Editor’s note: I haven’t been great about taking photos, but it’s been a little daunting at this point. I think I’ll be better at documenting things when they’re looking a little less scary…

So it’s been a week since my last post. The following things have since been accomplished:

Egress window has been dug out and cut to code
This was cut using a saw blade the size of my torso. Terrifying, yes. When they were finished, our contractor gave me a slice of the foundation! It’s amazing to see all of the rocks and rubble inside of the foundation. Hey, it was 1910, they used anything they could find!

Existing framing and existing concrete floor has been broken up and removed (the photo below is from mid-last week when the majority of the concrete had been removed; it’s currently a relatively “clean” dirt floor)
It turned out that our basement floor was four inches higher on the north end—the end that will eventually become the finished flex space—so once the concrete was removed, the crew also broke up the north end of the concrete housing the (new-ish) perimeter drain, and dug out the extra four inches of soil to level the basement. Inspection-wise, it would have been fine because, even though it wouldn’t have been to code (just barely too short), we would have been grandfathered in because it wasn’t due to changes we made; however, we decided it would make a huge difference in the overall space to have a higher ceiling. I happened to be in the basement when the crew jackhammered the perimeter drain concrete and all I could do was hold my breath and imagine all of the money we put into the drain system being sucked up and pumped out through the sump…

Previously installed bathroom rough-in has been removed and replaced
The other change that made me cringe was regarding the rough-in we had installed back in January in conjunction with the perimeter drain. When we had the original rough-in installed, we felt we were planning for the future changes, maybe saving some time and money, and taking advantage of the already broken-up perimeter. Once the plans were drawn up, however, we realized that we could get three additional feet of space by reorienting the rough-in. This meant tearing out the semi-new one and reinstalling an entirely new system. Again, money seemingly down the drain, but we’ll be able to rent out the space for more and hopefully make up the difference in no time (but again, the future space will not be a separate unit but will be rented out with one of the other units). This new system needs a few more tweaks before it will pass the plumbing inspection, but a plumber is coming tomorrow so it can be inspected on Wednesday, and the new slab can be poured on Thursday.

All existing incorrectly-installed insulation has been pulled down
During an energy audit we had done last year, the auditors told us all of our basement insulation had been installed incorrectly (not to mention the fact that we hardly had any insulation at all throughout the rest of the house—something clearly apparent during the winter when I occasionally need to wear my parka indoors). It had also been covered by plastic that, over the years, had started falling down everywhere so you would have to dodge it to avoid it from creepily brushing your face as you walked by. Once the electrical has been finished, new insulation will be installed.

Electrical audit
Today, the crew went through the basement to determine which electrical wires belonged to which circuits, which wires were abandoned and could be removed entirely, and which wires were salvageable. An electrician was brought in to initially survey the project, and he’ll return once the slab has been poured.

Coming up this week!

Tuesday: Tear down our tenant’s basement stairs, and replace it with new closet floor

I’ve mentioned our tenant’s creepy basement staircase… and it’s supposedly being removed tomorrow! We’ll be capping off the massive hole where the staircase is now, adding a floor and creating a walk-in closet for our tenant; so even though we’re taking away his small hall closet, he’s getting a significantly larger amount of storage space in his bedroom. The closet won’t be entirely finished off right away, but it will at least give him a space to put his things in the meantime until he goes out of town in August and we can finish up other work needing to be done in his unit.

Tuesday: Board up doorway spanning tenant’s entry and living room
The crew is temporarily boarding up the doorway separating our tenant’s entry and his living room and caulking around it to prevent dust from entering his unit. When he goes out of town in a few weeks, the crew will move his doorway entirely so that it opens onto the new entryway instead of dropping down onto the new stairs. (Have I mentioned how amazing our tenant has been throughout this whole process??)

Tuesday: Finish rough-in plumbing
The plumber will be arriving tomorrow afternoon to perfect the new rough-in so that it will pass inspection on Wednesday (fingers crossed!).

Tuesday: Cut hole in tenant’s entry for new basement stairs(?)
I’m not convinced this will actually happen tomorrow, but our contractor is really itching to get started on cutting the hole for the new stairs… The photo below is what the current unit entries look like. If you look at the doorway on the right, you’ll see a white door straight ahead. This is our tenant’s existing hall closet that we’re usurping for the new basement stairs. To the right of that is the doorway we’re boarding up tomorrow, which will eventually be moved closer to the front door so that it opens onto the new landing. Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes!

Wednesday: Plumbing inspection
The only slightly nerve-wracking part about this is what we call The Octopus, the massive tangle of terribly plumbed pipe snarled around the solid waste stacks. We’re planning on consolidating The Octopus in Phase II, but the inspector could easily insist we take care of it now. I’m really hoping they can overlook it until we’re ready to tackle it.

Thursday: New slab to be poured
Assuming that all goes well with the plumbing inspection, our contractor’s “concrete guy” will be coming to pour the brand new slab over the entire basement. I’m so excited about this step because it will be the first step toward things looking better after looking so scary for so long. All I can think about is spending hours ShopVac’ing puddles of water up nearly every day for a week or two from all of the cracks and crevices in our old, uneven slab. It’s so exciting to imagine what it’s all going to look like when it’s done, remember the five inches of wall-to-wall water, and think how far we’ve come. Who knew I could get so emotional over concrete?

Friday: Start building new basement stairs(?)
Whenever this happens, I just might cry. ‘Nuff said.