In June I decided to take on the project of finishing the main room of our basement. There were a few reasons that compelled me. In April I had finished a big chunk of work I was doing for my company at the time, Jamf. I was really happy with it, but it was clear that I wasn't likely to be busy for a while. Secondly, This pandemic was keeping everyone home, and it was likely to continue through the winter and keep our kids inside. -Having additional space would be a huge help. Thirdly, we had been saving for a while and had some additional money to spend. Finally, keeping myself busy while I was at home with nothing to do was a big reason why it made sense to take on a big project.
Get comfortable because this will be a long post.
Here is the basement before I had really done any work. I had actually taken out the old ceiling at this point, but this is the real starting point of the work. I often get myself into projects that end up taking weeks or months. This one I knew from the beginning would take quite a while.
Leveling the floor was the first job. Not too exciting but it had to be done.
There was already drain tile at the house perimeter and the checkered tile was already ripped up as well. I did some additional floating to make sure the floor didn't dip.
The framing was next.
I bought a year membership at our local tool library so I was able to get a chop saw, a nail gun, and a compressor. Doing the framing without them would have taken quite a bit longer. Framing is the part that, if not done right, makes the rest of the job a real headache and is very noticeable when finished as well.
The hard part of framing is not getting all the primary walls up, it's doing all the detailed work you know is going to be necessary to hold up the drywall.
I asked Lisa if she wanted the stairs to be carpeted or wood. Carpeted would have meant that I could simply cover the existing stairs. She wanted wood. She also wanted wood or laminate on the floor, which I agreed would be better for the kids.
I started by taking out all the old treads and risers since none of them could be reused. The stringers weren't in the best shape, but I decided they could probably be reused.
At some point, I realized that the wall adjacent to the steps would have to be put in before the steps. Here I am staining the steps. I had to find the laminate floor I wanted, and then work to match the steps with the floor. I couldn't find a stain that worked well, so I ended up experimenting with different stain/lacquer combinations until I found something that seemed to match.
The trim on either side of the stairs was one of the hardest parts of the job. I seriously debated not doing trim and instead, finishing the drywall down to the stairs. In the end, I decided it would be easier to get a clean finish with trim. To get the trim to fit snug against the steps, I built a template for BOTH sides. This was done by using a 12' header board and many smaller pieces used to match the treads and risers. Then I laid it on a final piece and cut it to match.
Here is the final piece. I called this "precision cutting with a skill saw and a jigsaw". Not the easiest bit of work.
In the end, they fit about as well as you could expect. About this time I had an inspector come to look at the framing job. He noticed the trim at the stairs and was surprised when I told him I did it myself!
I was super happy with the lighting I chose. Here is the profile of one of the lights. I did have an electrician help with roughing out the lights and the ceiling fixtures, but I did the rest of the electrical work.
It was great having lights for the rest of the job, even if they were hanging down a good bit of the time.
Insulation was the next thing on the list.
Since I was "officially" doing the work, I had to get inspections and submit a plan to the state.
After the insulation inspection, the drywall was next. I started with the ceiling and rented a lift. It went surprisingly quick.
Here is Finn helping put the last piece of drywall on the ceiling.
After the ceiling came the walls. The green drywall is mold-resistant so I put it on all the perimeter walls that were external facing.
Next the taping and mudding. This took a lot longer than expected. It's still not a perfect job, especially the ceiling. I actually really like this work, having done a lot of it at my inlaw's house. There is something therapeutic about it.
When you start thinking about a new space in your house you begin to think about what to put in it. I didn't want an empty room when we were finished so I began looking for furniture. I found this couch for $50 and really like it. I wasn't sure if it would fit down into the basement but got it anyway thinking I would sell it if it didn't fit.
It didn't fit. :( But instead of selling it, I decided to take it apart and bring it downstairs in pieces. Not my brightest moment. Here I am starting to take it apart in the living room.
This type of furniture is NOT made like they used to do it, and it's certainly not meant to come apart. It's basically made of plywood that is shot together with a bunch of large staples. They were extremely hard to get out. At this point, I honestly didn't think this thing was going back together.
But I tried.
Here is the couch down in the basement. I borrowed a staple gun from a friend which saved a lot of time.
Closer...
Finally! I actually did finish it. It took me a day to take it apart and another day to put it back together. Whew... It's not the most amazing looking couch, but boy is it comfy. I was really happy to get it back together and at this point was looking forward to hanging out in the basement and laying on my new couch!
The kids enjoyed watching the bag-it guys come and get all the trash I collected out on the street.
After the distraction of getting the couch downstairs I once again tackled the rest of the mudding. It never ended...
Still more mud...
and more...
Here is Finn priming the fireplace. He was really interested in helping the whole time.
I think it was mostly about putting on all his gear, and then taking breaks every ten minutes.
Finally I said "screw it" and got to priming the walls. This is when we started to see a glimpse of the light at the end of the tunnel.
After the priming came the finish paint.
Something about the two paint colors didn't quite work. I didn't want to paint all the side (green) walls again for sure. I ended up looking at the back wall and realized that there was too much purple. Here I am looking at both walls and testing other colors. I ended up painting the back wall a darker color and that did the trick.
With the walls and ceiling done, the floor was next. We decided to put in a floor heater which, looking back, was a really smart move. The floor is always nice and warm and the space itself is always a nice cozy temperature.
The first thing that went on was a layer of cork board.
I realized that I gave the floor-warming company the wrong dimentions. (Yes, I felt really stupid as an architect that couldn't even privide the right dimentions of a room). They ended up sending more cork in very short order and I finished up quickly.
Next came the floor heater, which was also ordered too short. I ended up using what I had and made it fit the space as best I could. I think it worked. You don't really notice any cold area's.
All of the wires had to be set level with the cork and taped down.
After the floor heater came the laminate. I spent a single 12-hour day putting the floor down. It was a grueling day, but I was happy to get it all in quickly.
Whew... here we are. The kids were thrilled! We had a little dance party down there when it was finished.
The next day was like Christmas. I had already purchased a 70" tv and a mount which I started to install. As soon as they were on the wall a package came with the soundbar and sub I had ordered on Amazon.
I got everything up and we relaxed for the rest of the day. The coffee table and chair were furniture I got but we ended up getting rid of both of them. I didn't like the chair and the table was a crappy one from IKEA that we would have distroyed.
We found a rug we really liked.
Here is another coffee table we found, but ended up selling it as well. Lisa really wanted a large square coffee table the kids could use as a play table.
I found this large picture for $25 on Craigslist.
These are grow lights I installed.
So here is the finished room. I'm so happy with the results. We use it all the time!
Lisa reached out to her Aunt Peggy who help us find (and pay for) a 4 ft square coffee table. It's honestly perfect. The kids play everything on it.
The stairs came out great as well!
Here's the before and after.
We still need to find some artwork as there is only one thing on the wall, but that will come. What a great project to do over the summer and a real blessing added to our house!
