Basement Drywalled

They finished on Friday. The end of this project is in sight.

Basement Progress

There's been quite a bit of progress on the basement project since the last time I posted. Everything is framed up and the flooring has been installed, but it is currently covered up to protect it for the drywall install. Here is how it looked last week before they covered it up. We ended up choosing Lifeproof Rigid Core Luxury Vinyl Flooring in the Georgia Clay color; it is basically a waterproof plastic flooring that looks like wood and it should be able to survive if we have some water infiltration again.

Tim and Tony took off last Friday while they waited for the electricians then they all returned to the job on Monday morning. The electricians have been here all week and I think they're nearly finished. We decided to get a new electrical panel installed because our older panels are really quite full. It was installed in our front storage area and will provide service for all the new electrical in the basement. They also put in a new charging unit for Jeff's plug-in hybrid vehicle.

This week, Tim installed the family room wainscoting so it would be easier to locate the power boxes in the middle of the panels. We're just using douglas fir plywood for wainscoting because it was relatively affordable (compared to lumber). This is the only room that will have wainscoting; the rest of the basement will be finished with drywall.

It's exciting, this room is going to be so nice.

All Framed Up

On Friday, Tim and Tony mostly finished installing the steel framing. I think they kept back a few pieces until after the electrician makes an appearance. 

This is our closet area in the center of the space.

And this is the family room area.

I think Tim is going to work on the seismic upgrades on Monday. Apparently, the framing was more fun, so he worked on that part first. LOL

Steel Framing

Tim and Tony spent the day putting in the steel framing.

I think they're about halfway done now.

Basement Subfloor

Tim has returned to the job. On Monday he and Tony finished clearing the floor and then primed over the paint. Then, yesterday they started pouring cement. I have to be honest, I'm not exactly sure if they used regular cement or something special to level the floor. The floor still has an overall slope, but it is flat enough to put down flooring.

The coating was dry by the morning of Day 3.

Then they started putting down DRICORE subfloor panels. They're really neat panels and are ideal for the basement as there is an air gap under them so if we have water infiltration again, they should be able to survive the encounter.

Tim Austin on the left and his employee, Tony.

They mostly had all the subfloor installed by the end of today.

I think tomorrow they're going to start putting in seismic bracing.

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas everyone! We hope you have a safe and happy holiday. We don't have any lovely glamour shots this year because we didn't manage to get any decorations up because we were spending our time sifting and cleaning out the basement for the last several weeks and our main floor is such a mess from stuff moving upstairs. So, this year, we won't be doing anything beyond having a nice meal to celebrate.

Tim and his assistant, Tony, spent the last couple of days doing demo and the basement is ready for the next step. Unfortunately, the permits on Tim's other job finally came through so he is going to disappear for the next couple of weeks, so it will be a while yet before we see any progress.

The ceiling was a big mess to demo. It was full of rock wool and cardboard and Tim said was quite a pain to cleanout but we needed the ceiling cleared so we can install LOTS of can lights. I am determined that this space will not feel like a dungeon anymore.

Jeff got a job at Intel (again) and he'll be starting on January 24. He hasn't had a job since 2010, so it will be a bit of an adjustment as we figure out our new daily routines. Ack, I will have to start doing some cooking again. Though, it will definitely be nice to have an income; I predict much more traveling in our future!

Basement Ready!

It has been a very long time since the basement has been this empty! It's been a long haul, but we made it in time for Tim to start on Monday. 

That last pile of stuff is trash and recycling

If we can get the chair out of the basement in one piece,
we have a nice couple who will happily take it for us.

Also, with our current streak of appliance bad luck, our tankless water heater decided to die on Friday, so we haven't had hot water all weekend. Tim said he has experience putting in the instant hot units so we are hoping they are available. I don't know what we'll do if they're also impossible to get now because of the chip shortage.