Our beloved wreck of a basement is finally getting it’s much-anticipated facelift. This room was a complete catastrophe when we first purchased our house and we tried our best to push the project off as long as possible. We were hoping to sell the house over the summer, and leave it up to the next owners to do what they wish with it. Of course, with this wonderful house market we had no luck selling and we were the lucky winners of this pricey project. We officially (and literally) broke ground in this project a few months back, having to tear out and re pour the concrete floor. This work was done by professionals, Dan’s father and his crew.
The basement when we bought the house, there was a HUGE crack going the entire length of the basement that we were ignoring. There was no working around it, so we had to replace the flooring.
The first place we started was the ceiling. It was a finished plaster ceiling, but because we wanted to run all new electric, we had to tear out a perfectly good ceiling.
The ceiling torn down
So, after tearing down the ceiling, we then had to figure a way to get rid of it. The first thought was to put it all in garbage bags and then put it on the tree lawn for it to be picked up (too easy). One scoop of the plaster in a garbage bag and it weighed nearly 20 lbs. We then realized we would need way to many garbage bags to get it cleaned up. So we had to think of a plan B…..
The Landfill - so gross.
After getting the ceiling out and driving it 40 minutes to the landfill, the next task was the floor itself. To take the floor out, we had Dan’s dad John, and two of his men tear it out with a jack hammer. Once the floor was out, we ended up replacing the sewer and all of the drainage to prevent any water back up. An issue that we have had pop up a few times since we’ve purchased the home.
the floor gone
Once the floor was out and all the new drainage was put in place, it was time to pour the new floor. The only way to get the cement into the basement was to buggy the cement up the driveway, then pour the cement into the chute through our tiny old basement windows. It was quite the task, and the guys worked so very hard to get it done for us, luckily Brody was home to supervise. :0)
Where we stand now is starting to do the stud work, running the new electric, putting in new glass block windows, and figure out a new fire-place idea (any suggestions?) We will be working on this project over the winter, and hope for it to be done by Brody’s 3rd birthday which is March 1, 2012. This is what the new floor looks like, excuse all the toys/tools all over the place. We have so many projects going on throughout the house everything keeps getting pushed from room to room!
the new floor
The new windows, and a sneak peek at the new lighting ( 6 new ceiling lights total ) love how bright the basement feels now!
Beginning of the stud work. We are always so taken back by John’s handy skills. So far things look great, tomorrow Dan and John will be starting the dry wall. With Christmas only weeks away, we have been really busy. And suddenly our boys have both given up on napping. Either they cannot relax because of the loud work downstairs, or we have boys with endless energy. So, to keep myself sane, I have been making tons of new cookie recipes to share with you and will be doing so today starting with two great treats. Stay tuned!