We officially finished the remodeling portion of our basement area over the weekend. Rachel, Taylor and I applied the epoxy basement floor coating on Friday night. It required 24 hours to fully cure, so by the time her family arrived on Sunday we were able to give the first full tour of our proud accomplishment.
Here is what the space looked like when we purchased this place. It was dark, dingy and uninviting.
Until now, we mainly used the space as a place to “put stuff.” We didn’t use or utilize it for any meaningful purpose. We knew the time would come when we would have to use it, and that time came quickly.
One issue that we weren’t sure about was if we had any structural issues. The downstairs would get water when it rained heavily. The first step was to take out all the old paneling and carpet and get the space down to its bones. To our luck, there were no visible issues. We corrected a majority of the water issues with a repair to the gutters.
We had many decisions to make, all of which were extremely difficult. We needed to decide what to cover the walls and floor with, whether or not to install new cable and phone lines. Many of these decisions brought on major arguments-in which we were able to bring to the surface any issues we had with each option.
In the end we decided to go with new paneling, an epoxy basement floor coating, and to add some electrical outlets and completely rewire our homes phone and cable lines. We decided to add a wired LAN as well.
The only step left is to connect all the new phone, cable and LAN wires, which I plan on doing this week. I will then officially move my office to a space we have dedicated for that purpose.
The other area, which I am calling the “Den” we have purchased and placed 2 futons and added an area rug. We needed a space for guests to stay, and this space is perfect.
We did not remodel our fireplace, as all aspects of fireplaces are very expensive. The things I want to do are not major, but are expensive. I hope to have that complete within a couple of years. There’s nothing more comfortable and calming to me than laying by a fire listening to music or reading.
I now have a bedroom to remodel for our growing arrival, baby girl Lawmaster!