Ready for a big before-and-after? It’s not the prettiest makeover, but it’s a million times better than it was! It feels like we got rid of 5 tons of junk. We might have actually…
Originally we intended to just de-clutter, throw stuff away, and organize everything we had piled up in the basement. But once we started, it seemed like the perfect time to cover the dirt floor with concrete.
So, for 4 Sundays, we began by purchasing (on average) 7 40-pound bags of concrete, hauling it home and pouring ourselves a concrete floor, one bag at a time.
During the week, while waiting for the next slab of concrete to be poured, I was water-proofing the old stone walls. It took 2 to 6 coats of Drylock, and now they are bright white. I love the look of the Drylock too: on top of the stones, it reminds me of the inside of an igloo.
Here’s what that area looked like before:
And then we have this corner, which still needs a little bit of work. It’s not as messy as it seems though, it’s just all the appliances. We haven’t poured concrete here yet, but we’re still planning on it, and I need to finish painting the walls.
And the oil tank got a makeover too! Actually, this was one of the first things I did. Believe it or not, we had a quart of aluminum paint on hand. I didn’t think to take a proper “Before” picture, but here it is half-painted, and then fully painted:
Of course, the old metal cabinet got a makeover too, and I love it now.
Our original goal in starting this whole project was accomplished: our tools are organized. As you can see above, the (relatively few) tools we kept are organized into labeled drawers on wheels. I’m hopeful we can keep it that way now.
More, more, I want to see more! Ha! We NEED to do this in our basement, too. Are you going to show any “during” pictures of the drylock application? Any tips?
Haha! That’s a good idea, actually. I have another wall to water-proof, so maybe I will do a whole post on it. The stuff really is easy to use, it’s like really thick paint. But it does take a while on the stone walls because the whole thing has to be brushed on. (They say you can use a roller, but I found that to be far less efficient and way messier.)
Wow wow wow! I love your igloo! So bright and open. I could live there 🙂 Before it looked bit scary, like most basements do.
You have done ton of work, you should really be proud of your selves. I’m amazed you have not posted more about the basement process, I would have, just so I could have something to post about 😀
Thank you Leena! 😀
I thought about posting more about it, but the process was just as ugly as the before photos… But I think I may go back and do a few posts about the details.
Your basement looks like a room in our basement that’s on my honey do list. Thanks so much for the inspiration! I hope ours ends up looking as clean and organized as yours!
Thanks, Doreen! Feel free to come back and let us know when you tackle it, we’d love to see!
Fantastic! Everything looks so neat and tidy.