notes from the fallen: 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.

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.

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).

We installed one door (to the water heater room). More on door installation in the next post.

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).

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.

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.