Basement Reno's

This is a big weekend in the Nepper household. When we bought our furnace back in April, we bought it during a promotion that we would get 10% back in Home Depot gift cards (obviously for buying our furnace from Home Depot). So yesterday those beautiful little gift cards arrived, via Purolator, might I add! WOOT! So perfectly timed, right before the long weekend.

So to finish up all our EcoEnergy "tasks" we are going to insulate the South wall, as well as hopefully get the basement framed in. We will eventually be needing an electrician to come in to set us up, although we're hoping Rob will be able to do the majority of the work himself. Last night we stopped by Home Depot and bought your basic, "Electricity for Dummies" book (*I must add that wasn't the title, because who could actually walk through the till with a book like that and save face. But you get the basic idea!).

Last weekend, we got the North wall insulated. It was done in one day, Saturday, and it was a long one. We kind of run our home improvement jobs like a job site. So we both had to report for work at 7:00am. Rob was late might I add. I threatened firing him, but he knew better! Basically Rob's the foreman and I'm the labourer. And no, this isn't some kinky fantasy, although I think I would look pretty smashing in a pair of fitted, denim coveralls! Although the best part is Rob really doesn't get that I'm actually the foreman, I mean who dreams all this stuff up? Oh well, I play along to appease him.

He always tells me that the labourer is crucial to the job, making sure the tools are available, the jobsite is clean and free of any work hazards, etc, etc. Its fairly cute how much effort he puts into making me feel like I'm not like your basic job site dufus (or Bobo, as he used to call them on a previous jobsite). Labourers truly are the lowest of the low caste on any jobsite.

Got a nasty job? Call a labourer.
Made a mess? Get the labourer.
Screwed something up? Blame it on the labourer.
Need someone to pick on? Go find the labourer!

So today, or tomorrow, or heck, even the next day, if you happen to meet a labourer, make sure to give them a hug!

Here are some pictures of last weekend's insulating extravaganza...
My day started with this...
There was a hole in the dryer vent, and as a result there were years of dryer lint all built up.
It was like a rug. Mmm, delicious!

But I got 'er done. With my mask, my scraper, and my uber sexy pink polka dot froggy pajama pants (Thanks Mom!). Did I mention I ran over to Canadian Tire for supplies in that outfit? Minus the mask of course!
Next stop, remove existing upper half wall of dry wall to add vapour barrier and fully insulate wall.
Almost there...
Done! And isn't she beautiful? Then we also put drywall on top of this.
Next onto the craft room side of the wall.
This is the before (don't mind the chaos!).
Then the fun part, vapour barrier, as well as some acoustical sealant to keep the moisture out (your basic black ickyness). Plus your basic Tuck Tape. I put it up around the electrial box :)
Then Rob had to built a 2x6 wall. The best part? I let him buy this powder nail gun thing. It sounds like I was being overly generous, but it was $15 to rent it, or $32 to buy it! So he got a tool out of the deal, and he was happy. Basically you load it with nail/bullets, schwack it with a hammer, and those suckers actually go into concrete.
So for a man; tool + gun powder + loud noise = happiness!
Rob's most beautiful 2x6 wall. Note the stellar Tuck Taping job ;)
Once this is a "real wall" I'm going to find a cabinet door that will sit over the electrical box. Rob complained about this (that he had to frame it in), as this will actually be on "his side" of the room, but I figure I'm in the "pretty department" and electrical boxes are most definitely not pretty!
Then yours truly stepped up to the plate and got insulating! It really wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I had my handy dandy mask, and I suppose the inner woman in me figured rubber gloves would work best for the job.
The best part? We were able to use the extra bits from the South wall, as well as a full bag of R12 insulation that I picked up at a garage sale earlier that day for $5. So to be able to double insulate a wall for $5 is pretty dang good in my books!
We did the two sides of the same wall in different systems because, well, the laundry room wall was already half done in the foam, and we had more of it from the South wall, as well as the metal tracking that it sits in. So basically our total cost for the actual insulation for the North wall was $5 (the bag that I bought at the garage sale). The rest of it we already had. Nice.

These "rooms" will eventually be separate. We moved all the appliances over about 2 feet to make more room for the craft room. I'd rather have more room for my crafting than for my laundry!

Anyway, there you have it. We were busy little Nepper's. Rob being the busiest. I was able to help when the kids were napping or down for the night. And this weekend will be about the same. Although this time we have an extra day. I look forward to posting our progress!