I think this has been the slowest remodel ever but at least we are making progress. The first few months were full of permit issues that I'll skip over because 1) It's been a while and I don't remember details now and 2) It had to do with sewage and unlike other bloggers that do polls and request feedback about topics, I'm just gonna assume you feel similar to me in that sewage is just not that interesting. But we did get all the communications communicated and finally got that precious piece of paper to hang in our window!
Next up foam insulation and then was framing/re-framing. Craig worked on this pretty much all by himself and it wasn't easy because the room with most of the work has a vent that leads right up the air vent next to Lucy's bed. She's a pretty sound sleeper (remember, she slept through our whole kitchen remodel demo!) but any sawing or hammering basically sounded like it was happening 3 inches from her head. So he worked in 30-45 minutes sessions after he came home from work. But he got it done!
After that, things have been pretty speedy - at least once we made some decisions. We're working on two rooms, the main one with the egress window had major layout changes so it was reframed completely. The other just had the closet removed to make more space for first room. I was torn about whether to take down the wood paneling and put up drywall but in the end decided that we could just patch the closet opening with the wood paneling we had taken down elsewhere and paint it. This will save us quite a bit of money and work. Yah!
But then I decided that we should go ahead and replace the ceiling. The previous owners had used thinner drywall than they should have and it was sagging and the seams where showing. And since we were taking down the ceiling, we should update the lights while it was open and we were having other electrical work. No more boob light! But this is costing us money and work. Boo!
Actually not boo. I'm really glad we made that decision because when we Craig opened up the ceiling, he found a lot of electrician issues. I'm pretty sure you don't have to have even my limited electrical background to realize that this is not what you want to find in your ceiling!
But the electricians came and added some can lights and outlets in both rooms, we passed our first inspection and have added the rest of the insulation. And while we were waiting for a chance to fit the drywall installers into our schedule, we went ahead and painted the wood paneling. I'm really glad I stuck with it, it looks awesome!
But the big news is that the drywall people started yesterday. So we are well on our way to ceilings and walls and finally finishing up this basement. So maybe I'll be back with an update (and pictures?) in less than 6 months.
All remodeling seems like it takes forever. And then it's done and it's awesome and you live happily ever after.
ReplyDeleteOK, maybe not. But almost. ;)