Oh! man I feel so lucky I found you, this is exactly what I'm going through and was wondering how I was going to go around the vents, the doors hanging all that stuff, I never built anything so this I amazingly helpful to me, I really appreciate the videos pleas keep on making them, I'll looking forward to new ones, again thank you.
Smart idea. The person who finished my basement just screwed the drywall directly to the duct work. When I took some down I found all these holes I had to then fix. When I rebuilt the soffit, I'll be sure to use your method
Great Video and techniques. I am wondering why you would not have moved the entry door further along that wall to past the drop-down for the duct work?
Nice video man. Question, do I really have to cover the entire underside of the soffit? Can I put like a 6inch wide strip of osb , spaced 24" OC instead? Maybe I can save $$$ doing this. Thanks in advance
you might be able to do that - I haven't done it that way so I can't really say for sure but it seems like it might work. If you end up going that route, I would space them closer together tho. 1/2" gypsum board can get a little wavy if the support material is spaced too far apart. Let me know how it goes! thanks for the question and good luck on your project 😃
Great idea, spacing out the bottom piece with strip also provides the access to the pipes, wire and duct later. might just cut all OSB to 11 inches at the big box, and use them for both the side and underneath.
I love your videos. I am working on how to finish my basement as well. Very helpful. I have one question-what is the height from floor to finished ceiling? Thank you!
I'm going to end up building a soffit all the way around the perimeter of the family room in my basement because the front wall has a sewage pipe and the back wall and a partial of one side wall has ducting. It'll be more athletically pleasing I think. Anyway, this type of build should be a lot easier then building a ladder all the way around and trying to make sure it's all an equal drop.
You make a good point about the electrical rough in - this method wouldn't work for that. In my scenario, I wanted to take up as little space as possible with the soffit (ie. higher ceiling under the soffit) and I didn't need to place any electrical boxes in it. I think this method is also a little faster and provides a straighter end product. But to each their own lol. I appreciate the feedback 😃
Looks super clean! I was wondering if there was a specific reason or benefit to hanging smaller sections of OSB on the underside rather than a full 4x8 sheet?
Thanks! If I remember correctly, the underside was about 5’ wide so unfortunately I couldn’t hang whole sheets at a time. That’s the only reason I did it that way lol. Thanks for watching!
hah, just rewatched this part and the underside for this section was just over 4'. but the small sections I'm using are just the bits and pieces I had left over - trying to use up as many offcuts as possible! lol. you could definitely use a full sheet if you want 😃
Looks really nice. I'm trying to figure out how to frame my bulk head, 15' long and 8' wide, would this method work on something that large? I'm going to mount support in the middle so it doesn't sag
I don't see why it wouldn't work. With it being 8' wide, I would definitely break that up with supports down the middle, at least two if you can. That way you are only spanning about 2'-8" instead of the full 8'. Good luck with the project!
I think this method is very DIY friendly. The joists usually are not at the same height, if you cut the OSB to 11 inches, how do you keep them in strait line after you attached them to the joist?
yea this way seemed to work pretty well! I used my laser line to get the OSB to line up in a straight line but otherwise you could measure off the side wall and make a few marks along the way. Does that answer your question? Thanks for watching and leaving a comment!
@@DoingWhatever Thanks, I was wondering 1/2 OSB is not strong enough to correct any un-straight 2x2. But it looks like it worked just fine. I will give a try with my laser too. Thank you.
Not usually but once you start attaching it to the bottom of the floor joists, you can straighten it out a bit. Just work from one end to the other and bend it as needed to stay on a straight line. No problem 😃
You could definitely frame it with soffit ladders - I just think this was easier to do. And then when hanging drywall you can screw into it anywhere and not worry about hitting a stud. Just a different way of doing it
I think just using 1/2" drywall and the 2x2s would be a little flimsy. Usually you'll see people make "ladders" as the framing and then just apply the drywall to it, but I like framing soffits this way. It's pretty easy and you get a very straight line. Definitely would be curious if drywall and 2x2s would be strong enough, maybe I'll try that next time 😃 Thanks for watching!
I have a span of 30.5". You think this is too far of a gap for OSB? I'm worried about sag. I need all the extra space/height I can get, otherwise I'd use 2x2's to frame it in.
That might be pushing it but you could double check how much it might sag here woodbin.com/calcs/sagulator/ This is a reference I use sometime when building shelves but you could get a pretty close estimate. It calculates how much the material might sag - just put in a few variables. Hope that helps!
I have the same question. It’s the next thing I have to do to finish my basement. It seems that he could have saved the money on the OSB on the underside and just put up Sheetrock. A problem I see is that if he has to work on the ductwork, he’s going to HAVE to tear it down to even have access. At least if he put only Sheetrock he would have access to the underside and could even run electrical or water lines. Now he’ll need, not only, a razor knife but a sawsall as well! I’ll be watching for an answer.
I just think it's easier to get a nice straight line with this method, rather than building all those ladders and hoping they are consistent, that's all. not necessarily "better" but maybe easier? 🤷♂️
The OSB gives the structure rigidity. Without the OSB you would need to frame in a ladder down the side with 16 OC studs vertically, and use cross members every 16" OC across the bottom. He avoided the extra framing and still has enough meat for the drywall to attach to every 16"
Your duct seams are not sealed. They will leak like crazy unless you seal them with duct sealant. It will save you a bunch on your heating and cooling bills since there is no point heating and cooling soffit and joist spaces.
Do framers actually not frame in the small basement windows? I have three of these in my basement and I am not sure what I want to do with them. They are clearly not sized for anyone over the age of 2 to escape from. If I frame over them I am worried about future leaks and the damage/mildew/mold that could result.
I find it easier to stand the wall up, secure it in place, and then “cut in” the window. Don’t have to rely on getting perfect measurements while building the wall on the ground. I would always frame out the window and not cover it with a wall.
Drywall could definitely just screw to the bottom if the span isn’t too large. In my case I believe it was close to 24” which I thought might sag overtime. Maybe not. So I just added a layer of OSB to stiffen that span
I could see omitting the OSB if the horizontal span wasn't that large, but in my case, the soffit was a little over 4' wide with only one support in the middle. I don't like 1/2" drywall unsupported for more than 16" so I decided to use OSB as support for the drywall.
Thank you for going straight to the point and not having excessive narrative but enough humor.
No problem, I hope the video was helpful!
@@DoingWhatever Yes it is and saves my time to watch it. Thanks again.
@@TuanNguyen-pp4uo glad to help 😃
Great Demonstration, showing real world examples of a person working by themselves.
I really appreciate it! Hope it was helpful!
Oh! man I feel so lucky I found you, this is exactly what I'm going through and was wondering how I was going to go around the vents, the doors hanging all that stuff, I never built anything so this I amazingly helpful to me, I really appreciate the videos pleas keep on making them, I'll looking forward to new ones, again thank you.
Awesome! Im glad to hear you are finding them helpful 😃 good luck with the build and stay tuned for more videos!
Smart idea. The person who finished my basement just screwed the drywall directly to the duct work. When I took some down I found all these holes I had to then fix. When I rebuilt the soffit, I'll be sure to use your method
Thanks!
Wow, that’s terrible… sorry to hear that. Hopefully this method works better for you!
Haha what the heck? 😂😂
This is exactly why I do everything myself...clowns.
Looks great as is. Why cover it up? Maintenance will have to take apart.
Great Video and techniques. I am wondering why you would not have moved the entry door further along that wall to past the drop-down for the duct work?
Great easy to follow video! Thank you! About to start a cover a similar ductwork project and will use your video as a guide! Liked and subbed!
Awesome I’m glad to hear that! I appreciate it and welcome aboard! Good luck with the project!
I really enjoyed watching this entire video. Thanks for sharing
Thank you, I appreciate it!!
This is the best video I have seen on this well done
Awesome! I’m glad to hear that - thank you!
Is there a reason why you use screws while you had access to a nail gun?
Great video
great video. Working on a basement project right now and considering doing this. Thanks
Thanks!
I think this method is way easier than building the 2x4 ladders. And you’ll get a very straight result.
Nice video man. Question, do I really have to cover the entire underside of the soffit? Can I put like a 6inch wide strip of osb , spaced 24" OC instead? Maybe I can save $$$ doing this. Thanks in advance
you might be able to do that - I haven't done it that way so I can't really say for sure but it seems like it might work. If you end up going that route, I would space them closer together tho. 1/2" gypsum board can get a little wavy if the support material is spaced too far apart.
Let me know how it goes! thanks for the question and good luck on your project 😃
Great idea, spacing out the bottom piece with strip also provides the access to the pipes, wire and duct later. might just cut all OSB to 11 inches at the big box, and use them for both the side and underneath.
I love your videos. I am working on how to finish my basement as well. Very helpful. I have one question-what is the height from floor to finished ceiling? Thank you!
Thank you!!
Floor to ceiling is right at 8'-0". Good luck with your project!
Do you have to worry about the duct getting hot or moisture? How large a gap did you leave between the OSB and duct?
Is "wrapping" it in OSB better or easier than using 2x4 framing?
Or is it just preference?
I'm going to end up building a soffit all the way around the perimeter of the family room in my basement because the front wall has a sewage pipe and the back wall and a partial of one side wall has ducting. It'll be more athletically pleasing I think. Anyway, this type of build should be a lot easier then building a ladder all the way around and trying to make sure it's all an equal drop.
I definitely agree, its very easy to get a consistent and straight soffit doing it this way. The ladders seem like more work than they need to be lol
Why didn't you use ladder type by using 2by4 that way you may fish electrical rough in
You make a good point about the electrical rough in - this method wouldn't work for that. In my scenario, I wanted to take up as little space as possible with the soffit (ie. higher ceiling under the soffit) and I didn't need to place any electrical boxes in it. I think this method is also a little faster and provides a straighter end product. But to each their own lol. I appreciate the feedback 😃
Do have more videos of you finishing your basement?
yup, I have a playlist of the different videos I've made of finishing my basement 😃 - ruclips.net/p/PL8lrNO9kS8k7vZLyfwfLI7lyqLO-tWyv5
Looks super clean! I was wondering if there was a specific reason or benefit to hanging smaller sections of OSB on the underside rather than a full 4x8 sheet?
Thanks! If I remember correctly, the underside was about 5’ wide so unfortunately I couldn’t hang whole sheets at a time. That’s the only reason I did it that way lol. Thanks for watching!
hah, just rewatched this part and the underside for this section was just over 4'. but the small sections I'm using are just the bits and pieces I had left over - trying to use up as many offcuts as possible! lol. you could definitely use a full sheet if you want 😃
I've learned a lot from your video thank you so much.
Excellent video with very clear instructions. Thank you!
Thank you! I’m glad to hear it was helpful 😃
Looks really nice. I'm trying to figure out how to frame my bulk head, 15' long and 8' wide, would this method work on something that large? I'm going to mount support in the middle so it doesn't sag
I don't see why it wouldn't work. With it being 8' wide, I would definitely break that up with supports down the middle, at least two if you can. That way you are only spanning about 2'-8" instead of the full 8'. Good luck with the project!
I think this method is very DIY friendly. The joists usually are not at the same height, if you cut the OSB to 11 inches, how do you keep them in strait line after you attached them to the joist?
yea this way seemed to work pretty well! I used my laser line to get the OSB to line up in a straight line but otherwise you could measure off the side wall and make a few marks along the way. Does that answer your question? Thanks for watching and leaving a comment!
@@DoingWhatever Thanks, I was wondering 1/2 OSB is not strong enough to correct any un-straight 2x2. But it looks like it worked just fine. I will give a try with my laser too. Thank you.
Not usually but once you start attaching it to the bottom of the floor joists, you can straighten it out a bit. Just work from one end to the other and bend it as needed to stay on a straight line. No problem 😃
Why not drywall on the underside only? I assume now you will cover it with drywall?
I think 1/2” drywall alone would be too flimsy and you may see it sag overtime.
Correct, I covered this with drywall afterwards. Thanks for watching!
Great demo! Thanks for making this video.
Thanks! Absolutely, no problem!
Are you planning on covering this with drywall or what is the finishing plan?
Correct, it's finished with drywall/plaster.
@@DoingWhatever What is the purpose of boxing it in with OSB? Couldn't you just frame it and then sheetrock that?
You could definitely frame it with soffit ladders - I just think this was easier to do. And then when hanging drywall you can screw into it anywhere and not worry about hitting a stud.
Just a different way of doing it
@@DoingWhatever Yes, I like your method over making the frame, which is how I did it in my last house.
Excellent video
Thank you!
Curious why you finished with OSB vs just drywall.
I think just using 1/2" drywall and the 2x2s would be a little flimsy. Usually you'll see people make "ladders" as the framing and then just apply the drywall to it, but I like framing soffits this way. It's pretty easy and you get a very straight line. Definitely would be curious if drywall and 2x2s would be strong enough, maybe I'll try that next time 😃
Thanks for watching!
I need you to come and frame out my basement😊
🤣😁
I have a span of 30.5". You think this is too far of a gap for OSB? I'm worried about sag. I need all the extra space/height I can get, otherwise I'd use 2x2's to frame it in.
That might be pushing it but you could double check how much it might sag here
woodbin.com/calcs/sagulator/
This is a reference I use sometime when building shelves but you could get a pretty close estimate. It calculates how much the material might sag - just put in a few variables. Hope that helps!
How great would it be if we had two more arms and hands ?
Haha seriously tho! 😁
question , in stead of the osb can i just use the sheetrock instead.
I have the same question. It’s the next thing I have to do to finish my basement. It seems that he could have saved the money on the OSB on the underside and just put up Sheetrock. A problem I see is that if he has to work on the ductwork, he’s going to HAVE to tear it down to even have access. At least if he put only Sheetrock he would have access to the underside and could even run electrical or water lines. Now he’ll need, not only, a razor knife but a sawsall as well! I’ll be watching for an answer.
I’ve always just put Sheetrock
quick question, what thickness did you use for your OSB??
This was 1/2" I believe
Really helpful but, why not just Sheetrock over your ladder frames instead of putting in the OSB?
Why is this better then using ladder type framing?
I just think it's easier to get a nice straight line with this method, rather than building all those ladders and hoping they are consistent, that's all. not necessarily "better" but maybe easier? 🤷♂️
instead of using OSB, can u just use drywall and wrap around the ductwork?
I’m not sure, it might be a little flimsy..
The OSB gives the structure rigidity. Without the OSB you would need to frame in a ladder down the side with 16 OC studs vertically, and use cross members every 16" OC across the bottom. He avoided the extra framing and still has enough meat for the drywall to attach to every 16"
nice job! thanks for sharing!
Thank you! And thanks for watching!
I used drywall to make a box for ductwork save material
Not even wooden ladders?
@@DoingWhatever wooden ladder before the drywall
ahh I see. Yea that's typically the way you see it done - this is just another way of doing it 😃
Your duct seams are not sealed. They will leak like crazy unless you seal them with duct sealant. It will save you a bunch on your heating and cooling bills since there is no point heating and cooling soffit and joist spaces.
Man I need to do this before I finish my basement. I noticed a whistle while down there one time. Just half hazardly taped the joints.
Thanks for all your information. Fully watched, liked and subscribed. You have a new friend here.
I really appreciate the kind comment! Glad the video was helpful and thanks for subscribing 😃
No fire block rowol insulation ?
You are awesome.
You are!
is a code called for that? down by 2 inches?
Do framers actually not frame in the small basement windows? I have three of these in my basement and I am not sure what I want to do with them. They are clearly not sized for anyone over the age of 2 to escape from. If I frame over them I am worried about future leaks and the damage/mildew/mold that could result.
I find it easier to stand the wall up, secure it in place, and then “cut in” the window. Don’t have to rely on getting perfect measurements while building the wall on the ground.
I would always frame out the window and not cover it with a wall.
@@DoingWhatever Thanks for the reply I appreciate it. I'll do the same then when I start to frame in my basement this fall.
Why do you need the o s b on the bottom. Can't the dry wall just screwed to those pieces you made
Drywall could definitely just screw to the bottom if the span isn’t too large. In my case I believe it was close to 24” which I thought might sag overtime. Maybe not. So I just added a layer of OSB to stiffen that span
hahaha so this way u dont drywall just paint yr plywood that is it ! no plaster no drywall not aping nothing
GoOutdoorsID don’t need the extra board on the bottom just hang the dry way save some money
I could see omitting the OSB if the horizontal span wasn't that large, but in my case, the soffit was a little over 4' wide with only one support in the middle. I don't like 1/2" drywall unsupported for more than 16" so I decided to use OSB as support for the drywall.