It’s week 45 in our second home renovation – and there’s been plenty of progress on our home. This week, we worked on cleaning up and painting the basement, installing living room built-ins and Waterloxing IKEA butcher block countertops.
Check out all the details below. And if you are interested in how it turned out, check out the full house renovation tour of this historic home.
Built-ins
This week, Papa Bear really got to work. He really does work magic. He began putting together the built-in cabinet in the living room.
The area is framed by the heating and cooling ductwork and the laundry chute (WE HAVE A LAUNDRY CHUTE!). I’ve always wanted a built-in area with shelves for display and an area for our television, and now we’ll have it.
The doors were purchased at ReStore for $5. Steal of the decade because they are solid and fit perfectly.
The cabinet is backed with leftover beadboard paneling from the bathroom remodel.
I’ll paint everything white. (More painting! It’s going to do me in!)
Dad also got to work on a door for the kitchen pantry, which is fabulous. I’ll show you next week.
Countertops
I started the process of sealing the oak countertops, too. I was thrilled that the Waterlox (affiliate link) arrived within a few days, so I got right to work.
Ryan sanded the edges before I got to sealing.
It takes 24 hours for each coat to set, so it’s a bit of a process. After cleaning the wood from debris and dust really well, I began putting coats of sealer on the countertops. I am putting two coats on the back and four coats on the top. So, I hope they will be done sometime next week.
The Waterlox does seem to make the wood tones a little warmer, but I like it.
Really excited to get this done and install the countertops.
Basement
Finally – Ryan’s been working on the basement this week. I made the stipulation that I would not be moving in until the basement was cleaned out, painted and had storage.
I really hate basements. So, since I will actually have to go down there on a regular basis to do laundry, I need it to be brighter, cleaner and less scary than it was when we bought it.
It seriously makes me want to bathe in bleach. Just looking at this photo.
So, Ryan’s on it. It gets a little water down there, so Ryan sealed up all the cracks with hydraulic cement and cleaned all the walls and scraped old paint.
Even after that work, the basement looked like something out of a horror flick.
So, Ryan and I worked on painting the basement. We used paint by Zinsser that helps prevent mold and moisture. The combination of this, with the cracks filled and a dehumidifier should help the basement be less wet in the future. Woot!
It already looks lots better.
Still kind of a horror flick. But, not quite so bad.
It’s already a heckuva lot brighter down there, which is good because I’ll be down there relatively frequently. Ryan’s also going to set up the lights on motion sensors, which I’m pretty excited about.
Next step: Floors. We’ll be cleaning them and painting them. That will make a big difference. I chose a color similar to these at Brick City Love.
This may be a bit of a stretch for an inspiration picture, but the paint will definitely help the basement feel more finished and… clean.
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Michelle @ Ten June says
I think things are looking so good, as always! It amazes me how much you guys get done every week. Those countertops are gorgeous!
Lucky Girl says
Wow that countertop is gorgeous! Can’t wait to see the finished room 🙂
Have you checked with the company that makes the Waterlox about putting unequal coats of the finish on the top and bottom though? My husband makes furniture and he applied unequal coats of finish to a tabletop of a project that he did several years ago and it ended up causing the top to warp… something about there being more moisture on one side of the wood than the other. I’m not sure if this applies to Waterlox, but if it does it would likely be worth investing the time and money into equal coverage.
Jenny @ Anything Pretty says
These posts are the reason I love Thursdays! Ummm…so I love the built-ins and those counters are going to be amazing. They already have me drooling just sitting on the ground. And it is official…we you can start worrying about the basement, you have entered the home stretch of the renovation.
Oonafey says
The countertops are going to be ridiculously gorgeous!
That basement would freak me out too! Hell, mine’s mostly finshed and I still get a little nervous down there sometimes. I think the floor color you picked will look lovely.
You hate bacon? Me too!! I don’t eat pork, though. Piggies are too cute to eat.
*claire* says
i am literally drooling over those countertops. those will look amazing.
and yeah, you totally have a ghost 🙂
Leigh says
umm- in the basement …is that a toilet next to a sink? I’m lucky enough to have a mostly finished basement but we haven’t put effort in so it is mostly storage of random junk so it grosses me out as well.
I LOVE the counter tops. Can’t wait to see it all together.
lyndsay @ Mr and Mrs says
the counter tops are looking SO good, i can’t wait to see them in place! also, great find on the cabinets. everyone talks about re-store. i wish we had one up here 🙁
Shannon says
I feel like all of us who have laundry machines in our basements and DON’T have chutes have gotten gyped! It probably wouldn’t be safe for me to just cut big holes in my floors to drop laundry down, right? Talk me out of this idea because it’s sounding pretty good right now.
Meanwhile, your counters are gorgeous…I definitely like the warmer look.
Something’s strange…in the neighborhood…who ya gonna call…
Emily says
haha I love that there is a toilet out in the open!
Emily says
Love the idea of painting the basement floor- and those countertops are looking GORGEOUS, Kim!
Melissa says
Our basement looks exactly like that! Scott also sealed and did Zinser, but didn’t finish… we still have two walls to go. Ugh.
Liz @ It's Great To Be Home says
I can’t wait to see all the cabinetry! And I’m with you on basements – the house I shared with my friends in college had a basement and I cannot begin to describe how insanely horrific it was. I’m surprised we all got out of there alive. Of course now that I’m in Texas without any basements I would love one, even our old leaky nasty haunted one. 🙂
Amanda @ Serenity Now says
Love the countertops, Kim. Those built-ins are going to be amazing. 🙂
Jennifer says
counters look GREAT! ahhhh can’t wait to do our’s …
Mike says
The painted floor will look great! As I was looking at the before and after on the walls I was thinking, “A painted floor would make that look better.” 🙂
The Brick Cottage says
To quote The Features…”Thursday is the only day I’ve been looking forward to…”. They’re a great band if you haven’t heard them–and that song is awesome! Here it is if you’re interested (and you can thank me when you sing it every Thursday) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_llJuZdiIbM
Ok, onto your renovation post…I am so on your side when it comes to basements. I HATE them! It doesn’t help that ours leaks and is a dug out basement so you can see earth and rocks in part of it. *shudder* I’ve only gone down there a handful of times in the past three years that we’ve owned our house. We keep paint there so I have Bryan fetch it for me. I don’t know what we’d do if our laundry was down there.
jen @ homeinthecountry says
Basements are really yucky. Hope your floor painting experience goes better than ours (we had some water issues after painting & some of it peeled off… boo.)!
Also, can’t wait to see those countertops installed!
Cindy @The Flipping Couple says
I totally get all excited when I remember that it’s Thursday, which means it’s your weekly update! Seriously. I figure this out on Tuesday every week and then get all excited. Maybe I need to get out more?
I also HATE HATE HATE our basement. And our laundry is down there. Solution? Nick does all the laundry! (ok most. not all. still.)
Those counter tops are so gorgeous. I can’t wait to see them in the kitchen!
Jordan@the2seasons says
I just love the counter tops I can’t wait to see them in. Good to know about the paint you are using in the basement. Ours needs some help and I want to do something cheering down there since that is where the laundry is located. I am so jealous that you have a laundry chute.
longbrakeliving says
Love the progress on the basement. Basements totally freak me out too, so it was no surprise my two favorite houses had either no basement, or a clean and painted basement. Actually, the “shop” area of our basement isn’t painted and it’s still scary, but my part of the basement is clean and fab.
One thing I do want to know is the best way to clean the painted floor. Our dog sleeps in ours, and the floor in her area is quite dirty. Mop? Steam clean? Touch-up paint? I know you know!
Mrs. Adventure says
Ok I’m totally afraid of basements too so good on Ryan getting it fixed up for you :o) I’d totally put a fun roman column around the pipe so I felt like I was in an underground roman city instead of a basement… lmao but I’m crazy like that.
Heather says
You guys are doing a great job. I think paint on the floor will help that basement.
Jenny @ Words on Wendhurst says
I love how your countertops are coming out. And I think painting the basement is a great idea. When we moved in the laundry room in the basement was one of the scariest rooms, and my sweet dad spent hours painting it all white for me. It looked great!
Mrs. 5C says
It looks amazing! And I think painting the basement floor is going to make ALL the difference! Yay Thursday reports!! 🙂