Walls and Wires

New wall with window framed in

More walls

And yet more walls, with new lights behind it

Old basement section without walls

And same section but with new walls and more lights!

We missed posting last weekend but we're here!  We've been working away at framing in the basement and are close to finished for the moment so Brian has started wiring up new lights and circuits.  It certainly is handy to be able to install electric when and where we want it!  The basement will be open for the most part (we're thinking pool table and media room) but we'll also have a full bath as well.  As has become a bit of a pattern around here, we were happy with the bathroom layout on the original plans but when it came time to start building it, we reconsidered.  As a result, we spent a good deal of time last weekend rethinking the bathroom location and layout.  After a few hours of talking it through and a number of draft drawings, we finally figured out a layout we like and got the new walls up.  Next step, renting a jackhammer to take up more of the concrete floor to run the bathroom drains.  We may tackle that next weekend and then we'll have to replace the concrete and build the last few walls.  Followed by more electric and a whole lot of plumbing.  In short, we're not closing these walls in anytime soon but every day brings a little more progress!

Winders n walls

Pretty sure I bought these windows over a year ago. Not sure why we didn't install them sooner, but they needed to get done before we framed that section of the basement. We only put in a half day of work today, but two windows completely installed and some more framing ain't too shabby! The big opening in the framing is where we are going to put our giant tv when it's finished. We wanted to squeeze a little more room out of the finished space but didn't want to do a full bulkhead down the length of the wall.

New vents

Before picture with vents in the center of the basement

After picture with vents moved to the far wall

Start of framing in basement

We're back to the non-photogenic part of construction as we move the mechanical around and continue with framing.  Having done a fair bit of HVAC in the early stages of this project, we decided to call in two guys we've worked with before to relocate and install new runs and vents for the basement and first floor.  Although it's a bit hard to see in the photos, the old main vent used to run right down the center of the basement.  The height of the room with the vent was around 6'4" - by moving the run to the wall, the ceiling height throughout the basement will be closer to 7'2" even once we put in the ceiling and carpet.  While it's still a basement, the extra height makes a big difference in how it feels so we figured it was worth the extra work.  The timing worked out well too, as I came down with a winter cold this weekend so my "contribution" consisted mainly of staying out the way the past two days while Brian took down old electric and planned for new and helped the guys out with the installation.  They finished everything up today and we started with the first wall framing in the basement.  Still a good bit of framing to do but we'll get back to it next weekend!