Let the Basement Begin!

After living in our home for 8 years, we are finally ready to start the massive project that is finishing the basement. We have tackled projects like building a deck, building a 2-wall desk for our office, landscaping (twice!), building a shed, expanding our backyard and building a playset for our son. If we can accomplish all of those projects (and more) in the last 8 years, we should be ready to take on the basement. 

Yesterday was a big day for the basement. The plans have been approved, permits are in hand and a load of lumber appeared in the basement last night. It’s official, we are doing this and the construction is in process at this moment. Any bets on how many months this project takes us??

I can’t believe I am going to post these extremely embarrassing pictures of our disastrous basement, but in an effort to be real, this is where we were a few weeks ago in the middle of organizing the basement and preparing for construction.

Lots of junk, right??

All I can say is WOW, we have a lot of stuff piled all over down there…..

I am pleased to say that we have dealt with a LOT of that stuff. Some of it has been moved to be stored in other locations, some has been taken to a consignment shop, some has been donated, and some will remain in the basement during the construction (covered in plastic).

Here are some pictures to prove that we really are ready for construction:

The wall on the right (behind the bucket on the floor and the Christmas trees)
will have a fireplace and built-in cabinets for the TV and storage.

See the two white pipes that run floor to ceiling? Those mark where the walls for the bathroom will be. There will be a bedroom back behind the bathroom and a wet bar on the wall this side of the bathroom.

The wall over by the stairs (behind the ladder) will be opened up to expose about half of the stairs.

While my handy hubby has been busy creating the plans for the permits and learning about plumbing and electrical (yes, he is taking on this project solo!), I have spent some quality time on Pinterest, looking for some inspiration. The plans for the built-in, wet bar, bathroom, lighting, etc. have not been finalized, but here are some photos that are currently providing some inspiration to the design. Sorry for the grainy pictures! Also, I apologize, but I do not have the sources for these pictures either.

Let the construction begin, thanks to this envelope!

Here we go…. Wish us luck!!!