More Basement Renos!!

As promised, I'm back to share some of the work that we've been doing in the basement since our contractor friend helped us get started last spring. Here' a link to that post, in case you missed it.
Right after he left, we had to pack up for our spring trip to the trapline cabin. Then, our next grandchild was about to arrive and we were on the Island staying in our RV for that. Then, we had a family reunion in Alberta to go to, and then decided while we were there, we would spend a few weeks travelling around. We got home at the beginning of August and were eager to get back to the basement renos! Yay!!

Before we left for the trapline, Trev and I had cleaned up the basement work area and had carried in tons of rough cut boards to dry out. These have been outdoors since we got them and before we could use them they needed to dry so they didn't shrink after they were up. We had stacked them neatly in the basement, waiting to be used in the summer.

We still had another stack of boards outside, so Zac and I spent a day cleaning them up with a wire brush before stacking them inside too. So much wood!

Preparing these boards was Trev's job. He needed to cut them to random lengths, removing any rotten or cracked parts. Then, while I would have left them as is, he wanted to bevel the 4 edges of each piece. I've got to admit, it looks great! A little trick he learned from our builder buddy!

This old saw bit the dust during this part of the job.  We made an unplanned trip into town (1+ hours away) to get a new one.  Oh, the unexpected expenses of DIYing.

 After the pieces were all prepped, then the fun part began! These pieces were destined for the ceiling. We had lived with bare, cobwebby, floor joist ceilings for 8 years. When our friend was helping we had installed pot-lights and put up OSB boards to cover the floor joists (from the floor upstairs). Now we were gonna make 'em pretty!

Using a nail gun with finishing nails, Trev pieced together the ceiling using all the various lengths, colours and slight thickness differences. The end result was gorgeous!  Very rustic, just the way I like it!  He still has to cut pieces to fit around the pot lights, and then put up the trim around the edges, but I'm lovin' it!

We still had lots of the cleaned and trimmed wood left over so decided to do the new basement entrance walls with it too. This doorway is at the end of the sunroom and the one that we use to come inside in the winter with our snow boots on. It's also the door we bring the firewood inside through for the wood stove. It needed to be tough and durable. This fits the bill perfectly and looks great too!

There is still plenty to finish up down here, but it feels so good to finally be getting it done.  Next, we'll be putting down the flooring and trimming things up! Stay tuned!