Monday, August 07, 2006

A work in progress

I live in a 1912 house in the inner city. When we moved in here we had a workshop in our basement with a dirt floor. It must have been there since 1912 because it was saturated with coal dust. I thoguht it would be fun to share the journey of my basement. I am in the process of building a room for my 8 year old son.
In the first year I tore apart the workshop and pulled up the floor. (it was filled with wood and carpet). I then cleaned it up an left it for about a year.
Last Spring I hauled in 2 yards of rock and sand and started the daunting task of filling in the floor. 16 hours of hauling sand and rock in 5 gallon pails then mixing it in the basement I had the floor finished. Granted I could hardly stand straight.
In the fall of last year I rented a hammer drill from Home Depot and knocked out a hole in my basement for a window. Then in November my dad came down and we started to frame the room.
Due to finances I had to put the job on hold.
In June I decided to take the plunge and get it done. I rented the hammer drill again so that I could move the dryer vent to a better location as the dryer was in the room. I re routed the dryer wire, then built the subfloor. Next came the insualtion and shelving.
I am happy to say that tonight I finished my first coat of drywall mud. By Friday I should be able to begin painting it. Then all I have left is the floor, ceiling tile and baseboards then he should be able to move in there.
He has already picked out his colours. Blue and red (the official colours of the Vancouver canucks)
It has been a lot of fun trying new things out.

Since moving into this house I have learned how to:
- replace toilets
- repair stoves (Thanks Jeff)
- plumb bathtubs
- rewire dryers
- cut out holes in foundation walls
- install new windows
- install new wiring

I wish I could have posted the drastic changes there has been to the basement. It is amazing. After my sons room I am building a games room for my kids to play their gamecube and watch movies, and extra places to play.

2 comments:

Trail Rider said...

you guys should be proud of the home you've made there!

You've done alot witht the house.
I think God has done alot in your life with using the house as a tool.

Keep it up!

Nin said...

wow! I had no idea you did that much work in the basement! Good job!! We might be asking you questions, now that we know you're so handy :)