Current Basement Updates, Dec 7, 2007...

With the early completion of the Speedster rolling chassis, focus has shifted to the basement once again. This time we will complete the project.

Things started with a load of drywall (40 sheets) my dad helped me pickup and carry into the basement. Many loose ends needed to be tied up too, including rerouting some low voltage wiring, jacking up and supporting our back room with a 2x6 supporting wall, and in a classic case of scope creep, a complete replacement of the stairs to the basement...

There are captions below the pictures: I'm pretty sure this put Bob's back out for a good week or so...
A typical image of where I started with this latest round of renos.
This the the 2x6 supporting wall I built to support the kitchen back in 2006...

This image (barely) shows the supporting wall under Ashley's room and our new organized storage.

Me measuring for the first piece of drywall...

Once the new stairs were built it made sense to get rid of the doorway going downstairs and leave it open concept.

Pretty neat, eh?
Here's the current state, ready for drywall compound and tape.

At long last the "pool" light I found at the dump has been installed!

Here's a shot of the bathroom with the new light fixture temporarily installed.
The washer and dryer are functional for now, just not in place.
A little more cupboard space......really just hiding that air conditioner pipe.
Another door...

...for access to the water meter in the bathroom.
A really big door...
...hiding the circuit box. Yes, I know, the cover isn't installed and the wires aren't stapled down. one thing at time!
This looks complicated, but I removed some bricks and concrete, then made some filling strips to allow the basement ceiling to extend to the landing at the bottom of the stairs, where it raises a few inches...
Here Cole is enjoying the new, full width stairs.

Basement Time Machine - Preliminary Work January 2006

It was nearly two years ago that Vanessa and I decided to begin renovating the basement. This meant removing the remaining "finished" basement from the previous owners and starting from scratch.
Along the way some additions and improvements were in order. As you can see from the pictures below, I smashed up the floor, cut the original cast iron piping, and roughed in a bathroom as well as relocated the main floor drain, and added a gravity drain for the condensate and excess water from the a/c and humidifier in the furnace room (which wasn't built yet)...

Next I jacked up the house and replaced the rotten 4x4 and brick supports with proper steel teleposts. I also removed the 4x4 supports under the original basement stairs (they carried the load of about 6 floor joists from the kitchen) with a 2x6 supporting wall.

The images should explain the rest...

Basement Entertainment Centre Build

Part of the basement renovations include a custom fireplace / entertainment centre built right into the wall. Our recent score of my parents old kitchen cabinet doors changed this project from the cheap run-of-the-mill melamine assembly I had envisioned into the much more solid, oak unit you see below. Check out the pictures and captions below for details!

Here's the initial layout of the cabinet doors. This is the basic shape I had in mind. I took the necessary measurements then came up with a 2x4 structure to support the middle shelf and give shape to the unit. I later found some great oak plywood at Home Depot and had it mostly cut to size on their panel saw.

This is the heater from the fireplace insert I scored for only $18 of my own money. Unfortunately the heater didn't work, and due to the way I obtained the unit I had no way of returning it. Thus, I fixed it once, but its operation was still spotty. Then, remembering something I saw recently at Princess Auto, I relaxed!

Here's the $14.99 Princess Auto heater unit. It was clearly made for a very similar application as it was the perfect size. I modified the mounts and changed the wiring in the fireplace to activate both the fan and heat element from its built-in thermostat. Works like a charm!

Here's the fireplace in its new home. A new circuit runs through the wall and into the cavity behind the fireplace. A powerbar will also plug in here for the TV.

Here's a look at the lower half of the entertainment centre. The fireplace is in place. The bottom three doors are fixed. The top two open to reveal storage cabinets. The TV area is all oak, as are the sides of the unit.

A last minute thought while I was in the basement was to integrate one of my Ebay-sourced Schmidt's Beer signs into the entertainment centre. Here I've marked out one of the doors for some cuts, allowing 3/8" around the sign for a frame.

You can see the 3/8" thick solid oak strips I ripped on the table saw. I mitred them to make a frame for the sign.

Here the frame is in place (I glued and brad-nailed it in place shortly after).

Here's the sign, plugged in, in place. I'm happy with this decision!

And the final picture... Removable oak strips have framed the fireplace. Cut down drawer fronts and the modified "Schmidt's Beer" frame grace the top of the unit. I allowed for the thickness of the drywall as I sized the unit. Even though the unit is level and mostly square, the floor below and above aren't, so a cove moulding will be used to finish wherever oak meets drywall. The Schmidt's Beer sign panel is removable as well, obviously the sign isn't in place in this picture. It will need to be stained and varnished to match the cabinet doors, but this won't be until the walls and ceiling are in place. Besides, that's Vanessa's department, not mine!!!

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