From Studs to Mud

We actually started the finish work in the basement by tearing out the original work the builder did in 2008.  The picture at left shows the original hallway leading into the bathroom and a closet on the left.  It was a horrible waste of space and all sorts of doors would meet in the one corner.  We brought out the hammers and actually went to get a pry bar.  I only know one type of bar and that wasn't it.  We tore out the pocket door on the right, built a wall in the bathroom and turned the closet around so it is now in Steve's "soon to be" new office.  I love building stuff and have often said that if I wasn't so lazy I would have been a builder.  We had a great time building the new wall but tearing out the old was kind of a pain.  You will see shortly how beautifully our new wall turned out.  The scary part was when Steve got out the nailer to attach the bottom board to the cement floor.  We'd done this before and I didn't like it then.  Steve found the nailer but could not find the bullets.  Finally he found the bullets and loaded up the nailer and got ready to fire the nail through the board and into the cement.  His first attempt didn't seem to want to work so he lifted up the gun and said, "I don't think I have the bullet in right."  After he said that I took refuge under the steps until it was over.  It makes a horrible pop and then you smell the gun powder.  Seeing how well our luck has gone over the last few months I could see the headline in the paper, "bus owner takes cement nail to the forehead".  What a headline.  Sad part is, people would expect something like this from the Lavern and Shirley of home construction.

The builders framed in the rooms when the house was built in 2008 and being ever so patient, I wanted to get the rooms done sooner than now but we're getting there.  We started by insulating which was an itchy job.  Everyone knows you're supposed to wear gloves and other gear when you install insulation but Steve and I didn't seem to see that instruction on the packages we bought.  Must have been a defect.  We cut, stuffed and scratched.  It wasn't really a difficult job but a very slow one and I have a very limited amount of patience for stuff like this.  I just wanted it to be done.  It was actually a work in progress as we started it before we went to Florida for the winter and finished it several weeks ago. 

On the way home from Florida Steve and I thought for sure we could do the drywall work ourselves as long as the sheets were delivered to the house so we didn't have to carry it downstairs.  Considering the slight side trip we took to Rockford, we came to the conclusion that if we wanted to do this work we'd have to get someone to hang the drywall.  Being ever so cheap, we got the quote and decided not to have them prime the walls when they were sprayed with the texture.  Bad, bad thing.  It took forever to prime all those walls.  I did part of a closet and my feel hurt so I quit.  Short attention span.  One day I went downstairs to check on Steve's progress and he was tackling the family room priming.  I knew that chances of getting this all done before returning to our slow agonizing march toward death, I picked up a roller and did the lower parts while he did the top. It went very well and we actually made very good time.  You can see above what it looked like before and after.  A job I wouldn't want to do again anytime soon. 

Shown to the right is our pride and joy, our new closet.  It used to be a hallway and as you can see, our expert construction skills turned that into a usable space where Steve can store papers, toners, and all sorts of office stuff.  He does have another closet in the room but it is a very odd shape and you really can't do much with it.  We just thought we'd throw this in for kicks so Steve could use his nail gun in the closet that I primed until my feet got sore and I just had to stop.  Go figure.

Steve finally got to add some color to his future office.  The tan color went well with only two coats, the burnt orange we used on the back wall took three coats and then a fourth with the same color with primer in it.  It looks very orange when you put it on the wall but as it dries it's much darker and less orange.  It's very odd.  The wall and ceiling to Steve's right will be orange and the rest tan.  It really does look nice.  In the bathroom next door we changed the colors around and painted the orange in the bathroom and the tan on the wall behind the mirror and toilet.   I am very excited about putting in the toilet and vanity. 

As you can see to the right, this is the orange color that he painted four coats.  He is quite the perfectionist so everything had to be just right.  The office is now completely painted and ready for the wood floors.  After that we will hang white doors and wide trim and get Steve settled in his new crib.  Once he's downstairs we will turn the room above the garage into a sitting room with a sofa sleeper sectional, desk and a great television with surround sound.  We will repaint that to match a picture we saw of a room done by Candice Olsen.   We're getting there.

Today we went and picked up the wood flooring and ordered the grids to hang the ceiling in the family room.  We need to get that up so we can have the electrician come back and finish his job.  With a $2700 quote from the HVAC guy, we are going to have the electric man put in baseboard heaters in the family room and bath.  It's not quite what we wanted but it's much more cost effective.  Unfortunately we have to get the ceiling up before the electric man will come back. 

We've also decided against a glass block bar because of the room it would take up not allowing us to use our pool table again.  We have another idea that will be straight forward and will contain a climate controlled wine refrigerator and a matching beverage frig.  It will look very nice.  We're making slow progress but we're getting there.  Steve will finish the bathroom tomorrow so we can start to work in the family room.  We want to get it all painted before we put the ceiling up in order to save on edging.  Laying the floor and hanging the ceiling are tasks I enjoy, watching paint dry is not my thing.  Stay tuned for better pictures when the rooms are dried and the colors are more true to the colors we selected.