Basement update

And so another reno project begins!  One of our projects this summer was to change the basement to have more of an office/library feel.  This is where Kevin works from when he does his school work from home.  We decided to rip out the carpet, which had stains in it that we couldn't get out anyway, and also rip out part of the lino into the 'dining room'. Just a "quick little project", or so we thought!!  



Step one:  Carefully taking off the baseboards so we could put them back up again when the new floor was in.





Step two:  Rip out the carpet.



Step three:  Remove the first layer of lino

Step four:  Lay down the laminate boards.  Here is Kevin installing the final piece!

Step five:  Put the baseboards back up.

When I write it like this, it all seems so easy!!  This project, I think like any other home reno project, took longer than we planned and had a few more frustrations than we planned.  However, it is now finished and we are pleased with how it looks.  The next step is to build floor to ceiling bookshelves on the back wall but I have a feeling that is going to be next summer's project!  For now, the books will have to sit stacked up on the floor!

Basement complete

As posted a few months ago, we did some work in our basement to make it more usable for our family. We made the main room into a playroom/computer/scrapbooking area. We did what we needed to do to make it usable but once Jocelyn arrived the 'decorating' kinda stopped.

However, we now have it all finished, at least for now. It is amazing how an offer to have guests for a week will make you finish off something! (They actually ended up going somewhere else because of Jocelyn being sick!) So, here are a few shots of our finished basement!

The playroom has been the greatest thing about the basement. The kids are spending more and more time there, especially if they are together or an adult is down there with them. They both love anything to do with painting, colouring, writing or creating. I love to display their work and this is what I came up with to do so. I found cheap frames at the local thrift stores and put their paintings in them. For the 3-D type of stuff, I bought this cable system at IKEA and it also works great for hanging their paintings to dry.

Another added bonus about the basement is that we now have a spare bedroom! No more sleeping on the floor in the computer room! It still needs a little more decorating help but that will have to wait until another time.

And finally, Kevin has somewhere to put all his books (there is still one more large bookshelf in our bedroom). Someday we'll get around to buying/making some nice bookshelves that all match and are not falling apart but for now, this will do.

Deck railings

Our deck is finally looking like a real deck again. The railings were installed last week and we are very happy with how it looks! Can't wait for summertime to put it to good use!

Empty!

The room is now empty, (besides kids and some tools) the studs are gone and most of the wires are tucked away (thanks, Jeff!). It still needs some finishing off on the sides, floor and ceiling but that can wait. After a good clean, it is now ready for moving stuff in!!

Comin' down!

Yesterday was the big day when the wall in our basement was going to come down. For those of you that have done whole house reno's, I'm sure this is pretty minor but I've never been a part of a home-reno before, so I was pretty excited - even if it was just 1 wall! I'm also excited at the prospect of just having some more room in the house! I'll post more pictures once we get a bit further!

Before:

The first few swings:

We can see through!

All the way through! Now to haul away the debris and figure out what to do with all those wires!