Finished Basement

We've been talking about finishing our basement for a year plus. It finally happened. Once we decided to move forward with finishing it, it was a quick process. Once I set my mind on something, I'm pretty determined to get it done. We learned a lot throughout the process and are so glad it's done. (Although, it seems like the word done has taken on a whole new meaning.) The most important, big things are done, but small things keep cropping up. (For example, we are waiting for a powerful window cleaner to be delivered for the basement windows.) I really appreciate Andrew throughout this process. He worked on the basement after coming home from work almost every night. $2,478.95 spent, 11 gallons of paint later, and countless late nights/hours spent down in the basement. The result-- a play space for James! He's thrilled.

WHAT WE DID...
Finish the family room in the basement. (Not the entire basement.) It sounds so simple. It wasn't. The basement was such a mess. Yuck.

WHAT THIS PROJECT ENTAILED....

-Replacing the bottom foot of the drywall in a few areas. (It was torn out due to flooding.)

-Lots of mudding and sanding... 3 layers worth

-New baseboards in the flooded section. We were able to find the exact same baseboard at Home Depot!

-New trim around the closet and the furnace door... The trim is not identical to the old trim which is too bad. It still looks good though.

-Painting. The basement walls guzzled up so much paint. The walls were a tanish color before and now they are white. Also, the walls are a bit textured. Originally, we were going to sand them down. We decided to skip that step and I think it was a good move. In addition to painting the walls white, we also painted the baseboards, ceiling, railing for the stairs, closets, and doors. It was a lot!

-New closet doors! One of the previous closet doors was missing. (I think it was damaged in the flood?) We had to buy 2 new ones, so they matched. 

-New light fixture for the stairs. And guess what? It's already broken. It fell down and survived the fall just fine. It did not survive James playing with it though.

-Carpet! It looks fantastic! I feel like pictures are deceitful with the actual color. It's not gross brown like our carpet upstairs.

-New blinds.

-New switch plates for the lights and other electrical outlets. The old ones were a yucky, faded yellow.

-New shelving mounts to make the closet shelves sturdier. (Still waiting for these to arrive in the mail.)

HELP!

-We are not experts by any means. Someone in our ward (Brady Merrell) helped Andrew with the first layer of drywall which then made it possible for Andrew to continue the other layers confidently on his own. 

-My parents! My dad did the baseboards and trim which was challenging. We so appreciate it. In order to do the baseboards, my dad purchased a mighter box. I had never heard this term before. My mom watched the kids while we painted and having them out of the way was incredible. 

PICTURES...

So many trips to Home Depot. I'm not eager to head back.

We couldn't have done this project without the van. (Notice the drywall strapped on top.) Also, we can take out seats which was helpful.

(Still waiting for the new closet knobs to arrive in the mail)

WHAT'S NEXT?

We finished the basement knowing that it would benefit us no matter what. We are considering moving to a home with a fenced backyard. We thought finishing the basement and fixing the flood damage would ensure that we sell our home fast and make even more money. If we don't end up moving, it is a perfect play space for James. If we stay, we will buy some furniture and organizational shelving for the basement. Right now we are kind of in limbo. Wish us luck with this decision. It hasn't been an easy one.