It’s been VERY busy around my house! So many things going
on, but I think for this post, I will focus on just one topic…finishing that
darn basement! It has been quite the whirlwind project, trying to get that done
in between work and the kids and the boyfriend and, well, life! But it is
coming together quite nicely…finally.
I have to admit there have been times I wanted to just give
up. It became overwhelming, trying to keep up. And then not knowing what I was
doing. Yes, I can admit that as well. I was in over my head at times, and I knew
it. There are only so many books you can read, or You Tube videos you can
watch, to try to make sense out of what needs to be done, and even then, you
just don’t know everything. And I didn’t.
That became readily apparent when I failed the rough
inspection the first time. Yes, I said the
first time. I failed it more than once. The first time, was truly not my
fault. The reason given was because the grounds were not made up in the boxes,
something my “electrician” cousin should have done or known to do. So I had to
spend an hour going around and doing that. I also had to add some cross-bracing
in the soffit, which was no big deal, and then the inspector came back the next
day. And I failed again.
What I was NOT told the first day was that the cross-bracing
was not enough. Apparently, there was a necessity for having bracing from the
floor joists above going down to the soffits to support the weight of the
ceiling, and subsequently the drywall, which he had not told me about. Yes, it
makes sense in hindsight, but again, I failed the rough in. And when the
inspector told me I could go ahead and finish the insulation and they could
check off the rough-in when they did the inspection for that, I did a
double-take. Come again? An insulation inspection? Whatchu talking ‘bout,
Willis?
I guess that’s another thing I was unaware of. Figures. So I
had to go out that night and purchase over $300 worth of insulation to stuff
between the studs. Oh, did I mention that I had already glued 2” extruded polystyrene
panels to the concrete walls BEFORE I put up the walls? And apparently that was
not enough insulation, though I did have a “conversation” about that with the
inspector. We disagreed, but in the end, he won.
The next day, I did contact the inspector that I had been
communicating with (he had been oh-so-nicely answering my stupid questions),
and expressed my concerns regarding the pdf that my city had posted on their
website about the minimum R rating required for basement construction. While I still
disagreed with what was considered minimum standards, I had already bought and
put up the insulation, so it didn’t really matter at that point. It was done,
and my basement now far exceeded the minimum R rating for basements, as far as
anyone was concerned. And so we passed. Finally.
Oh, by the way, my inspector friend did mention that the pdf
that was on the website was actually several years outdated and had it taken
down so it could be updated. So I guess I did my good deed for the day. Huh.
Interestingly enough, it as a pdf for the entire county. I was still able to
locate it through other municipalities, but over time, it has disappeared until
I can no longer locate it. At least I have done some good for someone else. J
So onto the drywall.
It just so happened that I decided that I could not handle this particular task
myself, so I hired someone recommended by the manager that had hired me at my
current position. I did not get any other references, though in hindsight,
again, that was probably a mistake. The 3-5 days that it was to take turned
into three-and-a-half weeks, totally blowing my timeline, and seriously
damaging my sanity. But I have learned to roll with the punches.
I was out of town at a work conference so TK was staying at
the house to be the “adult in charge” for the weekend, and he basically never
left, which has been nice. He never gave me a move-in date, and for good
reason, I guess, considering the date I had in mind is two months in the past
and my son has yet to move into the basement bedroom. But I digress. In any
event, he was there while the sheetrock guys farted around and were supposed to
have been done, though they barely had gotten started by the time I had
returned. Sigh.
Two weeks after my return, I had taken a week of vacation to
work on painting and such, and they did not finish to halfway through my time
off. How frustrating was that??? Had I known, I would have postponed my
vacation, but there was nothing to be done, so again, I had to roll with it. So
my sister came to visit and I enjoyed my time off as much as possible.
Once they finished and left, I set about fixing the mistakes
they had made, and then got to work on setting cabinets, tiling the floor in
the wet bar, and laying the gym floor. Next came trim work, and then I built a
nook under the basement stairs. This is no ordinary nook, but a cute little
place for a respite, a bench/bed for reading or resting or whatever. I built it
while TK was at scout camp with his son, so no interruptions to distract me,
and I was done in about two hours. It is very cute, has handy storage
underneath, and is already a hit. A twin size futon mattress on top finishes it
off. Well, that and I still need to paint it, but then a few (dozen) pillows
and a blanket and it will be perfect!
I’ve spent the last few days caulking and painting in the bedroom
so my son can move in this week. I saw an article on Houzz about painting
interior doors black, and decided to paint his doors black, with his
permission. I have one done and it looks awesome, so the closet door is up
next. The trim will all be white, and is in the process of being painted, then I
need to get back in and touch up the wall paint, and then he can move in. I am
hoping for Thursday (it’s Tuesday now). His brother is home from college for a
few days, so he can help him move things down the two flights of stairs. And
then the youngest member can finally move her things into the abandoned bedroom
and call it her own. Then we will be done.
Well, almost. I will still need to caulk/paint the rest of
the trim in the basement, but that’s it! The carpet was installed last week,
and it looks amazing! And smells wonderful! Add the paint fumes to that, and it’s
just a joy to go downstairs! J
The sectional got moved down last night, so the college student has someplace
to crash, and TK brought over his flat screen and mounted it on the wall, so we
have a television finally, too. Now to finish off the wet bar with a fridge and
a microwave, and maybe some upper cabinets….
And that’s it. It’ll be done. It has been a LONG haul, but
oh so worthy it. One of DS2’s friends commented that the first time she saw the
basement there was nothing down there but two walls, and a table that they
played games at, as well as the usual basement storage stuff. And now look at
it…so much different. I am excited about pulling pics together to see the before/after.
THAT will be exciting! And here’s to starting a new chapter in our lives!
