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Learning to Fly - The new basement
Learning to Fly
• Friday, March 27, 2009 - The new basement
After suddenly purchasing our 'fixer upper' and then spending more than 6 months trying to decide what project to tackle first, we decided on the basement. It would have the greatest impact and there was a need (structural issues with the house). However, it was more than we could tackle - it would have taken us years to complete just the basic portion of the job, and there were parts (such as lifting the house off the foundation and adjusting the beams) that simply were beyond our abilities. We hired a contractor and got started. They began around January 15, and the final touches were put on this last Wednesday night.
Here are the before and after pictures.
First, the stairs going into the basement:
How's that for a dark and gloomy entrance into a pit? The stairs were steep and narrow; they were dark. Don't miss the wonderful wallpaper and the elegant carpet!
Here is the after:
Mark and crew removed the walls entirely, built new stairs that are not so steep, opened up the wall on one side, and added lights and an open railing. I think it's a little more inviting.
Now, the main room. This will be our family room and play room. Here it was before:
and after
It's light and bright down there now - the photos don't show it so well, but we don't even need to turn the lights on in the day time.
Here are the before and afters of the school room:
That door is the door to the laundry room. You can see a little light to the left; that's the reading nook under the stairs.
Here is a photo of the reading nook:
I don't have any before photos of the laundry room, unfortunately, but it was just bare concrete walls, and a vinyl tile floor, with many of the tiles missing. The washer and dryer were crammed up next to the boiler, and the laundry sink was in the corner behind the boiler; it was hard to do laundry without risking being burned. Here is the new laundry room. The cabinet area will double as the science / art / messy school area:
That wall to the left is the new closet that encloses the boiler and other mechanicals. The room is so much more spacious than it was.
And finally the bathroom. It was so tiny that one couldn't use the toilet without bumping one's knees on the shower. As well, none of the fixtures worked except the sink, and the room smelled. Here it is before:
And after; we enlarged it about two feet in each of two directions:
Our basement is so much nicer. We have been truly blessed to be able to do this, and by the whole experience as well.
Ramblings on my Christian walk and my career as a wife and a home-discipling mother...
We are Set Free Academy, claiming Isaiah 42:6-8 as our Scripture.
Our Eclectic Home Education Recipe
*Before Five in a Row
*Mystery of History Volume 1
*Apologia Elementary Science
*Math U See
*ARTistic Pursuits
*Queen Language Lessons
*Cantering the Country geography
*PowerGlide Spanish
all mixed up with a little Charlotte Mason and frosted with carschooling and outside lessons.
ON THE NIGHTSTAND
I'm currently removing the dangerous tower of books from my nightstand before I end up like Flat Stanley. Check back for book recommendations later.
