Lover of this life: progress

Bill and I opted to stay in town this weekend after rain was predicted. The goal this weekend was to finish the new basement bedroom so we can use it for storage to finish the rest of the basement. The bigger goal is to finish the entire basement so we will have a cool and comfortable place to hang out this summer. We can have a nice place for out of town family and friends. We are not in a rush to get downstairs tenants. We do want to have the place ready though in case we need extra cash in the future.

There is a lot to do still! We need to fir out a wall in the kitchen, drywall and tile it. The entire basement needs some paint and the floors are a mess. I started working on them this weekend and they will require a ton of manual labor. I like manual labor though. There is something therapeutic about having a goal that you can achieve without having to talk to someone. Manual labor is great! You can work on it without hearing about something disturbing that will make your job more difficult, and when you leave the basement, it doesn't go upstairs with you! Too bad I'm not terribly proficient at manual labor. Maybe in my next life?

Despite the fact that the basement project has taken for--ever, I'm actually super proud of the progress. In just the little bedroom, several things have changed. The closet wall and door have been completely demoed and rebuilt; the electrical has been expanded and the old fluorescent light that was grounded on a 2 x 4 has now been patched up and relocated to the middle of the room; a new window has been installed; some crazy outdoor siding and a useless shelf have been removed and replaced with fresh drywall; and now the walls have been primed and painted a nice warm color. Now we need to prepare the floor for carpet(which I already have) and hang the trim, and then we are DONE! Despite the fact that this room is just a small part of the entire basement, this room feels like a success. It is actually where most of the structural work has been done. I need to give props to my neighbor Jeff who is a drywall master and did work for a very reasonable price last summer.

Here are a few pictures of the 'old' room.

This was the tiny closet that seemed only suitable for a few books and a laundry basket. Please notice the exposed handy work above it? They had shimmied all kinds of crap around the frame??

Here is the outdoor siding, useless built in shelf and the light that should have burnt down the house a long time ago. I guess my Karma isn't so bad after all?

They had these old craft cabinets that were sitting on old bricks. That is also the old window that was sealed from the outside, leaving NO outdoor light in this room. It should be noted that this room used to be haven for spiders!!