The big basement makeover

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.