Basement Roadmap

Now that I've got the budget for it, I'm getting a plan together for what I'm going to do in the basement this summer.  I've got to get some bids, figure out the permitting process, and then see how much of it I will be able to afford.

I hope to have the basement in a semi-finished state by the end of the summer.  That will make it "usable", if not "livable".

• Upgrade Electrical Service
• I plan on also moving the panel to the other side of the basement door so it won't be near water sources.
• New Windows
• Four small awning windows around the perimeter
• One egress window in the new guest room
• Plumbing Fixes
• Fix the wonky drain pipe coming from the kitchen sink
• Fix the plumbing in the basement bathroom
• Run PEX everywhere
• Add a winder stair
• I should be able to get more headroom at the bottom of the stairwell if I add a winder at the top.
• New walls and insulation
• I need to frame new walls around the perimeter and insulate them.
• Seismic Retrofit
• Since I'll have access to the sill plates in the entire basement, now's the time to make it a little more earthquake resistant.

I'm sure that's more than I will be able to get done this summer, but it's a good goal to shoot for.  Wish me luck, and stay tuned!

Tour of the Basement

I've been keeping Flannery's drop box service in business again.  Last week I rented and filled another 10 yard dumpster with more basement debris.  There's still a little more left to demo, but I think the rest will fit in the back of the pickup.  Since things are going gangbusters on the basement, I thought I'd give y'all a tour!  Here are all of the areas.  I stood in the middle of the basement and rotated counter-clockwise for each picture.

Family Room

Family Room

This quarter of the basement will become the family room where we'll have a sectional and a big TV on the wall to the right.  The open space measures a whopping 13'x18', which will make it the biggest room in the house. We're planning on decorating it in an art-deco old Hollywood motif.

Play Room / Homework Area

Poker Room Homework Area

This section is about the same size as the family room.  It will have a card table and be used for games and homework.  I'll probably put a computer in there somewhere too.  The two posts will have a bar-top built between them.  I'm hoping for a soapstone top, with the columns being trimmed out in proper proportion to the arts & crafts aesthetic.

Bathroom

Basement Bathroom Location

The bathroom in the basement will occupy the same place it did before, but will be about 2 feet wider in each direction.  We're thinking of a standup shower and a separate soaking tub.

Guest Room

Future Basement Guest Room

This area still needs some demo work done, but it will be our guest room when completed.  The little panelboard rectangle on the right is covering a broken window, which will be replaced by a code-compliant egress window.

Laundry Room

Laundry Room

The laundry room has a door to the outside, a utility sink, and our washer and dryer.  I plan on having the electrical service upgraded, and the panel moved to the other side of the door.  I might even put a dog-washing area next to the sink.

Mechanical Room

Mechanical Room

I will build a small room around the furnace and the on-demand hot water heater.  It will also house the main panel for all of the communications and the plumbing manifold.

Basement Demolition Update

I've been trying to follow my slogan and get things done "10 minutes at a time" and it seems to be paying off in the basement.  It may not look like much, but since my last update I've managed to get all of the tile flooring ripped up (and disposed of in my weekly trash pickup), as well as removing the ceiling tiles and a good portion of the built-ins.

Unfortunately for me, the previous owners decided to do the brickwork properly instead of half-assed like the rest of the house.  Busting out the brick is reminding me that I'm not twenty anymore. ;-)

City Government Resources for Portland Residents

Since I seem to be gaining some traction on this whole basement remodel thing, I've been researching Portland's building codes, rules, and regulations.  Their website is a labyrinth of information, but I managed to find a few key URL's that will most definitely prove valuable to anyone wanting to do a basement or attic remodel "by the book".

Portland Online has a page for Converting to Living Space which has buried in it a link to a guide to Converting Attics, Basements and Garages to Living Space plus all the basics you need to know about the permitting process in Portland, Oregon.

I need to absorb all of the information on that page to see if I need to adhere to the new  stairway building codes, or whether mine will fall under the conversion rules.

Spontaneous Progress!

Today out of nowhere came a spontaneous burst of motivation by not only myself, but both of the kids. I've been promising our 9-year old her own room for a long time now, and she sort of has one, but it is the guest room. The plan is for the guest room to go in the basement so the second main-floor bedroom can be our eldest daughter's own room with her own stuff in it.

So today myself and the girls got busy moving years worth of toys and miscellaneous crap out of the space that will eventually be the guest room.

Before we started

After about an hour of work

Now I realize that all we did was move a bunch of stuff from one room in the basement to another room, but at least I can start demo'ing the space now.

Pepto Dismal

I started demolishing the "Joe vs. the Volcano" room over the Thanksgiving weekend. The whole room was covered in a 1/8" layer of drywall that thinly veiled what can only be described as a Pepto Bismol Chamber of Horrors!!!

All four walls were painted this awful (but not quite hellish) hue of pink. The ceiling was obviously insulated, but not drywalled in its previous incarnation.

The flourescent pink, orange, and yellow paint (and the ceiling mounted mirror!!!) must have been pretty f'ing trippy while getting bombed and listening to Iron Butterfly sometime in the 70's.

Here's a shot showing the wall that I'm removing to make two rooms into one big room. This new big room will the the family room/movie theater/homework room.

The Seedy Underbelly

My winter project is going to be to get the basement completely gutted. As you can see from the pictures below I've got quite a bit of work to do. I need to go through 7 years worth of kid's stuff and see what needs to be saved, what needs to be sold at a yard sale, and what needs to be trashed. Only then can I continue tearing apart the old finished areas. My goal is to have a completely empty basement to serve as a blank slate.

The door at the top of the stairs will eventually be removed. I'm going to put in a couple winder stairs coming down from the main level so I can move the stairs back a foot or so for better head clearance at the bottom.

This used to be a guest room. It was probably the most "finished" room in the basement, although for some reason it reminds me of the office from "Joe Vs. the Volcano".

Another view of the old guest room. The closet is against the east wall of the basement. The wall on the left will be removed to open up this space so we can use it as the family room. Current plans call for an "Old Hollywood" theme and a large flat panel TV on the wall.

This is the tiny, decrepit old bathroom circa 1980. Everything will be removed, the footprint will be slightly enlarged, and the new bathroom will be consistent with the work we have done on the main floor.

This is our current laundry room. It will remain a laundry room, but it will be properly finished with some built-in cabinets and ironing board. (How many code violations can you count!?)

The boxy room on the right is the bathroom. The room on the left will become the new guest room. I'll have to put in an egress window and a closet, but it will end up being a good sized guest room (about 10'x12')

Finally, our tour takes us to what will the the other half of the family room. The wall to the right is the one that separates this space from the "Joe vs. the Volcano" office. You can just see the edge of the bathroom on the left.

The plan is to first gut the entire basement, then put in new PEX plumbing and run CAT6 cable everywhere while everything is accessible. I'll figure out the rest at that point.