Thank you Amy for kicking me back into action. We've been a little extra busy around here, and the lack of perceived progress on the basement made me hesitant to post the next phase. In my brain it wasn't done. But actually, phase 2 IS done, and wallboard gets to be it's own phase. I'm glad I finally downloaded some pictures - forward progress is being made, despite lame renters! The extra time has actually been good, allowing us to really think about what we want and add things we didn't initially plan on - things that are a lot easier to change now BEFORE wallboard is up and taped!
Roger rented a framing nail gun for most of the framing, but it had to be returned before everything got framed. This allowed our handy helpers to all be a part of the framing. Alex puts on his 'Mouse-ka-zoomer' to get those screws in, while Roger provides a little bit of extra muscle.
Dad/Opa helped a TON with the wiring. Of course, now there are plenty of outlets and plugs to be wired if anyone is interested in a trip to sunny CO! We wired the area next to the stairs for a future kitchen. I think Roger is most excited about the 12,000 channel sound system he wired down there
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The kids are now more of a fan of the Pink Panther than I am! Luckily my contractor reminded me of the importance of long sleeves, so the itching from all the insulation didn't last too long. The kids made good runners, and Alex had fun standing on the board I used as a straight edge. It's amazing what a difference the insulation makes. Even though it's still open to the garage, the basement is a ton warmer - it's only heated by the boiler room, which is plenty.
Here's a peek at the back bedrooms. The top pictures are of Katie's - and my - new craft room. We moved the doorway so now you enter the room straight off the hall, and flipped the closet over to the wall next to the boiler room. It's deeper than usual, and there's now a linen closet on the left side that will be accessed from the hall. The bottom pictures are of the guest room. I had to get in a picture of one of the few things that didn't get changed. One wall that doesn't have to be taped!
Another favorite: 2 days after they finally were out (just 5 days after they said they would be) the calls about when they would get their deposit back started. Somehow they were under the impression that although they still owed us some rent and they left more pet damaged carpet than I've even seen, I would be returning their deposit to them. People are awesome! When I get totally frustrated by their shenanigans, I go sit in 'mom's blue truck' and calm back down again. I'm SOO glad I remembered to put that in the stipulations from court visit #1!
So, instead of working on our basement we spent Feb putting Humpty Dumpty back together again. We finished cleaning and rehanging all the doors on Monday. To celebrate, we started work on phase 3:
I forgot to take a before picture of the kitchen. Where there once was a wall between the kitchen and the stairwell (on the side of the dishwasher; right where Roger is standing in the picture on the right) and between the garage and the kitchen, there is now a big hole. Fortunately, plastic sheeting is actually not a bad insulator. Last night we put on part of the subfloor and moved the washing machine into its new home. The laundry area is now on the outer wall - allowing the dryer to finally vent correctly to the outside. The area where the washer used to be (where the electrical panel is) will be a little mud room. HOORAY for more space!!
