. I had a friend who knows what he’s doing stop by and help me plan out the circuits. Here’s a few decisions we made that might be helpful.

• We decided on some 20Amp outlets for the treadmill and other heavy-load equipment.
• The basement already had 1 lighting circuit, so we planned a second, new lighting circuit to be run from the box. We planned it as a 3-way circuit so that the workout room could be switched from 2 different switches entering and exiting the room.
• We created a dedicated circuit just for the sump pump so that there would never be a potential overload on that circuit

My advice to you is to Google the different things you need to install + circuit diagram, and you’ll get VERY useful resources like this 3 way circuit diagram. These diagrams, plus my friend’s advice lead me to the store to get all the wire and boxes I would need.

How I ran the Electric in the Styrofoam Insulation
First, we needed to figure out how we’d attach electrical boxes with the lack of studs in the walls. Sure, I could have attached the boxes directly to the block wall and cut the Styrofoam panels around them. I wanted to poke as few holes in the Styrofoam as possible to retain its insulation factor. So, we chose to use old work plastic electrical boxes. These are the kind that get attached via tabs to the back of the dry wall instead of to the studs. While you may argue this is a less secure solution for the electrical boxes, it ended up being far easier to install and secure enough for my needs when all was said and done.

The installation guide recommended running the electric wires behind the Styrofoam board. I wanted to be able to easily see my wiring paths so I chose to embed the wiring on the front of the styrofoam. First, I drew lines with permanent marker on the foam board to all of my proposed electrical outlet locations. I created a template out of cardboard that provided enough clearance for the electrical boxes and traced those in the electrical box locations.

Here’s where the job got messy. To be able to easily cut the paths in the Styrofoam, I purchased a 5/8″ bit for my plunge router. Then I went crazy routing out the paths. Luckily I had tarped off the other parts of the basement, because the Styrofoam bits went everywhere! Make sure to wear safety goggles and a breather because the bits are not kind to your eyes or lungs. Have a look at the pics of me in action to get a sense of the mess.


The paths were drawn in marker and I ran the router over the lines.


A router can make a huge Styrofoam cloud

To get the paths behind the furring strips just use a half inch drill bit and drill behind both sides of the furring strips. After all of the paths were routed out, I easily ran the rough wiring to all of the electrical box locations, leaving plenty of wire to finish things off after the boxes get installed with the drywall.

Painting the Ceiling with a Wagner Power Painter
While the walls were still bare it was time to make a crucial decision - how to finish the ceiling. We considered all of the various finishing options and finally arrived at an approach I’ve used once before; painting the ceiling with a Wagner Power Painter. Here’s why painting the ceiling makes a ton of sense for us.

1. It’s a LOT cheaper. A tile ceiling with all of its associated hanging hardware would have cost $600-$1000. Painting the ceiling cost us two gallons of paint, about 40 bucks.
2. It’s a lot higher. When I’m working out, I need all the space I can get for my monkey arms. Not having a drop ceiling saves us a precious few inches.
3. It’s a lot more accessible. No ceiling tiles to mess with if you need to get at wiring or plumbing in the floor joists.
4. It’s a lot easier and faster. Installing a drop ceiling takes a ton of time to install the grid work, cut the tiles, and soffet all of the irregular areas. Painting is a one shot deal that can be finished in a few hours.

Choosing Your Paint Color
Think of this ceiling method as the coffee shop, or industrial approach. We’ve all been to those trendy places with the exposed beams and pipeworks, same idea with your basement. I think the best colors to choose are anything dark. At my last house we used black. In this case, we used a dark gray. I’ve also seen dark brown and terra cotta - both look good. The ceiling just fades into the background not drawing your eye’s attention. What doesn’t look good in my opinion is a white or light painted ceiling. As soon as you enter a basement with the white painted beams, your eye is immediately drawn to it making it a lot more noticeable.

Ceiling Paint Supplies
If you choose this approach you’ll need a few critical supplies.

1. Wagner Power Painter. Mine is the Wagner 5.4 Wideshot
2. Floetrol or similar paint additive to thin your latex paint for spraying
3. Latex Paint. I used 2 gallon of Eggshell finish for approximately 600 Sq ft.
4. Rubber Gloves
5. Protective head scarf, safety goggles and high quality breather
6. Masking materials - tape, plastic, etc.

Make sure to mask off anything that you do not want painted. Tarp doorways and passages to other rooms in your basement. Turn off your heat and/or air conditioner so that the fumes do not travel through the house. Open any basement windows you have for ventilation.

Making the Big Mess
Prepare yourself…this is going to make a big mess. By the time you are done painting, you will have paint dust all over your floors. Put the hood on your head, your rubber gloves on, and put on your safety goggles. Then fill your paint container with paint and some Floetrol and stir it up. Then go nuts spraying that ceiling. I like to have a scrap board nearby to take my initial spray shots so that the paint is flowing smoothly. Have a look at the pictures of Darth Painter to see it in action.


I am your father…


This sure beats painting with a brush


Spray it on nice and thick to cover every nook and cranny

In my next entry I’ll catch you up on our mudding and taping fun, show you the closet that will contain the sump pump, and I’ll show you the rubber floor installation.

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DIY Basement Workout Room: Step 1 | Step 2 | Step 3 | Step 4 | Step 5