Reflections on the Basement

I wrap up the month by looking back on our basement posts. The first post set the stage and outlined the steps; the next seven went into more detail. Here they are (click the links to go to the post):

• Post 2:
• address water problems
• install an egress window
• design the space
• order materials
• Post 3:
• demolish existing structures
• address things running under joists
• seal the walls
• install rigid foam insulation
• Post 4:
• frame the walls
• build bulkheads/'bump-outs' where needed
• install electrical
• install rolled insulation
• Post 5:
• hang drywall
• mud/sand drywall
• Post 6:
• repairs and more drywall work
• Post 7:
• paint
• install kitchenette
• install floors
• install LVP on stairs
• Post 8:
• install floor/door trim
• final touches

Rough timeline:

• February: the egress window was installed
• March: design
• April: demolition, ordering materials
• May: most of the work (sealing the walls through hanging drywall)
• June/July: mudding/sanding/repairing drywall
• July/August: painting through completion

Rough man-hours:

• Demolition: 32 hours
• Foamboard: 28 hours
• Main week: 198 hours
• Drywall mud/sand/repair: 79 hours
• Other work: 108 hours
• Paint: 16 hours
• Other (design, ordering, pickup, dump runs, hardware runs): 10 hours (est.)
• Total: 471 hours

Lessons:

• Have amazing, knowledgable, servant-minded friends. Of the above hours, we did 133 ourselves and paid for 84. That means our friends/family collectively donated 254 hours of their time. I'm in tears as I write this, realizing their gifts to us.
• Each stage matters. You need to keep the entire design/plan in mind. Shortcuts, sloppiness, or unaddressed problems in one stage can make life miserable in the next.
• None of this is rocket science, but it takes knowledge, tools, and a lot of sweat. Knowing the way forward, having the tools to implement it, the skill to create it, and the sweat to install it.
• Perfection is impossible. 

Before Pics:

After Pics:

May this space be used to glorify the Lord.

Finishing a Basement, Part 8

Continuing the series on finishing the basement . . .

Today, we reach the end. (Well, mostly.)

• Install doors (28 July, 8 August)
• As mentioned in yesterday's post, we installed one door during the floor-laying, but left the other two for after. (It is easier to install floor without navigating the door trim.)
• We installed pre-hung doors.
• Installing doors is a matter of aligning the frame with the rough-out area and using shims on all sides to get everything perfectly level.
• Sometimes the frame itself is uneven (with respect to the door), making things extra tricky.
• After everything is perfectly level (and close the door to make sure the gap between it and the frame is uniform, close, but not rubbing), screw the frame into the top and sides of the rough-out. 
• Check everything after screwing it in (to include closing the door), as things can shift.
• Install floor/door trim (8-10 August)
• Use a brad nailer
• Paint trim (we did this a few days' prior).
• Trim around doors first. 
• Do the sides of the door frame first.
• Cut pieces to length, cutting the appropriate ends at 45 degree angles. Check how it aligns with the door frame and make sure it is level overall. Keep a small gap between the door trim and the floor (very small). Nail it in.
• Do the top of the door frame, cutting both ends at 45 degrees. Make sure it is level and the (hopefully-small) gap between the side and top pieces is small and as uniform as possible (caulking later can help cover this up). Nail it in.
• Install floor trim.
• Verify that your flooring comes within 1/2 inch of the wall, so that the floor trim will appropriately cover it.
• Mark stud locations (I used a stud finder and painter's tape) to know where to nail.
• Cut corner pieces at 45-degree angles. Chop saw needed.
• If you ever have a wall greater than the 8-ft sections that floor trim comes in, cut two pieces, each at 45 degrees, at a stud location so you can overlap them and nail at that point.
• We had two areas where we could not nail (concrete and metal studs). In those locations, we cut the trim to length, nailed the trim pieces to each other (we had U-shaped and L-shaped areas), and then glued it all in.
• Final touches (10, 12-16, 26 August)
• Paint doors
• Paint doors after hanging them, inside and out.
• Install door hardware
• We used kwikset door handle sets for the two single doors and two pull knobs for the double doors. 
• Installation instructions are in the door handle kit and are straightforward. The only problem we encountered was in one door where the latch was mildly ahead of the pre-cut hole, meaning the door wouldn't latch. A little chiseling of the frame and shifting the catch forward solved this problem.
• Install capboard
• A friend made a capboard for the basement railing area. We painted that and screwed it in using finishing screws like this.
• Trim under capboard
• This was tricky, as the capboard end was at an angle that meant the trim would either be flush with the board or the wall—not both. Our friend helped us here, playing with a few ideas. Ultimately, we put the trim flush with the wall and used special cuts to make it look as uniform as possible.
• Caulking
• Various types of caulk are needed for various areas. The two we used:
• Alex Plus White Acrylic Latex Caulk plus Silicone. Very popular; we used it on all wood trim areas.
• Advanced Finish white for the countertop in the kitchenette. (I think our contractor used advanced finish clear for the sink itself.)
• I had never caulked before, but it is pretty straightforward. This video gives you an idea of how to do it and what's important.
• Transition strips
• We installed transition strips that matched our floor under the three door areas. In each case, it was transitioning from the LVP flooring directly to the concrete. 
• Cut each piece to length, notch out if required (due to the door frame), install the track strip by tucking a portion of it under the floating floor, and snap the transition strip in. You can glue the track in if desired; I opted not to, as these are not high-traffic areas and I think they will be fine. But if someone kicks out the transition piece, I will use an appropriate adhesive to lock those down.
• Touch-up paint
• You'll find areas (on walls or trim) that got scuffed during the final parts of installation or were missed.
• Mount television
• Not really part of the basement construction, this was nevertheless time-consuming. We had to install the TV in the middle of the wall, and the mount didn't align with the studs, so I built a frame (I had access to the unfinished area, thankfully) so we could mount the frame in the exact center of the wall, at the appropriate height for viewing.

The below pictures may look identical, but look carefully for the progress—it could be installing trim, painting the doors, installing knobs, or other things. The room looks near-complete in the first few photos, but still had a lot of little things to do.

Finishing a Basement, Part 7

Continuing the series on finishing the basement . . . 

With the drywall portion finally behind us, we could move on. The walls were primed . . . time for painting.

• Paint (23-25 July)
• We chose a light blue for the basement. It looked great on the sample. When we painted the room . . . it was a little too light. "Baby boy" blue. It looked like a nursery. After one coat of that, we chose a slightly darker shade of light blue and painted the second coat with that. 
• Painting is pretty straightforward . . . cutting in (doing the edge, where the wall meets the ceiling) is the exciting part. There are a lot of videos describing how to do this . . . when I find the one I used, I will post it.
• Install kitchenette (26, 28 July)
• Our friends did this portion, so I can't say much on how it was done. At a high level,
• Screw the upper cabinets into the studs (the stud placement was planned during framing for proper spacing/etc.)
• Put lower cabinet in its original po.sition. Shims (on back, sides, and bottom) helped align and level it.
• Build a frame in the other lower area.
• We wanted an under-counter fridge where the other lower cabinet (thrown out due to mold) had been. Knowing its measurements, they built a wood frame so it would fit snugly.
• Install countertop. We got a cheap formica counter. We cut it to size and laid it in.
• Install sink. We measured, drew the outline, drilled holes in four corners, and used a jigsaw to cut the hole.
• We initially put in the original sink, aligning it exactly with the drain. We realized that its placement wasn't centered with the middle of the cabinet, so we bought a bigger sink and had a contractor widen the hole, install that, and adjust the piping to the new location.
• Later, we painted the frame and leveled the fridge (using both its leveling feet and shims).
• Install door (28 July)
• We installed one door (to the water heater room). More on door installation in the next post.
• Install Luxury Vinyl Plank (LVP) floor (28-29, 31 July; 1-2 August)
• Install underlay. This foil-backed material was easy to lay out and tape together.
• Choose starting side. We started in the back room.
• Lay the first row. The trick is aligning it with the wall, and making sure each successive piece is snapped in tightly. The planks are configured to snap together in a tongue-and-groove-like manner.
• When you get to the end of a row, and need to cut a piece, flip a whole plank around, mark the size, cut, and lay that piece at the end. Use the leftover piece to start the next row.
• Keep an eye on the length of each piece that starts a row. If you get a weird plank pattern, use a different-length piece to keep it 'random'-looking.
• If you are using LVP with varying grain patterns, make sure you consider that when choosing which pieces to lay in which order. Adjust accordingly. 
• You can cut LVP with a chop saw or LVP cutter. We used both.
• Angled cuts (like around bump-outs, the kitchenette area, or the one angled wall) were done with careful measuring and cutting using a jigsaw (for the tricky cuts).
• Install grills (2 August)
• Our water heater is not externally vented, so proper airflow was necessary for that room (we had to leave the installed door open for that reason).
• We spoke with an HVAC expert, who gave us the required size and placement for the two grills.
• Install two grills. I built a frame for them (since I could access the other, unfinished, side of the wall) to ease securing them.
• Install LVP on stairs (31 July - 2 August, 5 August)
• Our friend helped us here based on experimenting he had done.
• Measure stairs. Each one is different; a tool (pictured below) helps get it exactly.
• Cut LVP to the measurement. Each stair required two pieces: a bent piece (which curved around the stair lip) and a straight piece (which interlocked with the bent piece on the step itself)
• Route the LVP to be bent.
• Use a heat gun and wood stair frame (our friend had one when he did his home). Bend the LVP at the routed point around the wood frame and secure with clamps until cooled.
• Glue LVP to the stairs using Loctite PL Premium
• This was tricky. We put this on both bent and straight pieces, then had to maneuver the bent piece into the groove on the straight piece and align both (which were very tightly cut) onto the stair in question. We broke one bent piece but kept it so our friend could re-do it to the exact same dimensions.

Nearly there. The finished area was approaching ready, and I tidied the unfinished area, too, getting my tools in order.

Tomorrow, we finish off with the doors, trim, and final touches.