basement bath Archives - MidMod Midwest

Progress: Basement Bath and Bar Sink

2 min read Progress continues in the basement with the final plumbing work. Its about to go on hiatus, however, when I turn my attention outside for fall.

The basement isn’t quite finished but I made some great strides forward to prep for the final plumbing work down here. I also introduced myself to the Ikea kitchen system which gave me a few moments of confusion and then turned out to be even more straightforward and hackable than I’d hoped. Continue reading “Progress: Basement Bath and Bar Sink”

Progress: Bathroom Framed and Roughed In

< 1 min read Putting in the floor plates and wall studs was an exciting first step to building back the rooms I’d spent so much time demolishing. Hooray for new spaces!

We got the walls of the new basement bathroom done and had the plumbers back to do the rough in. It is really starting to look like a room with the vent and supply lines in and especially with the shower enclosure installed. Continue reading “Progress: Bathroom Framed and Roughed In”

Progress: New Pipes, Water Heater and Softener, and Utility Sink

3 min read This phase is all about win-win changes. By updating the supply plumbing for the main floor I can improve the time for hot water, get bette pressure, save energy, AND win and extra 1 1/2 inches of ceiling height!

In order to start the next stage of basement progress, framing up the new walls, I needed the plumbers to come back and move some old pipes out of my way. At the same time they replaced a bunch of aging equipment and re-located the water heater to make a more efficient pipe layout! Continue reading “Progress: New Pipes, Water Heater and Softener, and Utility Sink”

Tap in the SubFloor, One Tile at a Time

3 min read The old basement walls were built from the vinyl tile flooring straight up to the ceiling and attached to 2×2 furring strips that were bolted straight to the painted concrete walls. I want to improve the insulation of the basement and also the air circulation so that no mold will form in dead air cold spaces. First step: install a DriCore sub floor system.

I’m working with a dry basement (generally) but I did notice a little mold on the back of some of the knotty pine and drywall I moved from the original “finished” space. The walls I took out had been built from the vinyl tile flooring straight up to the ceiling and attached to 2×2 furring strips that were bolted straight to the painted concrete walls. I want to improve the insulation of the basement and also the air circulation so that no mold will form in dead air cold spaces. Continue reading “Tap in the SubFloor, One Tile at a Time”

Progress: Pouring the Concrete Slab was Pretty Easy!

4 min read I poured a mother freaking 28 square foot concrete slab in the basement this week … and it really wasn’t that hard. Here’s how I did it (hint: I roped my parents into some of the extra manual labor!)

I admit, this was one of the tasks I’ve been most excited about … and afraid of. I could, of course, have asked the plumbers to repair the slab they tore up when their work was done but I’ve never worked with concrete before and wanted the chance to try my hand. When I saw the size of the hole I had a few second thoughts in the end it was a really fun time to fill it back in.

With the right tools (another post) the job was really pretty simple. Continue reading “Progress: Pouring the Concrete Slab was Pretty Easy!”

Progress: There is a Huge Hole in the Basement to get at the Under-Slab Plumbing

2 min read Two weeks ago I took the most dramatic step yet in bringing the basement plans to fruition. A crew of plumbers showed up at 8 in the morning with jack hammers and tore up a big patch of concrete slab in the basement.

This is step one of removing the ridiculous open-to-the-laundry toilet and shower arrangement. They carted off the broken basement floor chunks, removed the old plumbing and then did the underground rough in for the new 3/4 bathroom. Continue reading “Progress: There is a Huge Hole in the Basement to get at the Under-Slab Plumbing”

Progress: Basement Measuring, Mockups and Making Final Checks

2 min read With the plumbers incoming the next day to tear out the concrete slab and old pipes, and lay new ones, time for a good old fashioned mock-up with blue tape lines and visualize it one more time.

Having finally (mostly) cleared the deck in the basement I took a moment to revel in the bare walls, exposed floor joists overhead and swept-clean floor. Then I got out my laser measure, a pair of tape measures, a sharpie and a roll of blue painters tape and marked the location of the new bathroom walls (and fixtures) on the basement floor. Continue reading “Progress: Basement Measuring, Mockups and Making Final Checks”