A month of my life is missing because it was spent in the Basement

Its been pretty crazy around these parts over the past month.  There was no life that existed beyond the basement.  7 days a week and all free time (aka after work and each weekend) was devoted to working on the basement.

There is so much to catch up on.  Lets start from my last post on 1/20.  Sounds logical. (I'll forewarn you, they are all iPhone pics, which aren't the best, but when you are in the middle of painting whipping out the nice camera isn't that easy) ...

First, floor tile.  We ordered this fabulous montauck black slate tile in 12x24 pieces.  You won't see it here, but the grout color is charcoal.

Then, wall tile.  I had my heart set on subway tile, which luckily doesn't break the bank.  Except, that we decided to tile more than just the shower.  I went with a light gray grout, one because I think it looks cool and two it hides the dirt and grime.

Then there came the paint.  This was probably the one thing Hubs and I didn't initially agree one - I wanted more gray, he wanted more beige.  So I picked out every type of gray, tan, beige, greige color known to mankind.  Surprisingly though, we both narrowed it down in like 5 minutes and picked a color - BMs Annapolis Gray.  I already had my mind set on an accent color - BM's Hale Navy.

Our top three are on the left side, and in the pic below

Didn't get an action shot of the vinyl going in Hubs room, but it looks pretty awesome!

Occupancy sensors were a must in the Storage and Laundry Rooms

A Hale Navy ceiling in the bathroom ... a nice twist

We built some stairs,

And then, finally, finished up with some carpet! (don't mind the mess, we are still unpacking and organizing)

Shut the Door!

No rest for the weary.  We are still movin' and shakin' down in the basement.  Here is what has happened in only one week.

1. Door deliver on Monday
2. Install doors Tuesday - Friday
3. Drywall finishers returned to sand Sunday
4. Pick-up primer and paint Saturday.  Primed everything on Sunday except for Hubs'/Storage Room and the Bathroom.
5. Picked up our slate tile on Sunday.

And here is the status of each room, with a little more info.  Everything came from Home Depot by the way.

1.  Doors - we chose solid wood shaker style doors made by Jeld-Wen.  They match our doors upstairs, plus we love the style.  Hubs and I both had "strong"" opinions as to how a door should be hung.  Luckily we only had a few to get through, with the help of these instructions.

The first door we set

We need to figure out a way to finish all the door headers due to our low ceilings.

The louvered door is to the mechanical room.

2. The drywall finishers sanded and sanded and sanded.  I only have pics of the bathroom and storage room ... because I was lazy.

3.  Primed the walls.  We used Behr Premium Drywall primer.

 4.  And, our tile! - it is 12"x24" Montauk Black Slate Tile.  And I am in love!

Lets Finish

Unfortunately, that doesn't mean that the basement is complete.  It does, however, mean that the finishers came this past weekend to tape, block, and skim the drywall!  Say what?  You hired someone else to do a little basement work?  Yes, we did.  Drywall finishing is quite an art.  Those that know how to do it can work some miracles!

So, Hubs lined up some great 'artists' (I believe they earn that distinction) ... and wa la.  Where did the miracle happen - well, they were able to completely hide to exposed copper lines, one in the bathroom and the other in the laundry room.

Since then, we have been busy every-single-night after work hanging doors (more to come).  We cut it short tonight so I could finally post an update here.  The guys are back on Saturday to sand the walls, and then we may just be ready for PAINT!  So much easier than hauling and holding 4x8 sheets of drywall over your head.

Stay posted for more ... hopefully in a couple of days, not a couple of weeks.

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