A Drywall Frenzy

Last time I left off we had made such great progress and were ready for drywall.  Well, we kicked it into high gear and totally knocked out more drywall than I ever hope to see in the future.  It was something we thought about getting someone else to do, but in typical fashion, we knew we would save a boat load of money hanging the drywall ourselves ... so decided logic outweighed the crazy, or maybe that is the other way around.

In reality, we insulated and hung drywall in tandem - with me leading the insulation front and Hubs trailing slightly behind hanging drywall with my help as needed.  That is until we got to the ceiling part.  That my friends, was probably certifiable crazy - the two of us, with me on a ladder trying to hold up most of the drywall weight with Hubs on the other end using one hand to hold the drywall and the other to screw in the drywall.  Just imagine some bickering back and forth WHILE holding up drywall and then random uncontrollable laughter because we just realized, in fact, that we are crazy.

Anyway, let me break this down in photos for you, with progress by room:

Family Room

Laundry Room

Bathroom

Storage/Hubs' Room

Spare Room

Ring in the New Year

This seems like a good day to start a new year, a Monday, it only seems fitting.  I will say, the holiday season this year has been quite a whirlwind since both Christmas and New Year fell on a Wednesday.  Working all other days of the work week, it has put a twist on our normal celebrations.  Our 'holiday celebrations' didn't officially end till this past weekend when we got a chance to celebrate with Hubs parents.  So the Christmas tree is still up and good as ever.  I am thinking of keeping it that way for a couple more weeks ... shhh.  I love the holiday season, and apparently so does Grouper.

But, now that is is January 6th, I am pretty sure it is time to make some new resolutions for the year!  Looking back at 2013s (which I supposedly didn't post), I am pretty impressed with myself.  Lots of fantastic changes and accomplishments happened in 2013.  Now, drum-a-roll, 2014s:

1. House - Finish the Basement.  This goes without saying since this project has consumed us for about 6 months.  However we typically always have odds and ends left with most of our projects.  I am not saying it is going to be perfectly designed with nice accents and decor all decided, but the construction and heavy lifting part should totally be done done done.
2. Then Save Money - I feel that my paycheck goes to Home Depot right now.  So that is something we reallllly are going to make a priority this winter/spring.
3. Travel - Hoping to squeeze in a couple trips that require a plane to get there.  
4. Keep in touch with friends - It seems that time keeps speeding up.  Catch up with friends at least once a month.
5. Grow and develop my career - I have a fantastic new job so I want to keep learning and growing
6. Keep this blog up - I have been a major slacker on the blog, but love it.  I am pretty sure 2014 has lots of fun things in store for us and lots of house projects.  I really want to be proactive with writing posts and sharing insights and tips in lieu of my recent retroactive 'oh hey, look at alll this work we did'.

Six goals seems like plenty.  I'll cut it off there!

Basement Close-In

We are reaching that point ... close-in inspection is scheduled for Friday so, really, we are there!  Let me catch you up on progress in the basement.

1. Plumbing - We shifted the waste pipes for the shower and toilet.

That required chipping concrete, digging around the waste pipes, and adding/shifting the pipes.

Adding gravel back and pouring concrete.

Then pouring some leveling compound in the shower area to level our wonky concrete.  This will ensure our shower drains correctly.

Lets not stop there ... we had to modify the vanity waste pipes and hot and cold water supply.  We also added lines for a laundry sink (opposite the bathroom vanity)!

We bought our shower diverter and added hot and cold water supply off the lines to the washer machine.  I also was able to add a nice Grouper bath-time feature.  Basically an outdoor spigot that you can connect a hose too!

2. HVAC  - 

We finished insulating all the supply ductwork.  

Cutting in two registers for the family room.

And running ductwork for the bathroom (no picture ... oops).

3.  Carpentry - we added blocking in the laundry room and storage room.

And then ...

4. Drywall - we started one-siding interior walls.  The inspector needs to see all the rough-in, but he can still see all that jazz with one layer of drywall installed.  We got a little antsy for the next step, and also wanted to see if we had it in ourselves to install all that drywall.  Conclusion - Yes!

Family Room

Storage Room

Spare Room

Earth Shattering ... Or Not

Hubs worked on Saturday, which meant I had time to tinker and get little odds and ends done at the house.  One being this oh so difficult and time consuming project ... or not.  It was one so simple but always pushed to the back burner until I decided enough was enough.

Ladies and gents, behold some clean and paint free door glass (both horrible and quick iPhoto pics) ...

Before

After

Total Paint Re-do

I have mentioned it before, but I really want to re-paint the entire upstairs.  Not to mention that I will soon have to pick out a paint color for the basement.

After several too many hours spent googling the best greige-y colors out there and painting some samples on our dining room and bedroom walls here is what I have almost picked out.

1. Revere Pewter for the upstairs
2. Edgecomb Gray (a lighter version of Revere Pewter) for the basement

Revere Pewter

{via}

Edgecomb Gray

{via}

Basement Bathroom Inspiration

It is time to start nailing down finishes (I wish literally, but until then I gather inspiration).  I am going for what I like to call a 'modern rustic' theme for the basement.  

Googling that theme surprisingly brought up a plethora of photos I like!  If you want to get an idea of where my head is at, I rated the inspiration photos below by making them different sizes:

Large=Super Like

Medium=Like

Small=That's an idea

{via}

{via}

{via}

{via}

{via}

{via}

{via}

{via}

The Basement Craze

Since returning from our vacation, the past 2 weekends have been spent full force on the basement project.  We finally (I think) have made it to a turning point.  We can feel the progress, smell success, and know we are almost over that last hurdle.  Rough-in is so close to being done and then we are on to finishes!

Lots to catch you up on:

1)  I built that wall, all by myself, yup you heard it!

2)  We insulated the supply ductwork.

3)  Moved the water lines (which were in the middle of the room) over next to the ductwork.

4)  Ran new insulated flex duct for the rooms upstairs.

5)  Installed framing for a bulkhead to cover the return and supply ductwork as well as the water lines.

6)  Removed the metal track at all the door openings (still have to do this at the head of each door, but the bottom required a grinder and takes a little longer).

7)  Demolished part of the wall on the other side of the stair.  We demoed the wall from the metal stud to the left a few weeks earlier.

8)  Finished demoing drywall in the laundry room, installing lights, and building the last wall for the entrance into the laundry room.

A nice little status photo from the corner of the Family Room.  From right to left the rooms are Stair, Laundry Room, Bathroom, and Storage/Brew Room.

 Status photo of Laundry Room assembled back for use.

From right to left, Bathroom and Storage.  You may notice the nice bike rack on the wall to the left.  If we had to play musical chairs with those things one more time while working on the basement ... well, it may be the end of some bikes.  Got it from Home Depot (shocker) - it is made by Husky.

Status photo of Bathroom.

Status photo of Storage/Brew Room.

One end of the Family Room.

And the other end ... looking at our entertainment wall!

Say what!?  Of course, for a movie watching fanatic like myself an Entertainment Wall (in caps, that's right!) was a must.  Blocking and boxes for speakers, HDMI, a wall mount TV ... and whatever we can think of!

Looking at the 'Spare Room' (it isn't a bedroom per the permit).

And a little closer look (the walk-in closet which extends back and under the stairs is behind that piece of furniture.

And as always ... Hey Grouper!  What you up there for ...

Oh, hey there bud.