Live From the Basement...

99.5% Done...

2010-11-28T15:49:00.000-05:00

Well, after two, non-stop, weeks of work, work, work, we are about 99.5% finished. We just need to bang in some molding, finish up the bathroom and we're done...Amen! Haven't been able to blog in the last few weeks, so here's a few pics of the finishing work....

As you can see, everyone got into the work in the end...we needed to call in the big help to do the finishing work...So while we've been gone...we finished the compound and sanding on the walls, painted them, insulated the ceiling, and hung the pine on one side and drywall on the other side, then primed and painted them. We put down carpet on floor and stairs, installed three doors, built the electronics cabinet, and hung some trim...yup, it's been busy. Dad finished up the rest of the electrical work too. By the way, if anyone is looking for a cheap, easy and nice looking way to cover a ceiling, the tongue and groove pine planks available at Home Depot are great. It cost slightly more than a drop ceiling may have, but looks very nice. We put them in the first part of the basement project finished a year and a half ago, and they have really held up great, so we used them in half of this room as well. They really brighten up the room too(important in the basement). Here's a few pics of the in-progress work:

So now we actually have a room down here. We had friends over for Thanksgiving to enjoy it already too! In all, we've added about 600 sq feet of living space to the house, and another bathroom. It's necessary living space here at the Aspen Ranch, and a bedroom for guests as well. I'll probably blog a few more times here to update when we get the shower, cabinets and walls in the bathroom. But for now, I'm taking the day off basement work to watch the Giants by the fire in the basement! Here's some pics of the finished(almost) work, and maybe a video...Thanks for checking in....

See you next time from the basement...

Just call me Dusty...

2010-11-14T21:17:00.000-05:00

Yup... we spent the weekend taping, mudding, sanding, taping, mudding, sanding, then taping, then mudding...then sanding...over and over again. It took three coats, and I wasn't going to stop there, but thanks to some advice from Tom and Ed, we decided to prime it today to see if anything really stuck out at us. Turns out it looked pretty good when primed, so we stopped there. Dad came over again to help put up the drywall ceiling in the back of the room, and move a light into the closet. Here's the taped look before priming.

Priming made a big difference. We feel like we can really see the room coming together now. We're ready to paint , put in the front ceiling, insert some doors and do the finishing

work.

Quick blog this week...can't sit around typing when there's work to do....Off to the basement!

Lights...Drywall...ACTION!

2010-11-07T22:08:00.000-05:00

Busy weekend here in the basement! We want to get things done by Thanksgiving, so it was a working weekend. Dad came to put the outlets and the lights in. We decided to go with overhead recessed lighting. For some reason the 5 inch lights were cheaper than the 4 inch, so we went with the 5 inch. Plus, they came in a contractor's pack of six, and it's cool when you buy the contractor's pack of anything....so we did. We got the first set of lights in on Friday night. They were very cool. With the framing all finished, dad placed the outlets and switches were we wanted them and hooked them to hook up on Sunday. Saturday was sheetrockin day...ten hours of it! It was worth though. Check out how we decided to handle the furnace/water heater area above. Something different, but we hope it will look good with a mantle piece on top. Sunday...more Sheetrock! Dad came back to finish the outlets and the second set of overhead lights. By the end of the night...all the sheetrock was in and the outlets and lights are all on! Whoohoo!

Look at all the sheetrock!

                                       Here's our fun wall!

The construction crew at work....

The carpenter and the electrician..

                      The Hammer!!

                                         The (sheet)Rocker!

Check back next week for more updates!

Working Weekend

2010-10-17T22:00:00.000-04:00

Some good work this weekend. Two more walls up, and some thought towards the electric. Maybe we'll even figure out how to get lights in the back yard again? Here are some pics of this weekends work, along with some older pics of the first phase of work. The first room completed was the bedroom. That was about a year and a half ago.

Here's the pine we put on the ceiling.

Here's the finished bedroom...Goodnight...

Here's some pics of today's work on the family room, and the bathroom which is still underway...

This corner will someday have a tv and a fireplace.

Here's the thinking spot...

This artwork will soon be replaced by a shower.

Today's project

2010-10-16T12:44:00.001-04:00

Walls and the corner today...fireplace?

2010-10-16T12:32:00.001-04:00

Does this work?

Welcome

2010-10-16T12:02:00.000-04:00

Hello All,
This is the spot where I plan to keep updates of my basement project. There are two reasons for this: One reason is to keep a record of my work for friends and family to see. The second is to keep me moving. I have been working on this project for(what seems like)ever now, and it's time to get it done....I'll post more today...