We made big strides in basement demo on Day 2. And it feels SO good to have a whole pile of free lumber ready for a good DIY project. All credit goes to Pete for this one – I helped out a little bit by removing plumbing, sorting lumber, and making dinner (so domestic), but the demo was happening in a tight space and he did the heavy lifting and nail removing to get us to this point.

The whole plan of demolishing part of the basement came from the desire to create a new work bench and storage unit for all of the tools that have been living in my dining room. They’ve taken up housing there since the spring when we built the deck, but I won’t be sad to see them go (no tools necessary at dinner parties). Conceived purely to minimize expenses, we decided to remove an unfinished half-bath from the corner of the basement so that we could use the lumber for our new project. And in addition to taking apart the basement for free lumber, I’m really opening the space up for usability.

On Day 1, we did some basic job preparation by removing some electrical outlets and lights you can read about that here, and we started Day 2 by disconnecting plumbing from the sink. We bought a few convenience-related plumbing tools, and the disconnect couldn’t have been easier (or faster!). We turned off the water to the house to be safe, and used a brand new pipe cutter to trim back the two pipes that had lead to the sink. No welding was necessary, because Pete found some great pipe caps that latch right onto the ends of the copper piping (he chose SharkBite, which worked really well for us). No leaks! (And now I have free beautiful copper piping that may make it’s way into the storage unit or a future project… the wheels are turnin’.)

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We got a serious amount of wood from the walls surrounding the bathroom itself. In addition to a dozen 2×4 boards, we saved some larger 1×10 and 1×12 boards (hmmm shelves?) and a bunch of hefty 2×8′s that were in the floor. And, there just happened to be a great piece of heavy-duty plywood in the house when I bought it that might serve as a nice tabletop.

Hello people of Earth. It’s Pete chiming in here (as I’m going to do from time to time). We also ended up with a pile of disgusting toilet-water-soaked, rotting, moldy 2×6′s from around the gross toilet that the previous owners mounted right onto this poorly built, raised floor. When you stood on it to “do your business” the entire floor and toilet tilted toward you, AND it feels like your foot was going to plunge through the floor. I had to leave the toilet and the flooring around it in place for now because I was finishing up late at night and it’s a giant mess waiting to happen with one pull of the wrong nail.

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What’s next? Well, I’m still considering removing some extra paneling from the area beneath the stairwell (not shown in any of these photos, but it might make a nice place for open shelving). Other than that, we’re ready to start designing the storage unit!

The basement rehabilitation is in full effect! By updating the layout down there, we’ll be rewarded with 567 sq. ft. of more usable, functional, and friendly space (and we’ll have a much better way of organizing tools and gardening supplies). Not so long ago, I posted some photos of the basement “before” we had a truly actionable plan of attack (check that post out here) and now, I’m sharing a follow-up post to give you a sneak peek of our work-in-progress, and more importantly, a road map for the overall plan.

It really would have been fun to show you the blank slate with photoshopped laser blue lines demonstrating where new construction would happen (HGTV anyone?) but instead, here’s a marked up layout of the floor plan, illustrating what’s going on in the basement:

1. Yes, there’s a small unfinished bathroom down there. We’ll be removing the walls, sink, and sink plumbing. Materials are being carefully salvaged so they can be upcycled into a big workbench/storage unit.
2. Pete wants to keep the toilet installed but will fashion the area with a new floor platform because the current one isn’t in great shape anymore. (I’m lovingly referring to this solitary toilet as his throne.)
3. As part of the plumbing reorg, he’s going to be removing and capping off an old sink outlet in the “old bathroom” area.
4. Not only are we going to make a workbench/storage area from the old bathroom materials, but I’m also going to create a potting area for plants against a wall which is already equipped with brand-spankin’-new copper plumbing (it’s just begging for a sink, I tell you).
5. Electrically speaking, we’ve begun by removing the lighting from the “old bathroom” and are going to replace the lost lighting over the laundry and new workbench area. We can run a simple new wire for plugs straight from the electrical box.
6. Also, you can’t really tell in the above photo, but the whole area beneath the staircase has been capped off with some less-than-pretty paneling. We’re thinking about removing that framework and making better use of the space.
7. And… I have an extra roll of insulation, so I’m going to try and repair any area that feels even the littlest bit drafty.

I’ll update you as we make progress, but here are some initial photos from the demo (sorry so dark, I wish there was more natural light down there):

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