Slow going in the basement...

The basement project continues to move slowly forward, with emphasis on the "slowly".  What we're finding living up here is that there is always something to do, and sometimes the something you planned to do has to give way for something that just plain must be done.  For instance, I was going to work on the basement, and then our appliances died and we spent the weekend moving in and setting up the new appliances.  Another example, I was going to work on the basement but instead spent the weekend clearing 17 inches of snow from the driveway and chainsawing trees that were blocking the road.  I have more, but you get the idea.

So, the progress is slow but it is moving inexorably forward.  Our last update had the walls cleaned, caulked, and painted with Dry Lok, and the floor had its first coat of paint.  This past Friday evening I laid down the second coat of floor paint.  That has us ready to put up the insulation and begin the framing.  Remember, we are only working in one quarter of the basement right now.  We're actively using the basement, so we can only do part of it at a time...moving our stuff after we finish each section.

This is going to be my very first framing project, and I have to admit that I'm still a bit intimidated by it.  I have some working knowledge, and I've read up on it, but until I get into it I'm going to keep overthinking it.  Oh, well.  Nothing to do but to just do it.  I was able to snag a few new tools out of this project...a Hitachi framing nailer and a Ramset Hammer Shot.

Yesterday we made a Home Depot run to Alpena.  The closest Lowes or Home Depot to us are in either Gaylord or Alpena, and are an hour away.  Building a detailed list of needed materials, and then padding it a bit, is now a necessity for us.  Making a quick run back to the store just isn't a possibility.  I think we did pretty well, but I won't know until I start working on it.

I'm hoping that work cooperates and that Monday evening we'll be able to get the insulation up and start on the framing.

Talk to you all soon!