Ugh. Just when we thought we were near the end of our renovation we realize that the basement will be a bigger project than we had anticipated. Why can’t we just leave it a dusty, crumbling mess? Well first of all, basements are the foundations of homes and the stone walls need to be maintained for both structure and water blockage.

The main reason we want a nicely sealed-and-easy-to-clean unfinished basement is the cats. The plan is to make a cat hangout down there so they stop messing up our garden level.

On the to do list is….

1. Rebuild the stairs that hubby ripped down over 2 weeks ago. We are currently climbing down the hatch out front.

2. Repoint stone wall and bricks.

3. Pour concrete for solid, level floor. What is down there is about an inch of uneven concrete on top of soil.

4. Move boiler against wall to create more space. Yay, another few thousand for a licensed plumber! Oh, did I mention we’re replacing boiler and water heater while we’re at it?

5. Build wall separating new boiler from cats.

6. Sump pump. We will clean the area by hosing it down.

7. Exhaust fan.

8. Seal walls and epoxy floor.

9. More lights. Deal with holes in ceiling cats can climb into.

That’s about it. A lot of work for an unfinished space that nobody is gonna see.