This basement renovation – finishing off space in the basement for a bedroom, small bath, and closet – started back at Christmas time when we were last here in Ohio.

With a family of 7, one of the biggest challenges was rearranging all the stuff just to make an empty space! 10 years (and two kiddos) ago, that very space had been made into a big storage room –

And trust me, it was full!!
Other parts of the basement had been finished off in 2013,

and has been well used as extra family space.

(It got ‘all the way’ finished after I and my camera left!)
But to add an official bedroom and bath entailed challenges over and above just figuring out how to rearrange the family ‘stuff’.
Like an egress window.

It was a big job (especially during a pandemic), but it was in by the time we arrived. Yay, Toby!!

As you can see, it was no mean feat!

The other big, needs-to-be-done-before-Pops-arrived, task was moving the plumbing to the correct spot for the bathroom. Thankfully there WAS plumbing already there, but of course, not where it needed it to be.

Yeah, that was a BIG job!
By the time we arrived last week, all the walls had been constructed, the shower had been roughed in –

and, the drywall had been loaded into the basement! Pops was all set to go!
With Toby home over the weekend, the ceilings went up and the walls were starting to take shape!


(for perspective – I’m standing in front of the window, and Gary is standing in the closet.)
Toby always heads to the basement when he gets home from work to lend a hand –

and sometimes the prospective occupants also show up.

To help. Right!
Hallway done –

(bathroom on the left)
The last of the drywall in the bathroom will be installed once it stops raining long enough for the guys to pick up the green board at Lowes-

So at this point, with the exception of the inside walls of the bathroom, all the drywall is up! The mudding has begun, and you never know, but maybe there will be painting accomplished by the middle of next week! The list is still pretty long to get the area Teenage Girl Ready, but it certainly has been exciting to see all the progress made in less than a week!

With the weekend coming, Toby and Pops should be able to get lots done by working together. But since it’s also one of the last weekends before the baby arrives, I think there will also be some Family Fun time too! And that’s a good thing!

Thanks for coming along on our Renovation Trail!