Home Improvement Projects

[Scott]

So...you may have seen my basement before...(CLICK FOR LARGER PICS)



Tiled aqua blue floor, wallpaper from the 70's and bookcases full of Action Figures

The space was never used, cold in the winter, too humid in the summer, tacky etc

So, we started by stripping wallpaper.  That took around 6 weeks off and on which we started in September and Ended in the middle of October

Next was the mudding, patching and sanding.  The sheetrock was in pretty tough shape after the wallpaper removal.  Took quite a while to do this actually since every little single piece of wallpaper needed to be taken off.  2-3 weeks I'd say for this step from mid October until early November

Painting was next and me and Jenni were able to crack that out in a weekend.  Painting is a piece of cake especially having painted most of the rooms in our old townhome and now again in the house.

So then the fun part, carpeting

http://www.legatocarpet.com/

My wife saw this on Trading Spaces one night last summer and determined this was what we would do in the basement.  The previous homeowner had a few problems with water in the basement (2 were their fault for not plugging in the sump pump the other they took care of by landscaping outside).  With that in mind we wanted some type of easy fix if there ever was an area of water damage again

So one weekend with the help of my father in law we installed these squares.  And then over the course of a few weeks I finished the edges of the room and we were done. 

The carpet actually turned out really swell.  You can see the edges of the squares in a few spots still but they should eventually rub out with foot traffic

The last step for major construction work is the bottom trim boards which I just have been putting off until the summer for some reason. Its sort of putsy work that hasn't gotten me motivated for some reason

The two other additions we did were a new sectional couch that we customized size wise for the corner it is sitting

The other was an electric fireplace.  There was no physical way I could get a gas fireplace in the room due to city code requirements for the vent stack.  So we went with plan B.  It actually is just a decorative space heater.  It takes the chill out of the space and doesn't look too bad

So here it is (AGAIN CLICK FOR LARGER PICS):

[JediMAC]

I miss the wood paneling.  Horrible move getting rid of that...

I miss all the toys too.

And why is it pink?  Is that in honor of me?



Yeah, I liked it better the way it was.   

[Scott]

"Wood Paneling" (aka Wainscoting) is still there

It is a little Pinky but it isn't either...more of a Mauve

[Deanpaul]

Ditto. I am sooo sorry, Scott.  

[Scott]

Oh...and my toys



Right behind the staircase is an alcove with built in shelving that was there.  I'm in the process of setting up my stuff there.  No more Simpsons though, since they won't fit

Slow process and I just haven't had time to get it done yet

My Vintage figures and Kubricks moved upstairs to the Den and are all hanging on the wall

[Ben]

Nice update.

Needs a wine rack, humidor, billiards table, and jukebox with smooth jazz, though.  And mood lighting! Always goes good with that color of wall.  That's just the player in me. 

Are leather couches in the future? I doubt it, with kids and all.

Still, it looks better now!

[jadesfire]

Looks very nice Scott.  I'm sure the kids will claim it as their domain shortly (if they haven't already) and with the carpet they can really wrestle with each other now!!

What are you going to do with your Simpson stuff??  Are they being delegated to the land of storage containers??

[Mikey D]

Looks good, Scott. 

I'm almost finished with remodeling our basement.  The only things left are three window sills and the stair wall cap, which should be finished this weekend.  After that, it's all about setting up the collection, stocking the mini fridge and putting out the liquor bottles.  Of course, with a new home theater system that may take more time than necessary 

Jen and I were actually looking at those carpet tiles too.  Home Depot has them and they're not cheap.  We figured it would have cost us over $800 for just the tiles and that doesn't include a carpet pad or installation.  We decided it was best to "sub" out the carpet (everything else was done by us).  For $300 more, we got a nice Berber installed complete.  Took three guys about three hours to do it a couple of Saturdays ago.  Well worth the money.

I'll post pics (before and after) later.

[Scott]

I think it worked out to around $3 a square foot installed.  There is a pad already on square, too.  We ordered about 4 more boxes than what we needed and had to eat some on a restock.

I think it was near the upper end of the selection price wise but we also didn't pay for installation

[Jeff]

Very nice, I'll have to drop by and see it in person one of these days...

Despite what Pinky LaRue had to say, I kind of actually like the color.  It gives the space a much warmer feel than it had before.  Very homey, though I imagine there usually are more toys scattered across that floor than the pictures show.   

We have actually looked into that Legato Carpet, nice to see someone I know try it and like it.  My wife and I did the DIY thing with Pergo flooring in our bedrooms, and the Legato is basically the carpeting equivalent of Pergo.  Nice, easy, DIY "carpeting for dummies".

Was the carpet installation fairly straight-forward or was there a lot of cutting involved?  How easy were the edge of the room to handle?

Jeff

[Scott]

The middle of the room (ther is 400 square feet) we did in about 8 hours

The room is pretty oddly shaped though, there are lots of corners and nooks on it, if its a square room I would think you could do the main part in 3-4 hours

The sides is lots of cutting, it actually is a pretty slick system they use with cardboard templates and stuff.  Sort of complicated to explain but it went pretty well.  It just took some time because of the crannies and nooks as I said.  Lots of odd cuts on corners and the doors and at the steps.

[Scott]

I also forgot we updated the lighting too, a flourescent on one side and the track lighting on the other.  That was easier than I thought it was going to be

[Infamy Of Crete]

THis is going to sound weird and believe I thought these words would never come out of my mouth

but, I agree with Hasbro's Missing Integrity(mind you not because I disagree with the person behind the name more the metaphore that surrounds the person).

[JediMAC]

"Wood Paneling" (aka Wainscoting) is still there

Ah, yes - you're right!  Hadn't clicked through to the bigger pix.

Since the Wainscoting and toys are still there, I change my mind.  Looks great.  Nice job.

Still pink though.   

[Deanpaul]

Looks like a lot of work, Scott. Wallpaper removal is something our marriage can no longer withstand. That's one we simply must contract out in future projects.

I spec'd some carpet tiles called "flor" for a project I designed recently. This is one of those exhibits-in-a-semi-tractor-trailer things you see at State Fairs and Home Depots.





We chose tiles because we were concerned people would track parking lot crud (oil, grease, dirt) into the trailer. I like the cut pile at the edges, it highlights the grid and gives a differentiation even when the same color squares are used together.