It’s been a few months, so in our house that means it is time for a new project. Apparently we think that we don’t have enough on our plates, so we’ve decided to add basement renovation to the list. Can’t be that difficult can it? (I’m obviously joking!)
Last spring we got the exterior of our house painted by a great father/son construction company. We were so impressed with their work that we decided to have them give us an estimate on finishing our basement. (Side note: We’ve been talking about finishing it for years and have been through many different thought processes: Total redo? Add a bathroom? Sump pump to solve water issues? Etc… At that time, we had finally decided to nix the bathroom idea and to work around the water issues since we had recently spent a lot of money to fix the biggest water problem.) Their estimate to add a few walls, put in some recessed lighting, close-in the stairs and add a closet came to over $12,000! We were shocked! But it was the motivation we I needed to let Jeremy do the basement himself. Since I then knew how much money we’d be saving, I was more willing to give up weekends, be husband-less, have the kids be father-less for the time it took to get it done. And it was under the agreement that the shed MUST be finished first! (I won’t get into that project.)
After a very busy summer, Jeremy finally had the time to start the demo process. And now that walls are knocked down and we’re left with a shell, it means we HAVE to finish it. There is no going back now.
But let’s look back in time for just a minute… (I had to go way back in time to find actual pictures of the basement. This is another area of the house that has had many iterations, so enjoy the stroll down memory lane.)
The laundry area. This won't change a lot much to my dismay. I do hope to at least have a nice ceiling with more lighting. And it will get a tad bigger with the moving of one wall to the right.
A few years ago, Jeremy and I spent an entire weekend trying to "finish" a very unfinished space for more play space. Unfortunately water started to come pouring underneath that door from the outside and caused all those awesome floor tiles to mildew. Yuck! We took it apart only 6 short months after doing it.
This picture doesn't show much except my little baby Cooper when he was actually a baby! That's how long ago these pictures were taken!
This built-in is right at the bottom of the stairs. I love the charming nature of it, but I'm more excited about what is going to go there in the renovation. A pantry! A whole new pantry just for food!! Angels will sing when this is done.
The most finished part of the basement. We installed FLOR tiles, built the bookshelves, and painted a couple of walls shortly after moving in to the house over 7 years ago. This room has been an office, a workout space, and a playroom. Once finished, it will be a den with a closet, and open to the backyard by moving a wall so it will include the door you saw in the first picture.
The basement now... Walls torn down, drop ceiling removed, linoleum tiles almost removed.
Looking back towards the stairs. The new wall will come off that back wall by a few feet to leave enough room for passage underneath the stairs and a little workbench area. This scenario also lets us avoid building walls right up against one of our "wettest" walls. It's never pouring in - just damp because it's a 70+ years old.
So now the waiting begins. I was really hoping to have this all done by Cooper’s 4th birthday to facilitate an awesome birthday party space, but I don’t think we’ll get there. I am working really hard to have patience. I’m sure the construction company could have this done in a week. I have to just keep reminding myself of the $12,000 estimate. Just money in my pocket, right? Yeah, just keep telling me that. Please…
I’ll show more progress pics along the way, but sadly more action won’t be coming until November since every single weekend in October is booked. I’m serious… just keep reminding me of the money I’m saving!
Find Good In Every Day 