The Basement

The day after the first day of school, I went downstairs and found that Dennis tore off all the paneling. I have no idea what prompted him to do this. Maybe I missed something. Apparently we're going to start a new project? At any rate, I didn't care, because I hated that paneling.

For a long time, the paneling stayed off. The kids decided to "help" Dad by taking off all the insulation and put it neatly on the floor. Why is my skin itchy? They would ask. Ace decided to use the insulation as a bed.

After Dennis put all the insulation back on, the reconstruction continued.

This is the wall that we see when we do downstairs. There's no insulation here because this wall leaks pretty badly. I haven't checked in with Dennis about why there is no yellow insulation, but my guess is that it was ruined by water. He put this Styrofoam insulation in instead.

Then he covered it up with drywall. Yay--no more paneling!

The paneling of the walls continue. It's amazing how drywall can give your basement an updated feel.

Then one day, Dennis asked me which would I prefer: a totally walled in stairwell or partial? 

In typical husband and wife communication style, I had no idea what he was talking about. We were making a stairwell??

Again, I didn't care because it's the basement and I was glad we were finally doing something about it. I preferred to be able to see the kids when calling them rather than having to run all the way down and around the corner, so I picked partial wall. 

And so the banging and sawing continued, and drywall dust was everywhere. 

Even Ace was covered in drywall dust.

And so the stairwell is now put up. Still a work in progress. 

Dennis asked me why I don't just do before and after pictures. Because that's boring! I think it's more fun to see the work in between. 

And so, the unexpected basement project continues. Thankfully, Dennis has clued me in a little more on where he's going with this. Also thankfully, I approve (although I'm not sure it would matter at this point.)

To make the "wasted space" (as Dennis calls it) more usable, he's going to build closets under the steps and also near the office. Sounds like a good way to use empty space! Anything to make the house more sellable is good with me--not that we are moving any time soon, but I always think ahead when it comes to house projects. 

And so that is the basement project. Updates and drywall dust coming soon.