Last night I thought I would jump ahead of schedule and start knocking down a wall while Brent did a little waterproofing (more about that in a minute) but... I guess I chose the wrong board to mess with and the top part of the wall came crashing down on my face and gave me a pretty bright red gash across my nose and cheekbone! Really it wasn't that big of a deal, but Brent thought it might be best if I put down the hammer and took my pregnant behind back upstairs and made cookies or something!
Well today is another story... my face HURTS! (insert joke here)
The final step that we finished last night after I posted was to use a waterproofing material that was recommended to us by a friend who owns a construction company. Once again we have some water issues in our basement, so we are trying to fix the problem without having to do the full dig-out around the house or an indoor drainage system or spend $10,000+! Our DIY'er approach to waterproofing is also a major reason for the scaled back re-model, we want to be able to watch our waterproofing work for the next year or so before we invest $1000's and $1000's in a full remodel.
The basement at "440" is approximately 70 years old and as you can see by the pictures is a poured concrete and cement block foundation. Overall our basement is in great shape and has been used as an unbelievable amount of storage over the many years! When my Grandparent's were living, this basement was so full of interesting pieces of vintage furniture stacked as high as it could be... It was a place to find anything you could ever want.... oh the memories!
With all that being said, our water issues basically consist of the following problems:
- Seepage from the wall joints
- Water is not coming through the walls
- Water never covers the entire floor, usually only certain corners
- Water to our knowledge has never exceeded 3/4 inch
- Water never remains standing, it usually dries out within 24-48 hours
- We have a floor drain that works well
- We do not have a sump pump
- We have a very small dehumidifier
- Use Pro Flex 900 XLV around the joints and in the hairline cracks in the floor
- Use Thoro Seal on the lower half of the walls, over the joints, and about a foot out on the floor.
- Install a sump pump
- Purchase a commercial size dehumidifier
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| Pro Flex 900 XLV inserted into the floor joints |
Brent has step one of our waterproof fixes completed
Pro Flex 900 XLV Information
Brent also was able to remove the shelving systems that were used for storage. I am going to recycle them into useful components:
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| Shelves Before |
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| Where the shelves use to be |
This area will hopeful be our entertainment/media area!
Down came the wall that use to separate the "coal room" from the rest of the basement! This corner of the basement is going to be used for storage due the fact that this is the central location for all of the utilities, electric panels, and mechanical structures of the home... We thought it would be easier to utilize the area if there wasn't a wall to work around.
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| Coal Room Before |
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| Coal Room Before |
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| Coal Room After |
The next step was to try be as resourceful as we could by preparing the "OLD" wood from the previous walls into usable boards for future projects and scrap lumber needs! With the recent interest in "Old Barnwood" the value of these boards are worth pulling nails and doing what we could do to save it! This was a family affair, moments like this with your kiddos are priceless, even if they don't feel the same.
The cost of Day 2 = $? for Pro Flex 900 XLV
(we are still waiting for the bill)
Amount of time for Day 2 = 6 solid hours
The running total of the project = $0 / 14 hours
