Project: Finish The Basement

Today we began the great big task of finishing our basement. We knew we were going to get at it, we just needed a break after the kitchen remodel. It was A LOT of work. We did it all ourselves. Hurrah for sweat equity.

The basement. Roughly 375 square feet of valuable living space. I have grand plans for the basement once it is complete, at which point - in all its complete glory, it will then become the family room. I have visions of sand colored walls, with perhaps a merlot accent wall. We already have the entertainment center, the couch, and the all-important 40" TV. Oh yes. And it's ready to be hooked up to its HD box. I foresee many splendid hours of pure brain-turn-to-mush tv watching ahead. God bless the box.

The goal is to get the basement/family room completed before the parental units fly in from California for the holiday. Read: December 22. That gives us approximately 4 months. I have complete faith in our ability to hit our target. Much of the work upfront, I don't have my hands on. It's up to Big Red to get it done. I take over in the prime/paint/finishing department. Think of Big Red as the one who redoes the engine and the frame of a car, and I'm the one who paints and puts the upholstery/trim together. It works.

This weekend we'll accomplish the following:

1. Removal of old wood firring strips.

2. Removal of leftover paneling.

3. Removal of rusty nails in cinder block.

4. Etching and patching the cinder block.

5. Painting on the ever-important Drylock.

Plenty 'o work for our first weekend. I thought I'd include a picture of our honorary contractor, Olive. Here's to happy home ownership and DIY-ing it.