The before pics

I'm sort of glad I forgot (neglected) to take any before pics of our basement, er, well, before we moved all the crap out to the garage and our reno guy got started.  It looked a LOT uglier down there several days before these were taken.

This first one was taken from the bottom of our steps leading into the basement.  You can see how there's a whole bunch of new framing already in place.  The lights are a temporary measure because it was too dark down there before for the reno guy to work.  (Henceforth I will refer to him as Phillip, because that's really his name.  Amy and I have wondered if we can call him Phil, but we haven't bothered to ask and have continued calling him Phillip.  Frankly, he strikes me as more of a Phillip, so I'm fine with leaving it at that.  If I remember to ask him before he's done, I'll be sure to let y'all know what the verdict is.)

To the right of this shot is the furnace / water softener / storage / deep-freeze room.  It's the only room in the basement that will remain essentially untouched during the renovation.  To the left and behind this shot was what was affectionately referred to as "the poop room".  This is because when our beloved Jack Russell, Jango Fett, was a puppy, he would flee downstairs to use the room as his personal lavatory.  Needless to say, when he was finally house broken, this room got a thorough cleaning and it's been used only for storage since.

Interestingly, on the wall way up ahead to the right, the removal of the crappy chip-board from the old framing revealed some worn posters that had been glued directly to the concrete.  A couple of Edmonton Eskimos football posters (from the 1950s era or so) and an Olympic sprinting poster from some Canadian come-from-behind victory in 1930-something.  Also, an artist's rendition of the world famous Blue Nose winning its first yacht race.  (Well, it's a famous boat in Canada at any rate.)  They have no real value other than the inherent "neat" factor, so they can stay there to be discovered again some years in the future, a la Chuck Jones's "One Froggy Evening".

This second pic is looking back at the stairs from the exact opposite side of the basement.  Note how the poop room (on the right in this view) is stacked very neatly with all the demolition debris from the first couple days of Phillip's work.  His work ethic was immediately apparent after our first meeting with the fellow, but to see how clean he leaves our basement at the end of each working day brings warm feelings to my heart.  In the midst of the entropic maelstrom that is the Fraser household, it is with a touch of irony that I note the contractor brings with him an organisational verve that reassures me we made the right choice.

That small, dark circle on the left of the picture is our washing machine.  That will be a very multi-functional room in that we're having a shower stall put in there as well.  So you'll be able to poop, shower and wash your clothes all in the same room.  If there's room for a mini-fridge after Phillip's done, it may well become my favourite room in the house.

The computer used to be down there too, by the way.  Stationed on the right of the above picture, just outside the poop room.  Now, it resides in our increasingly cramped master bedroom.  We're a cozy lot, so that's OK.  My wife, subtle siren that she is, sort of summed it up by saying, "Sorry Si, but it's going to be harder for you to run downstairs to pull it for a while."  That's my girl, always sympathising with her husband. 

We should be ready to handle company just before Christmas.  But more than that, I'm looking forward to the time when we can lob both boys down the stairs with some water, snacks and a few admonitions not to kill each other, and forget about them for a couple hours. 

I'll be sure to post the After pics by the end of the year.  And maybe a couple of progress posts along the way.

Gawd, I'm looking forward to this!  We will effectively DOUBLE our living space by the end of the year.  That is soooo worth the money we're putting into this.

Comments

[Mark]

What a great project. I had no idea you had that much space down there.

I won't ask what's in the deep freeze.

[Tasha]

Renos being what they are, I hope you still have this much enthusiasm by the end of the project. Or even half way through! Sounds like it's going to be super though. We moved in order to have the basement. Godsend, it is.

[marian]

Ha! Entropic maelstrom — well done, sir.

[Simon]

Mark, if you ever come up this way I'll show you what's in the deep freeze. You have to be quiet though, it doesn't like to be disturbed.

Tasha, optimist that I am, I anticipate having this same enthusiasm at the end of the project. What I think will be really cool is going away for a week's holiday and coming back to see how much progress has been made. That'll be sweet!

Marian, thank you, m'dear!

[rna]

Ah, the Bluenose: that name alone can get you to feel all Call Me Ishmael and imagine beating off (so many useful nautical phrases have worked their way into the language, haven't they?) of the iron-bound coast at Baccalieu....

At least the economic hemorrhage that is home renovation (original estimate + 10% + maybe another 15% + those extras we didn't really anticipate at oh perhaps an additional 36%? ) induces the giddy light-headed state necessary to be able to really enjoy the result and ignore the shocking pallor of your formerly robust and ruddy bank account.

[Émilie B]

Who needs a second floor when you can have a basement? Plus, that level often lands all the fun rooms (family room, tv room, computer room, play room), so what's not to love?

Good luck with the renos and keep us posted.

[Moksha Gren]

It's looking great so far. Are the ceilings high enough to ward off the basement feeling? Every once in a while I would think about getting my basement all sparkling and cool. But the ulra low ceilings made it all pointless. From the looks of the pictures...you'll have a much more head-room

I love that you left the posters. I wall papered my living room in a random pattern with paper grocery sack material. The day I was doing so, my friend Kelly got her first batch of business cards in after her promotion. I promtly tucked one behind the paper in a non-glued pocket and left it for some futute homeowner. I may also stick a photo of the family in an air duct before I go.

And smart, leaving the construction fun for Amy's Ma. I'm sure she appriciates that.

[Terri]

It's going to look great! Amy explained how it would be done when we visited this summer.

[Simon]

Frere Rick, what's going to be really shocking to us is that the bank account you mention is already a sort of sickly shade. Its robustness will be bolstered temporarily by an influx from the line of credit on the house itself, but all things must get repaid at some point. **sigh**

Moksha, there is enough room over our heads down there so as not to induce claustrophobia. Even taking into account that it will be lowered some by the stipple ceiling that we'll have. I hope some future family finds the same posters we did; but there's always the chance that they'll fade from memory and just be the victims of total home destruction, whenever that occurs. All things are fleeting.

Terri, I think there might be a few changes since Amy gave you the grand tour, but you definitely have the best idea about how it will look.