The other day some DPI panels were on sale at Lowes.  Noticing that they were the pattern we want, we decided to grab 14 sheets of “FashionWall 1/4-in x 4-ft x 8-ft Neutral/Low Gloss Hardboard Wall Panel”.  There are several reasons why we picked wall panels as our basement walls.  First, they are cheaper than drywall.  Secondly, they are easy to install.  Finally, they look pretty good, honest.

The installation is straightforward.  Cut the piece to the right size, apply construction adhesives to the board and stick it to the Barricade wall panel.  Using my nail gun, I also shoot some 1 1/4″ finishing nails to hold the wall panel while the adhesive works its magic.  Total cost is around $500 for the entire basement, not bad.

We laid the panels against Barricade walls for 48 hours to allow them to “adjust” to the humidity of our basement.
Finished basement wall.  Looks pretty good to me.