So if you can see past ALL that clutter, it's a pretty large space! Our vision is to turn this space into 5 useful areas. First, a room that can be utilized as a kids play area or a spare bedroom. Second, a bar area with a sink, bar stools, table and chairs and tile floor. Third, a half bathroom with built in shelving. Fourth, a theater area with couches, tv, built-in bookshelves and surround sound. Last, a storage area.
In order to achieve this, que my amazing handyman father! He came over on Saturday to start this adventure. And the first steps were to find the pipes under the concrete and dig it up so plumbing can be run for the bar sink and bathroom. Sounds easy enough. Boy were we WRONG! This was HARD work! My dad, myself and my hardworking husband spent 7 hours sawing concrete, jack hammering up concrete, carrying about 1000 lbs of concrete up a flight of stairs over and over again and digging up gravel. Needless to say I can barely move today. I wish that I would have taken some pictures of the concrete sawing, jack hammering and concrete carrying but frankly I was worn out! So all I got we're pictures once it was all done, and your lucky I got that much!
Above is the pipe that is going to feed the bathroom.
Above is the pipe that will feed the bar sink.
Another shot of the hole dug for the bar sink.
The bar area will be on the back wall there with a table and chairs area in front
Another before shot.
This area will be the theater area. The area behind the lovely plastic hanging on the back wall there will be storage.
This will be the where the bathroom will go. As well as a little more storage under the stairs.
"Before" stairs shot.
This is going to be the spare room/kids play area.
More holes, it doesn't look like much but it was SUCH HARD WORK!
A big "before shot of basically the whole basement. (I obviously didn't know a picture was being taken!)
So the adventure begins. Although it was exhausting work, I know it will pay off in the end and our bank accounts are thanking us for doing it DIY (even if our backs aren't) because god only knows what someone charges to do all that labor! If it were up to me, it would be ALOT! The next step is going to be actually running the plumbing, which my dad is doing himself. Then we will need to have an HVAC guy run a couple air returns to feed the basement as well as move our A/C line that is not in the correct place. Luckily, our basement is fairly temperature controlled on its own and we won't need many returns! Unfortunately, that is something we cannot DIY so fingers crossed it won't be a large hit to the budget.
Speaking of budget, although we have in our mind a certain idea of what this renovation might cost, honestly we have no idea. We are going to be taking this slowly and working with what we can. We will stop when the money stops and start back up when we replenish the funds! I will keep you posted on the cost of each step as well as total cost as I post.
Concrete sawing/jack hammering: Free (my dad's friend that lent him the jack hammer and concrete saw) all labor was done by us!
Total Spent: $0
Advice for those about to take this on: Do not do this if you have a bad back, shoulders, arms, knees, legs...etc. It is EXTREMELY hard work. I did nothing but carry a small bucket of concrete up and down flights of stairs and I am extremely sore. The two strong, in shape men were sawing concrete, running a jack hammer, busting up concrete, and carrying a much larger bucket of concrete up those stairs. Also, make sure to cover anything you don't want to get dusty, have good ventilation (open windows, use fans), wear masks and safety glasses and shut any doors to the upstairs to contain the dust. I made the mistake of leaving the basement door open for even a couple minutes and I have an entire house full of concrete dust now that I must clean (yay...)
I am not a professional and all my advice and tips are purely from my own experiences.
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