We snuck off for a two-week camping sojourn through eastern Canada just after that last post. Part work, part fun. Well, all fun - it was a great work meeting. We got back raring to go on the basement, and summer is getting away.
First, we picked up our unusual ceiling covering for the bathroom which had arrived while we were away. We were a bit stumped - what could we use that would be moisture resistant, kind of modern/loft-ish, thin (can't lose headroom!), robust as a shower ceiling (they had used pegboard before.
Pegboard, that's right!), and easy to install - oh, and inexpensive. Inexpensive is a key - this is a basement, it was basically a dungeon before so we can't really make it worse, and we are doing this with what little pocket cash we can scare up. So, inspired by the thin, narrow-ribbed corrugated metal they use all over places like Boulder as snazzy house siding, we inquired at the big box and Shazaam! They ordered us a bunch of 1" galvanized roofing like
this (different brand, I think) to use as the ceiling sheathing. It cost about $70 for all of it, and they cut it to length (I gave measurements to 1/8" and they did OK), which rocks. We were able to make the rest of the cuts we needed - for light fixtures, etc., with my handy Jig saw. We strapped the joists and got the ceiling installed inside a single day!
There was a good bit of hilarity installing the first one - picture a 2 foot piece of sharp metal, about 7 feet long, that we're trying to fit perfectly around all sorts of obstacles in a space exactly as long as the metal. It's not as flexible as we thought, and we banged up the walls a lot on the first one - but they were a snap to repaint, so no harm. I hope it works, but hey, I think it looks cool. The slight reflectivity helps keep a little sense of height, even though it's a low ceiling. I'm not sure this photo is doing it justice, and the vent fan is not covered here. More later.
Definitely better than what was there before, which was a maze of pipes, wires, etc. Blech.
Then Ken was on a rampage to get the washer and dryer installed, which needed to move in before we could do much else. Good thing too - there was a hose malfunction - which took a half day or engineering to sort out - and water went, um, everywhere. We sat and watched the entire first load run to make sure there wasn't a repeat gusher - all good now.
The cabinet above is a leftover from our kitchen - I totally rebuilt the boxes with surplus-store plywood and repainted the doors and frame. The machines don't match - they were second-hand gifts from family and are in pristine condition, so we're keeping them. Ultimately there will be a curtain in front to camouflage them. (On the punch list).
Ken used this handy washing machine wall box thingy to handily make all the attachments. Neat!
Finally, I've just tonight finished sanding and whitewashing the window surround in the bathroom, a job I was avoiding (the plywood was crappy and needed a lot of work - and we should have sanded BEFORE installing - duh!). Done now and it came out better than I anticipated. Oh, and we tiled the windowsills - seemed to be the only sensible thing since they're just above grade, plus the ReStore gave us a box of earthy brown tile for $3!
And so, we are now at the point of what I am calling the Supersize Punch List. It's not all tiny jobs, but most of them are. Other jobs are pretty much ready to go and shouldn't (famous last words) be too much trouble. Cross your fingers for the rest of the plumbing installs.
This weekend I plan to be the Punchy Queen and get a lot of the irritating trim and touch up work done, and maybe we can wrap this thing up by the end of summer.
The most awesome thing was installing this new old can opener. We have one of these in the camper - it's a Dazey Senior. After camping with it all summer and then coming in the house to an absolutely horrible new handheld thing that SUCKS, I found another Dazey on ebay and installed it. Super sweet!
