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Two sweaty guys with nail guns are in my basement building walls.
I took them some sweet tea. They said I was nice.
I offered them peanut butter sandwiches for lunch, but they said they'd go get some fast food instead. Who would turn down a peanut butter sandwich?
They did say they'd like more sweet tea.
Has anyone here ever finished a basement? It's proving to be a very interesting project. Last night I helped my husband snap chalk lines. One person can't really snap a chalk line by himself, unless it's only, like, a foot long.
Today I'm delivering sweet tea and answering questions like "Thisis a three foot deep closet - do you really want it that big?"
"Yep."
"We could make it two feet and you'd gain a foot in the room."
"But I'd lose a foot in the closet."
"That's a big closet."
"She needs a big closet."
She being my Mom. Who is moving in as soon as the basement is completed. We're putting in a bedroom, full bath, kitchenette, rec room, and a sewing/craft room. Mom and Natalie and I are going to learn to quilt together. Sunday we're going to a lesson with Miss Billie, a 93 year old member of my church.
So, anyway, soon I'll be raising my kids with my mom here in the house. That's gonna be kinda neat. I love my mother. I just wish this wasn't happening under the circumstances that it is. We don't know what my Dad is going to do.
It would be kinda nice if he left town, but who knows? I'm worried. I'm not sure my mom is safe. I worry about her every night, I'll feel better when she's here. Though it will mean I have to turn on the security system at night, something I haven't done in years.
So, if I'm not here much the next few weeks, I'm down in the basement, finishing sheetrock, painting, and all that stuff.
Take care, guys.
Yes, I'm okay. It's just....tough to have this happening. I'm a grown woman, but I feel like a little child sometimes, who has discovered that the world isn't perfect, and you can't depend on the grownups like you thought you could.
Posts: 14428 | Registered: Aug 2001
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That's a tough situation, but I can't think if anyone who would be better prepared to handle it
Remodeling the basement is a chore. My parents did it when I was about 11, and I remember my dad was in a frenzy for about 4 months straight (he did most of it himself). Let me tell you how much I appreciated it when I got a little older and had the coolest place ever to throw parties! Posts: 1784 | Registered: Jun 2001
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Belle, your gracious behavior to the workmen invited into your house does not surprise me at all. You will get better work out of them for you sweet tea and friendly behavior.
As far as your parents, I have no answers accept (((Belle)))
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I'm glad that you have the opportunity to welcome your mom into your home (while also getting your basement in great shape), although I am very sorry for the circumstances surrounding it. You're a kind-hearted person making the best of a situation.
Posts: 5879 | Registered: Apr 2001
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I just went down there and several walls are complete. I asked Nate if they needed anything and he said "Just assurance that this wall will continue to stand up."
I told him I needed that same assurance.
I am now on the warpath for concrete staining products. I've asked the company to email me the names of local distributors and they haven't gotten back to me yet. I'm hoping there is one in Atlanta so I can drive over there and pick them up (hazardous materials shipping is very expensive) and see Olivet.
I don't think my sweet tea will affect the job they do, Nate and Jeff are friends of ours. They're doing this at greatly reduced cost to help us out, knowing our situation. We love them both, and I know they will do a great job.
We also have an electrician friend who is going to wire it for free. It's been a rough time, but God has blessed us with good friends who've given us a lot of support.
[ August 04, 2003, 04:01 PM: Message edited by: Belle ]
Posts: 14428 | Registered: Aug 2001
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quote: Who would turn down a peanut butter sandwich?
People who are allergic to peanuts.
I can't wait to buy a house, so that I can remodel the whole thing. Me and my dad remodeled the basement a few years ago. It was a difficult, but very rewarding task.
Belle, I'm sorry to hear that the circumstances of your mother's move aren't great. Ick. I don't know if I know how you feel, but I remember feeling very much like a grown up little kid (if that makes any sense) when I learned that my parents were getting divorced. I was 25. I still have moments of it whenever situations come up where I should have parents who are together, but aren't. Like my Dad's wedding next month.
Congratulations, though, on your mother moving in. My mother lived with me while i was a single parent. Then she moved in with us two years ago. I have loved it for the most part. My husband is a saint. It sounds like your setup will be really ideal. A true mother in law apartment. Posts: 5948 | Registered: Jun 2001
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There are rough times but faith can be a good boat that keeps us safe in those waters we never thought we'd be in.
Posts: 3495 | Registered: Feb 2000
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Belle, growing up in a family full of carpenters and masons (not Masons), I can tell ya that the sweet tea you gave them will guarantee good work more than any written contract could.
Dang, you are just a sweet lady!
Posts: 2848 | Registered: Feb 2003
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I'm curious about the concrete staining... How does that work. I know I've seen paint/brush-on concrete sealer/painty stuff before. Is the stain the same kind of stuff?
[Edit: It does sound like you're really blessed with friends who can help you out with this!! Go them!!]
Sopwith, I have the utmost respect for all the trades. I guess through my husband being in one (plumbing) I know so many others. I know how difficult it is to learn a trade, how many of the folks practicing trades have spent more years learning their job than someone who puts in four years of college and is considered "qualified" for a job.
Even a college degree in architecture and engineering is almost useless on a job site, just because you can design houses doesn't mean you can build 'em.
Plus, most tradesmen I know have college degrees anyway, they work in what they do because there's more money in finish carpentry than in something like accounting. (Have you ever tried to HIRE a good finish carpenter? You're lucky if you can even find one, much less afford one.)
I have a new respect for brick masons too, last night I spent more than an hour moving a pile of bricks from the basement to just outside the door of the basement to make room for our framers. Wow. Those guys work HARD.
Posts: 14428 | Registered: Aug 2001
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Wow!! That's way cooler than the stuff I've seen.
Too bad hazmat shipping is so expensive (and it's hard to find carriers that will do it). It's a pain in the butt.
Posts: 5879 | Registered: Apr 2001
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quote:Who would turn down a peanut butter sandwich?
If they were anything like me, they were actually looking forward to the fast food. It's filling and guys think it tastes good. God help the unfortunate who stands between me and a decent Carl's Jr. hamburger.
We just did the living room of our basement apartment. It had ugly, dark, scratched, and abused fake wood paneling, probably installed in the early 70s. Not only did it look trashy, but not even with two lamps, the overhead light, and the sun coming in the window could you get enough light in the room. We tore down all the paneling and had someone come in to mud and tape the wallboard underneath it. Then we painted the walls white. The ceiling had a thick layer of popcorn texturing that had become a dingy gray over the years. We scraped that off. Then we put up new crown moulding and installed baseboard, repainted the doorframes, and last of all redid the ceiling with texture paint. Texture paint is awesome. Let me tell you, that room looks 1000% better.
Now that we've done it, we don't want to rent it anymore. We're tempted to use the whole house for ourselves. It looks that nice.
Posts: 5957 | Registered: Oct 2001
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Jeff tells me there is a new trend not to install ceilings in basements. He just puts in the walls, adds crown moulding at the top of the wall to define it, then spray paints everything above that black. All the pipes, duct work, beams, etc. He says it looks fantastic, he invited me to go look at it in some basements he's already done.
We decided against it, just because we need sound insulation, so my Mom doesn't have to listen to every step someone takes on the floors above her. We're putting in a traditional drop ceiling with insulation.
Posts: 14428 | Registered: Aug 2001
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dreams... that no ceiling idea might work really well if we end up putting a basement in our house. It is already on a 4 ft crawl space and quite a few neighbors have had theirs excavated deeper to make a full basement.
Also that concrete stain looks great. It may be exactly what we need for our driveway.
but first paint on the walls and ceiling fans in the bedrooms. Then getting rid of that orange shag carpet...
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Belle, I used to work summers as a mason chaser with my step father. It was amazing how much water weight I'd lose over the course of a day carrying brick, blocks and mortar in 100 degree, 90% humidity weather. Ahh, the summers in flatlands NC... always an adventure.
But you're right, there's a lot of respect due for tradesmen. My Dad got his BS in Clinical Psychology with a minor in architecture. Now, he designs homes and builds the cabinetry and furniture for them.
After spending a life chasing dollars, he ended up losing his business and his home. He'd started doing interiors before it all went bust and when they came to repossess his van, they took all of his power tools that were in it as well.
It just about laid him out permanently, such a sharp blow. But, he went home and prayed that if God would take it off of his shoulders, he'd never make his career his whole life again. A couple of days later, my grandfather came by and brought him an old-style carpenter's kit; the kit was the old handtools of my great grandfather.
Later on, my Dad told me how much it changed him to go back as a regular carpenter. And how very much it meant to him to think the my great grandfather (who deserved to be called both great and grand) had fed his family and kept a home by sawing with those old saws, hammering with those old hammers.
Today, my Dad's workshop and design office are located in the reconditioned barn next to his house. Each morning, he goes over and works through the day, and he's booked for the next two to three years straight.
Sadly, arthritis in his neck, shoulders and hands is making the woodworking that much more difficult for him. His designwork is still stellar and going great guns, but he does love cabinetmaking. The timeline for that, however, grows short.
And now, over this past year, I've been thinking about how the turn has happened in my career and that I might not make it from writer to author. I'm pretty tempted to head back up to the mountains, grab one of those old saws and learn the importance of sawdust from my Dad.
Posts: 2848 | Registered: Feb 2003
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quote:I wish I had a basement. I'm not sure I'd put my mother in it, but I sure would like to have a basement anyway.
Bob, you live in Kissimmee. You'd be installing an in-house pool.
Belle, I have a father-in-law who is a contractor. He reminds me constantly that engineers can't actually build things.
I just remind him that he needs an engineer's signature to get his work OK'd so he better just shut up.
Posts: 4625 | Registered: Jul 2002
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Our landlords let us remodel just about anything we want in our upstairs apartment, and as long as we do the labor they buy the materials. It kicks.
Remodeling is simultaneously exciting and a pain in the arse. I'd think refinishing the basement would be that, squared.
I'm sure it will turn out very well, Belle. I'm sorry the circumstances are dubious, at best. But it sounds like the bonuses are going to be really good for your kids, and I know that means a lot to you.
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Because I know you guys are dying for an update.....
What was supposed to be a one day job turned into three. Finally, the framing is done. Wes is now setting the tub and doing the rest of the plumbing rough-in.
The electrician is the only one left that will need to come before we begin sheetrocking.
My mom's coming over tonight to look things over and tell us where she wants phone jacks and the satellite wired for television.
It's going pretty well. We're just struggling with coming up with enough money, we really want to get it finished ASAP.
Posts: 14428 | Registered: Aug 2001
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Hope everything is going well on your renovations.
We recently took possession of our first home and have spent the last few weeks working on it. We can't afford to finish the basement right now (it is partly finished) but we are going to do a little at a time over the next 6 to 8 months. My next task is to put in baseboards on our main floor where we have installed laminate hardwood. I am finding that I am a lot more capable at doing these kinds of tasks then I would have previously believed.
Posts: 1336 | Registered: Mar 2002
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